June 11, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 11, 2018, unbelievably stubborn.
Five years ago today: June 11, 2014, almost three dollars.
Nine years ago today: June 11, 2010, a boring clown at that.
Random years ago today: June 11, 2011, youthful or useful?

           See the energy in this 11-year-old dog? Good, since that’s the opposite of how I fetlt today. This scene was shot way out in Elmwood, TN. We had to turn around somewhere and head back. It was a solod day of driving and the guys got treated to chicken nuggets, no need to tell anyone about that. If I had advice for Tennessee, or the clout to make a law, it would be an easy one: if a busineess closed down in a rental space, the landlord has 48 hours to take down the sign, no matter what it costs.

           Using my motorcycle instinct, I took a series of country roads out northeast of Mt. Juliet. One of them, Bender’s Ferry Road, was the most scenic and there is a place for sale by owner. It’s a little smaller and shabbier than the mansions around it but still ten times the place I grew up. I’ll see if I can Zilllow it, my guess is several hundred thousand. This is Sparkie as we stopped for a doggie break. We were actually going to a settlement called Gentry, but it wasn’t on the GPS. The terrain was some rolling hills, probably foothills for the Smokey Mountains which were still well over the horizon.

           The whole area is ideal motorcycle traveling. There’s a scarcity of flat land once you get much east of Lebanon, which is where we stopped for ice water and a snack before taking a walking tour of the old downtown. It’s a refurbished western town with brick buildings scrunched together, English style. Lots of consignment and antique places, I found an old radio broadcast microphone, like you see in the movies. But the store guy (very typical it turns out) had no idea of it worked or not. Priced at $28, I would buy it if it worked. That would have meant finding an amplifier, what kind of used equipment store doesn’t have an amplifier? Oh yeah, I forgot. Tennessee.
           I’ve got $28 if it works, but not $28 for a decoration. I noticed the cord had a stereo plug, which tells me it has been worked on. I’ll pass. We finally found the Grant Highway and took that all the way around and back to Lebanon. Worth the trip but don’t go relying on the road signs.

Picture of the day.
Pluto.
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           This view is part of Lebanon, showing the town square and some of the shops, but be warned prices are astronomical. This may be the homeland of free enterprise, but the main barrier to market entry is the huge amount of capital needed to survive. Forget about backyard startups, and there is probably a law against that anyway. I stopped in this square because of a sign that said $1 bookstore. I wasted resources to find a parking spot, and walked over to see the place was vacant. Didn’t I just say something about signs?
           We wound up exploring a series of dead-end roads. The reason there are so many is the dam on the river. It put all the ferry boats out of service, a practice in the free world called “progress”. You get it all the time, but thinking ahead and a hotdog stand can put you in a favorable position down the line. The road system in Lebanon is also confusing, so plan your route. You can be cruising down Hwy 70 with the traffic and find yourself twenty miles in the wrong direction. No signs, no obvious turns or intersections. And forget stopping and asking a local, most of them don’t even own amplifiers. What do they do for music? Play the jaw harp?

ADDENDUM
           Here’s the view from the car for most of the side roads we took. It wound up being a four-hour car tour, which I would do again. The few farms in the area that showed any sign of commerce were baling hay or raising cows. It’s too far to commute and the small town economies plainly don’t offer any opportunities for young people. Because there aren’t any. Walking into the local Burger King for a coffee was nice, because of all the old people there, they always have it fresh. Ha, the fact seniors can afford coffee shows this place is already more prosperous than back in Florida.

           Pardon me, there are a few young people, the kind you call drop-outs who clerk at the lumber yard. And give you that millennial snark look when you won’t tell them your phone number and don’t have a Lowe’s card. What are you, some kind of anti-social recluse, or so old you don’t have the vocabulary to know how things have changed, and who would want to steal your identity anyway. See, it is actually easy to profile the hipster types that work the cash register. She’s 23 trying to look 19, has hooker hair, and a snot ring.
           I’d mentioned the ad said lumber was on sale, she asked where I’d seen the ad and I said the newspaper. So she asks with a smirk if there still are newspapers. I said yes, because unlike on-line, they were honest enough to state the price. Oh, she said.

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