Local News

HEADING SOUTH ... from the rear-view mirror, leftovers behind the truck:

I THINK I've mentioned before that when you get the meat 'n three at the Bell Buckle (Tennessee) Café, you get fried cornbread.

What I haven't mentioned is a sign over the kitchen door that reads:

It ain't brag if you cook the talk ... and the Bell Buckle Café does just that.

ONE OTHER little gem from "downtown" Bell Buckle is an antique shop midway of the main block.

Bell Buckle is surrounded by hills, but downtown is as flat as unleavened bread. But over the shop is a sign:

I have no idea why I notice things like that, really.

Then there's the offerings found in Bell Buckle's shops.

In one I found a railroad conductor's cap ... for a mere $95. I had a hard time fighting off the urge to buy.

But it was easy to walk away from a row of painted gourds (for Halloween) out front at $4.50 each.

There was also a "game" (box) by the name of "Cat and Witch with 24 tails." The blurb on the box read, "A Fun Game."

If you can tell me what a "Cat and Witch with 24 Tails" is, the coffee's on me.

Whatever, it's a wonderful life.

ESPECIALLY in the small towns that dot the State Farm atlas.

I closed a recent column with:

And I pray there will always be a Bell Buckle somewhere that I haven't seen and need to go take a look ...

A couple I found on this trip, both in Ohio, were Laurelville (pop. 547) and, just up the road, Tarlton (pop. 298).

In Laurelville, at the town's small park, I caught up with a guy by the name of Larry who was eating his lunch, a riding mower resting near the table where he was parked.

In a brief conversation, I asked Larry how long he had lived in Laurelville.

"Been here 62 years," he said.

And, for some reason, I knew the answer to my next question.

"I'm 62," he grinned. "Born here, never left."

But I did ...

TIME REALLY does change things, especially when you're looking for the colors of autumn.

On the way to Columbus, my expert eye foretold a dreary brown for the fall of '08.

Ten days later, on the way back, my expert eye foretold a time of splendor, especially from Knoxville north.

Maybe you need to go look.

A FEEL-GOOD crossing into Alabama out of Georgia on I-59 is a stunning two miles or so of median splendor in wild flowers ... all colors.

You have a same stretch at the welcome center on I-20 near the Georgia line there.

Sometimes we do things right.