Dirt Roads

I lived off a "Dirt Road" during my young years (at least through age 26).  I must say you could always hear the car coming down the road as the tires on the gravels made a noise that was unforgettable.  But then I got married and moved to the local BIG city where there were no dirt roads, only asphalt. 

Dirt (gravel) road in front of home place.

There is something to be said about living off a dirt road.  Only those that were coming to visit or those with business with you or the neighbor usually drove down the road.  In a way, the dirt road was your alarm system.  It had potholes so the ride is not smooth.  You could not go fast so it had its own speed bumps.

We used to have to walk to the main road to catch the school bus.  It was about 1 mile going and coming but we did get our exercise each morning and afternoon.  The only time we did not have to walk was when it rained or snowed.  That dirt road probably garnered more rain and snow prayers than anything I can think of.

Paul Harvey, the late newscaster, did a article on dirt roads and much of what he said was true.  He also commented about criminals did not walk a mile down a dirt road because they knew they would be met with barking dogs and a shotgun. 

I felt safer living off a dirt road and will return to the dirt road in the future.

Walmart Express??

While traveling through North Carolina on the way back to Virginia, we passed a small building, say the size of a Dollar General, and the roadside sign was "WALMART Express".  I had to do a double take as I had not seen anything like this before.

Needless to say I had to stop and go inside to check this out.

Upon entering the store it is primarily a grocery store and a pharmacy.  It does not have a clothing area, electronics, auto center, etc. but a stripped down Walmart.

 

Pharmacy to left and check out lines straight ahead

There are a few sundry items and greeting cards but this is probably a store that can thrive in true small town America.  It is amazing what the thinkers in Bentonville, Arkansas will come up with.  Just think, coming to a town near you "WALMART EXPRESS"!!

Diner Food

While in Raleigh this past weekend, we were fortunate to eat at local restaurant that was built in the 1930's.  The restaurant was in the downtown area and has not seen a remodel in all those years.  Thank goodness for that because that would have taken away the quaintness of the place.

The booths and woodwork were original.  You could tell by sitting in the booths that they were built when people were smaller.  Sitting two on each side did make it cozy. 

Booths at the MECCA Restaurant

The food was very good and the prices were even better.  My wife ordered fried chicken, I ordered spaghetti with meat sauce.  Each meal came with a salad.  We also had desert, apple pie ala mode.

Apple Pie Ala mode at MECCA!

 

 

 

The total price for the meals were a whooping $25.00 for the both of us.  Some of our friends went to an oyster bar and said they paid $25 for each of their meals.  I say our bill was priceless!!

 

 

 

Old tile floor and eat at counter

So when in Raleigh, check out the Mecca on Martin Street in downtown.  The prices are right.

You don't take my insurance?

As of January 1, 2012 the big "W" stopped taking insurance for Anthem and Express Scripts. For the whole month of December, the employees of Big "W" were telling every customer that had a prescription filled that as of January 1st their prescriptions could not be filled because of insurance. As mentioned this was done during the month of December.

To illustrate that people don't read or open all their mail from the insurance companies became apparent in January. Almost on a daily basis someone would come to the pharmacy via the drive through to pick up their refill or drop off a new prescription. They were again told that their insurance would not work at the big "W". "What do you mean that my insurance doesn't work here?". "No one told me anything about this!". Your insurance company sent out letters in December and probably sent e-mails as well. Well, I did get something but did not read it.

So it is now our fault you don't read your mail and understand the outcomes. How do people survive in this world today? Do they read and understand their other mail such as bank statements? People want to blame their circumstances on someone else. That is what they want instead of accepting the blame and being accountable!

Starbucks and older people

While attending the Ruritan convention in Raleigh it was amusing visiting the Starbucks. The coffee shop was adjacent to the lobby of the Marriott, so quite a few convention attendees were there trying to figure out what to buy.

The age of the attendees to the convention are older and most are retired. That being the case, they don't have the lingo mastered. Standing in line to order, husbands and wives are discussing what to buy. All is good until it is time to place the order and then all goes south.

I want a small coffee. The barista yells out the order as a tall pike place and the customer says I wanted a small. That is our small, ma'am. Oh ok.

Not only do things back up at the order area but also at the table where the different creams are kept. You give too many choices to older people and it bogs down thought process. Do I want half & half, whole milk, are low-fat?

Well, I finally got my TALL cup of coffee, my half & half cream and have survived the morning. Now to see what happens the rest of the day.

This is hard to BELIEVE!!

These three people have been friends for over 42 years.  Each one is from a different state but all went to the same college.

What makes this unbelievable is that Radford College at the time was not a coed college and only female.  Peggy from Pennsylvania,  Sheila from Ohio, and Becky from Florida. The entering freshman classes were placed in dorms based on their religious affiliation.  These three were Episcopal.  They were roommates and suite mates.  They stayed friends the four years they were in school and after graduation they stayed within 50 miles of Roanoke.

Upon graduation Peggy taught school in Bath County, Sheila taught in Botetourt County, and Becky worked for a local newspaper in Pulaski County.  Now fast forward 40 years.  Each now live within 15 miles of each other and get together three times per year for each others birthday.

They remain good friends and it is always a joy to get together with them over drinks and a meal.  Of course I am married to one of them.

Enjoying the Outdoors

I don't know what it is, or maybe it is working inside most days, but there is something to be said for the great outdoors.  I love being on the farm and feel the wind in my face.  Those days that have sunshine are the best but I will take it any day.

To enjoy the view and the peaceful setting is, well you might say, RELAXING.  Sure there is work to be done but is there anything wrong with hard work.  Watching the red tail hawks, hearing the squirrels barking, the birds singing, it does not get any better than that.

When you have the azure color of the sky and the wispy clouds it sure does make a PERFECT day.  Oh the memories that come flooding back into my mind from the years past when this work was an everyday occurrence.

Rural road names

While driving along a rural country road today I was amused at the names of the road signs. If you know the history of the area it is not too difficult to figure out how the roads in rural counties we're named.

This road is either for the creek that shoots down the mountain or there were actual shootings along the creek.  Since this is moonshine country all bets are on an actual shooting.

 

This is very obvious.  I am sure Kyle Weeks either lives off of this road or he used to live there.

 Oh, lets call this road School Lane.  Note the school in the background

 It doesn't take much imagination to name country roads.  It is all about history.

Work could be better!

Now that the year is starting anew, some of the junk from the past year is gone.  When working for a major pharmacy chain, they put things in place that don't make much sense to the front line workers. 

Since one insurance contract is not renewed for the year 2012, there were lots of stuff that was put in place the latter part of 2011 that added to the confusion and hectic pace that takes place in pharmacies.  Each patient, that had insurance with the company that was under negotiation, their profile was flagged for review at the time the patient was picking their prescription.  When you are in the middle of reviewing other prescriptions, taking doctor calls, patient calls, counseling a legitimate patient, you have to stop everything and review that profile to let the patient know about the negotiations.  It just compounds everything else that is taking place. 

The last month of the year not only do you still have to review each patient with the insurance company that is in negotiations, but now you have to start transferring prescriptions.  Now the hectic pace has increased. 

It is so nice to say goodbye to that nonsense that was put in place just because the higher ups did not want to play with each others company.

2012 Already!!

What happened to 2011?  Wow, how a year just flies past. So much happened over the past year.  Two weddings and no funerals.  Oh wait, make that 3 weddings with the one we attended in L.A. for a short weekend.  Maybe there will be another on the west coast within the next year.

So this year is starting off with no snow but low temperatures.

The morning sunrise on this very chilly morning.  Tonight the temps are to be in the teens and highs only to be in the low 30's by Wednesday.

So as this very young year is developing I resolve  to enjoy this year and take everything a little slower.  That is going to be hard to achieve.