After a much needed good night of sleep, I took some time this morning to collect my thoughts and enjoy my hometown of Columbia. I went into a record store having a major sale, and picked up Jimmy Cliff's Struggling Man, Rick James' Stone City Band, Otis Redding Live in Europe and Greatest Hits, and a couple of other discs for cheap. I then went into a store on Broadway in search of local t-shirts. Instead I found myself in the midst of, for me, a protracted conversation with one of the store clerks, who was as nice as could possibly be. Simply asking me if I was looking for anything in particular led to his story of starting out in Montana, moving to San Francisco, settling in Columbia, and pondering the state of the country. Though he was perfectly nice, I had to suppress my Bostonian desire to cut him short and walk out the door. I kept myself in check, and found a patience long suppressed by my previous environment. The store didn't even have what I wanted but he recommended another place, where another clerk directed me to yet another place, and in each place everyone looked me in the eye, smiled, and was perfectly friendly. I did find a couple of sweet Ts along with a local place that makes custom T-shirts, check them out (www.facebook.com/acmeofcolumbia). And across the street was a local juice bar that served wheat grass and complimentary ramekins of fresh blueberries. I know of only one place in Boston that serves wheat grass, I would always have to trek out to Somerville for it or just do without. Amazing how a small town, cool college town yes, would have such a great place that you can't find in such a cosmopolitan city. Well, business idea Boston readers...It was about 2pm and, though I enjoyed the approximate 24 hours free of driving, I thought it was time to hit the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment