Murfreesboro has not been the wellspring of southern hospitality that I somehow expected it to be. In an effort to feel more at home, I’m writing down the little things that happen day to day that have made this strange little city a bit more like home. Here’s the first:
If there’s one thing I’ve determined is a must while navigating the circuitous path that is graduate school, its large quantities of red wine. But hey, I kind of feel like that about most of life. There’s a little liquor store that is right on my way way home from school. It doesn’t have a great selection and the prices are nothing to brag about, but I love the men who run it. They are all older; 60 and above I would guess, and all fall, and again now that the warm weather is returning, they are almost always sitting in front of the store on folding chairs when I pull into the parking lot. They see me coming and stand up, hitch up their overalls, open the door for me and ask “How are you tonight, darlin’?” That phrase always makes me smile. I always leave feeling like I need the wine a little less than I did when I went in.
