A Day Date Was Taken

 Here we have the Baby Gecko episode of Jack TV. His favorite thing to do at night before we go to bed, is to lay on the table on the back porch and watch the critters that crawl on the screen. He is not able, of course, to catch the ones on the outside of the screen but that does not stop him from leaping up on his springy cat legs to give it his best shot. You can tell how tiny that gecko is when you compare it to the squares of the screen. It's pretty fine screen, too. Sometimes I am so amazed at the ability of the iPhone's camera to get close-ups. That feature comes in handy for me when I can't read something on a label or make out something very, very small. I just do a close-up shot, enlarging it before I take the picture, and there it is, clear as a bell on my phone screen. And yes, I realize there is a magnifying feature on the phone but I find that close-up shot works best for me. 

Now here's a picture I took today of another sort of lizard that did not come out nearly so well. 

Can you see the little guy? I love the way his tail is curved on the paw of the lamp post lion foot. Glen and I decided to take a ride up to Thomasville, Georgia today just for fun although we did have a winning lottery ticket we'd bought on our way home from NC that we wanted to cash in. 
Ten whole dollars. 

Oh well. 

Thomasville has experienced a huge resurgence in the last decade or so. It's always been a pretty little town with brick streets downtown and cool old storefronts but these days, it's become a shopping mecca for the well off. I remember when we used to go up there to look for antique bargains but those days are long gone. I got my dining room table there back when May was just a little bitty girl. It's a round oak table that we use to this day. I can't even imagine how many meals have been eaten on it, how many games have been played on it, and it's also the table that my nursing school girlfriends and I studied around. It is almost a holy relic to all of us who spread our textbooks and notebooks and pens and coffee cups over it. 

Just the number of pancakes I've served on that table is mind-boggling, I'm sure. 

But, like I said, the days of finding bargains in Thomasville are long over unless you go to Goodwill which I have done and they do have a pretty fine Goodwill there. Today we mostly just stayed downtown, looking for our lunch. I have to tell you that I have never in my life been in a place where there are as many preppy-looking people as there are in Thomasville. Lord have mercy, the number of men in khaki shorts and amusing print, button down shirts and loafers with no socks is outnumbered only by the women whose hair always looks fresh salon-done and whose clothes, bags, and shoes are, without a doubt, worth more than my beloved oak table. Little girls all have bows in their hair and wear dresses that cost more than anything I have in my closet. Little boys are exact replicas of the men, right down to the loafers with no socks. Women's make-up is subtle and perfect, even in the 90-degree plus heat. I don't think the wealthy feel the heat the way we do. Is that possible? 
Where there used to be insurance companies and drug stores and banks and typewriter repair places downtown, there are now boutiques after boutiques for both men and women, coffee shops, wine bars, breweries, cupcakeries (that word sort of makes me want to die), cheese shops, expensive cookware shops, children's shops, home decor shops, cute little cafes, fancy restaurants... and on and on and on.
I came across this toy store and had to go inside. 

It was a children's paradise. I didn't even make it farther than halfway into the place. I was just so overcome. 

Can you imagine what this place is going to look like at Christmas?

Now don't get me wrong. I have done my share of shopping in Thomasville. Even at rather fancy places. I have bought some things in those places. There have always been nice, high quality goods to be found in Thomasville. Hell, one of the oldest stores is a place called Kevin's Fine Outdoor Gear and Apparel which does indeed sell fine outdoor gear and apparel along with hunting-themed Wedgewood china. 
I shit you not. There's more polished dark wood and more chandeliers  in that place than in the Addam's Family's parlor. Need a hand-made knife? A new rifle? Personalized engraved crystal Old Fashioned glasses? A flying quail shirt?

Anyway, Thomasville is just what it is- a very rich town built on plantation money and you know what that means. Today most of the plantations make their money from things like charging the big bucks for people from all over the world to come and hunt quail (yes, really) and things like that. I was very happy today to see that not all of the day-tripper/shoppers were of the Northern European species but most of them were. And maybe the kids and I will go up there before Christmas to do some shopping at that toy store. There is also an excellent bookstore in town. I guess in the overall scheme of things it's better than buying off of Amazon or at Walmart or Target. 

Who knows? Not me. 

So Mr. Moon and I got our lunch at a place a few blocks from downtown where I've eaten many times before. George and Louis Seafood Restaurant. Heavy on Greek salads and deep fried seafood. And delicious. 

We've both had our daily requirement of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and feta cheese so no need for that tonight. 

It was really, really nice to drive through the piney woods and little towns with perfect white, steepled churches and tin-roofed cabins and big, beautiful old homes that were probably built around the same time our house was built, some with Trump signs in front, some with Harris signs. When people think about "the south" it may well be that what they are thinking of is pretty much what we saw today and much of that is beautiful. 

The south is such a conundrum and as long as I live here, I will never be able to define it. It is this and it is that. It is here and it is there. It is where I live. 

And if you need a pink flying quail shirt, you now know where you can buy one. 

Love...Ms. Moon