The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
There was a song upon the radio, in my sixteenth year, and it remains a favorite of mine. Steve Earle sang: “I work at the fillin’ station on the interstate, pumping gasoline and counting out-of-state plates. They ask me, ‘How far into Memphis, son’ and “Where’s the nearest beer?’ They don’t even know that there’s a town around here.”
On any given Sunday, spring through fall, I find myself pulling my old car into the parking lot of Denton Wayside church. I thank God that I’m not heading west, as I watch folks crawl, bumper-to-bumper, back to “Bawlmer” and DC. Horns honk, and fender benders aren’t uncommon out there at the blinking light. As I sit there and gaze at the never ending mass of iron and rubber creeping by, I think of that last line. And, what a pity. Friends, take a few minutes to consider all they’ve missed!
They’ve never been to American Corner on a Thursday night, and seen Curtis Andrew sell a box lot of antique china. They’ve never stood on Hunting Creek Bridge, fishing pole in hand, breathing in the sweet smell of the marsh and hearing a distant red-winged blackbird. Never have they heard a band play on the courthouse lawn at Summerfest, or stood with their hand over their heart as the Star Spangled Banner is sung at the Threshermen’s Show. They haven’t walked the idyllic streets of Ridgely or Hillsboro, or gazed across the creek at Martinak as the trees gently sway in the breeze. Why didn’t they bother to pick strawberries at Wings Landing, or apples at Redemption Farms, or grab a basket of peaches at Heritage Orchard? Didn’t they ever think of taking the fall train from Hurlock to Federalsburg and back, or feel the ground pounding at the tractor pull in Greensboro? Did they somehow not know of the great crabcakes at Cohee’s 404, or the gifts they could find at the What’s New Shop?
Didn’t they know that the salt of the earth live here? Didn’t they want to stop and say hello?
Every once in a great while, a stranger will steer their car into the church parking lot. Maybe they need a bathroom break, or their tire has gone flat. Some feel led to hear the Word. Truly, I wish more would do so. I pray for them, and surely I’m not alone. They need our prayers, for indeed, they’re missing so much. As for you, dear reader, surely YOU have not been missing out? Have you checked all these things off YOUR list?
That old song ends with this: “I got me a ‘67 Chevy, she’s low and sleek and black. Someday I’ll put her on that interstate and never look back.” Way back then, this Caroline County boy drove a ‘67 Chevy, and indeed it was low and sleek and black. I owned that rig for a long, long time and saw an awful lot of roads, but I don’t recall ever steering it onto the interstate. I suppose that’s just as well: the things that have really mattered to me in life, I found right here. Those folks chasing the white line? If only they knew.
