Small Town Cafe

I've written more than once about how I enjoy small town cafes. There's something about sitting down for a meal in a place with no more tables than fingers to count them on one hand. At least around here, folks will strike up a conversation regardless of whether or not you're a regular. I like that.

Today, I had lunch in downtown Spearsville, LA. Big city. There's a stop sign and everything! The local cafe is also a gas station and general store. Not a convenience store but more like the small town grocery from half a century ago. They have burgers and such but I elected to go with their “meat and two” plate lunch. This time, it was a choice of meats and then corn plus rice'n'gravy. Yes, a starch and a starch topped with more carbs. For a low carb guy I looked at it and gobbled it up knowing I'll pay for it later. Oh, and fresh banana pie. I ate a bite or two but had a feeling I'd overdose on carbs and left a bunch on my plate.

When I walked in there was only one other guy already seated eating lunch. Kinda scary looking at first. Long hair, ZZ-top style beard, overalls and a T-shirt. We smiled and I sat at the other table. At this cafe there are only two tables. Both of them the six foot folding tables like in the church fellowship hall. It was clear that folks come here to eat and visit.

No surprise to those who know me, I struck up a conversation with the bearded mountain man (he looked the part). One thing led to another and we started talking about another favorite cafe on the opposite end of the parish, on the east bank of the Ouachita River in Sterlington. That one is Marvin Simpson's One Stop, home of some kick butt french fries back when I lived across the river over on Bayou Bartholomew.

As it turns out, this rural wild man leads the Thursday night Bible study at Marvin's cafe! Marvin had told me about it but I never have been able to make it. Small world. We both agreed that Marvin is “good people”. This study leader is also active at the Biker Church on Highway 165 North in Monroe. No surprise there, either. He looks the part.

We chatted about what the Lord was doing in each of our lives for a while before he had to get back to work driving a garbage truck for the parish.

Some other older men came in and we visited about the auto repair shop that used to be across the street. It was operated by a really nice guy but had closed recently. One of the local dealerships offered him a job he couldn't refuse. It was agreed that he was a top notch mechanic. That opened the door for discussing the merits of computers on tractors. Something about a farm implement relying on computer sensors to run just didn't seem right. I agreed and commented that I was in my 26 year old one ton Ford that didn't have any type of electronics on it beyond a radio and that didn't even work.

When I went to check out, I noticed the lady behind the counter was wearing a church T-shirt. Nice. We talked about the Lord and she explained that her church in Bernice was non-denominational, choosing to emphasize points we Christians have in common rather than the ones where we disagree. I agreed.

She commented that as times look grim in the country we'll need to rely on each other. That opened the door for sharing about my work with renewable energy and how I have friends who are into the “preparedness movement”. That means being prepared for natural, political or social upheaval. Not survivalists... but being prepared as a good steward of what God has given us. She said she's already canning her own food and wants to learn about local vegetation for food. Before we could talk about the new move toward permaculture (using nature to work with nature instead of using a bunch of chemicals), she need to answer a phone call and I needed to get back to the shop. We exchanged email addresses to swap tips on being prepared for the big “what if” our society seems to be heading toward.

With that, I hopped back into my one-ton flatbed truck, easing off from a stop in second. Nobody uses granny-low first gear unless you've got a load. I clicked on up through the gears to fourth and cruised back to my shop at a brisk 35 miles an hour. A two lane road, sunshine, full belly and my arm hanging out the window. Oh, and my Ray Ban aviation type sunshades, of course. Life is good. Nice folks, too. I have a feeling I've found a new favorite spot for lunch.