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| Previous | Welcome to Calhoun, Tara | Next |
With a concerted effort the laundry in our home can be completed in one day. When one is as talented as am I, the ironing and folding of those clothes can be completed in the same day. If it’s before ten o’clock Saturday night, there’s no need to rush into sermon preparation. If the lawn is cut early in the week then it has to be cut again on Saturday. (It’s a hold over from my childhood when the yard had to look good for the Sunday drivers.) The books currently being read are academic and, frankly, they can hold one’s attention for only an hour or so. There’s television. But how many replays of episodes of CSI and Law and Order can one take in a lifetime? The wife was not gong to be back today.
I went for a walk, a long walk. Wandering aimlessly I found myself on the hill topped by Curtis Cemetery. There I sat myself and gazed down upon the neighborhood. Cars were zipping from here to there. (There’s too much traffic in Gordon County; haven’t you noticed?) It was twilight, the neon signs reflecting the profusion of fast food establishments and places inviting travelers to rest their weary heads were battling the darkness. This boredom had to be defeated.
Such an evening is time to partake of the ambiance our city has to offer. But where does one go?
Step-son was available. I knew he would be available for eating out, especially if I was paying. Step-son is deaf; the evening would provide practice in improving my sign language skills.
Over the last several weeks one person after another has asked me, “Have you eaten at Ruby Tuesday’s, yet?” I must have been one of the only three who had not. Obviously, I was missing out on much of the culture just down the street from me.
Chris and I headed to Calhoun’s newest place of dining. It was a treat. The food was good. The atmosphere was great. But try as hard as they may, it’s still just a restaurant. But I’ll go back. I’ll go back because of Tara.
Tara was the server. Most servers in restaurants don’t really know what to do when their customer is deaf. If Tara didn’t she sure hid it well. I did my pathetic best to sign to Chris she was asking if he wanted an appetizer. It was then she noticed. She smiled and indicated with her own mime for him to write his order. He did. She smiled. I was impressed with Tara’s people skills. Ruby Tuesday should be proud of Tara.
When she came back to the table I asked her a few questions. She didn’t talk like her first steps were taken in Gordon County. They weren’t. She was from Florida. She’d finished high school and moved here on her way to her future.
I doubt that Tara sat around her high school guidance counselor’s office and shared her dream of someday living in Calhoun. But through some friends she got here. I’m kind of flattered she picked this little place for her first step into the world.
The boring day ended with delight. A newcomer to our land, named Tara, made me feel at home in my home.
The population growth is coming, folks. We can’t stop it. Let’s just pray the migration brings more like Tara our way.