Where I Live
I’ve been borrowing FamousArtist’s ancient Toyota 4×4 to help me get up and down the mountain each day, parking it at the bottom of the gravel drive and hopping into my Volvo for the drive to work. At the end of the day, I park the Volvo at the bottom and drive the truck on up, it’s rumble-tumble engine-belly humming itself up the mountain like a giant, purring cat.
Today, there was a note left for me on the windshield: “Please move your truck. The school bus is having a difficult time turning around. –Mitchell County Sheriff’s Department.”
This, somehow, made complete sense in my mind, as I’d been thinking all day about writing a short little piece on Where I Live. Each month, when my electric bill comes, enclosed is a newsletter called The Electrifier. Now this newsletter, in my mind, pretty well sums up where I live better than any attempt I could make, and this is in no small part because of the two-page classifieds section in each issue comprised of ads by members of our electric co-op. I’ve selected a few ads and will post them verbatim, sans phone numbers. Let the ads speak for the place:
FOR SALE
Claw foot tubs, beautifully refinished. xxx-xxxx
1992 Subaru station wagon, 4wd, new tires/breaks/water pump/timing belt/oil pump, $1500. xxx-xxxx
9 honey bee hives, $100 each; 1986, 1987, and 1990 Subarus, will run but mostly for parts, $500 for all 3. xxx-xxxx
Blue tick/red tick coon hound, 3 yrs. old, male, runs by himself, $350. xxx-xxxx
Ladies’ 3-ring wedding set, 1 1/2 carat, gold, worn 2 mos., paid $2850. xxx-xxxx
Utility camper shell, full rear door, side doors, exc. cond., $400 obo; Cow collection dinnerware, glasses, canister set, timer, etc. and cow whatnots. xxx-xxxx
American ginseng stratified seeds avail. after Sept. 1; Goldenseal planting rhizomes. xxx-xxxx
Fiddle with hard case, almost new, cheap. xxx-xxxx
Baby chicks, Phoenix mix and American mix, $2.25 each; Baby ducks, blue Swedish, khaki Campbell, and Rouen, $3 each. xxx-xxxx
Two brood cows, 1 small white-faced Angus, $450, 1 huge reg. Hereford, $800, both bred. xxx-xxxx
WANTED
Want to buy claw foot tubs. xxx-xxxx
Want to buy old barns and houses to tear down, will clean up debris. xxx-xxxx
Want to buy reasonably priced goats. xxx-xxxx
Want to buy 20 gauge over/under shotgun, good quality, well-maintained, with variable chokes. xxx-xxxx
Want to buy rocking chairs, sturdy, paintable, at reasonable cost, need 8. xxx-xxxx
Want wood worker to carve animal figure in 12” trunk of topped white pine tree, must supply pictures of previous work with bid. xxx-xxxx
MISCELLANEOUS
Retired school teacher wants jobs cleaning houses. xxx-xxxx
Holy land pilgrimage, Nov. 4, 2007, for 10 days, small group experience. xxx-xxxx. Gail.
Bluegrass lessons, 30 yrs. experience, taught VA state banjo-guitar champions. xxx-xxxx
