Five Hundred and Seventy-Three, Point Seven Miles

Home of the Famous Pork Chop Sandwich

And three nights.

(Spent the weekend in Mount Airy, NC.)

Stayed with Mom so she wouldn't have to be in the house by herself.  Four and a half hours going up and the same coming back.  Saw Jack on Sunday and John's old friends at Ocie's on Saturday and Monday mornings.  Mom wanted to stay in the house for a few days before driving to a couple of doctor's appointments later in the week.

Police showed up shortly after we got the house.  Said neighbors had reported seeing a strange car in the driveway (point taken that I have not visited often enough) and lights on in the house.  All the attention made Mom very happy.

Sat outside Saturday afternoon on Mom's deck doing my homework. Background music was provided by Mom's chimes (couple of times I thought it was the doorbell, but it was just the chimes), the mooing cows down the hill, some far away dogs barking, and the occasional throat clearing screech of a buzzard.  I got a lot of work done.  And a serious allergy attack afterwards.

Sampled some of the local cuisine.  Ocie's for breakfast twice.  A ground steak sandwich at Aunt Bea's.  A banana sundae at the Bluebird Diner (with Mom; she just had a bowl of chocolate ice cream).  Barbecue at Little Richards.  And a Texas Rib Eye at the Lone Star.  I can report that eating out has not gone out of style in Mount Airy.

Mom and I saw sixteen wild turkeys prancing through the front yard Sunday afternoon, but by then I wasn't all that hungry.

Got a haircut Saturday after breakfast.  Went to the Palace barbershop where I used to go ... thirty years ago.  Same guy's still cutting hair.  Apparently, he's still good at it because the shop was full.  Too full for me to wait.  (I couldn't wait to get back and listen to those cows.)  So I went to Floyd's (two chairs, no waiting) and was in and out in fifteen minutes.

Drove Mom's car all over the town trying to hear the "noise" she swore she still heard after spending big bucks down here in Augusta at the Toyota dealer's.  I took it up hill, down hill, curves to the left and curves to the right, started, stopped, parked, braked hard and braked soft, donuts left and right, and still ... no noise.  But Mom wouldn't believe me, so she took me for a spin.  Now, I admit I was a bit scared, at first, to get in the car with her behind the wheel.  On Friday night we had rendezvoused at the Citgo station on U.S. 601 so she could follow me to the house.  Not even halfway home she started following someone else and I had to drive like Batman to catch up and maneuver back in front of her.  (Sunday afternoon, as I was telling all this to Jack, Mom said she knew where I was the whole time).  But on the test drive, with me riding shotgun, she drove like a pro.  I was impressed.

But there was no noise.

And I told Jack, she's OK for daytime driving (she's driven to Augusta and to Durham by herself), but don't let her get near a car after sundown.  And Lord help us if Obamacare forces doctors to start scheduling nighttime appointments.