Long Hair, Red Neck

My small town gets a little too crowded for comfort during the summer holidays, especially Memorial Day. People from faraway cities swoop down on our rivers, lakes, and woods, drawn like dragonflies to water. The gas station is packed with new SUVs and shiny four wheel drive trucks, each towing a fishing boat or a trailer loaded down with four wheelers and firewood. Tiny cars packed to the brim with camping gear slow down traffic to a snail's pace. The lines at the grocery store are overflowing with eager men wearing freshly washed camouflage shirts and spotless work boots.

This morning, I stood behind one of these interlopers in line at the tobacco shop. The back of his t-shirt said ,"There's a place for all God's creatures ... Right next to the potatoes and gravy." I wish I could say I was kidding.