A Real Town

Today, the best thing in the whole world happened. We got a bookstore. Books A Million opened today in all of its splendor and glory. It seems too good to be true. All of this time I've been taking deep meditative breaths to calm myself so that I can stay in this little town connected to the world of books by a tiny cable linking me to the glorious Amazon.com (please link from my site!), but now I can officially browse in person. I went in today, opening day, and felt that all was well with my soul. The little coffee bar sat off to the side and the rows and rows of new, non-dusty books brought color to my cheeks. The entire right hand side of the store (or at least 3/4 of it) was covered in children's books and an additional 4 aisles of children's books presented me with wonderful historical autobiographies like Who Was Johnny Appleseed? and other such books that every child needs to have. My youngest sat down and began reading immediately, carefully turning the pages of books we won't buy. My oldest browsed as intensely as her parents had taught her, reading story summaries and series openers, studying content and asking questions about classics like Black Beauty, The Hobbit, & The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Oh, life is good in the swamplands of Florida! Our new shopping center also has a crafts store, a shoe store, a discount clothing store (without many discounts), and a Panera Bread Company. I indulged in a Portobella and Mozzarella Panini that was to die for and how happy I was when my daughter was able to order an organic chocolate milk. Of course, now that we have "arrived" I can still order for less online and I probaby will. (I so enjoy being "surprised" by packages arriving at my doorstep!) I'll also frequent our local used bookstore where I typically find all kinds of sappy love stories begging me to read them. After all, I believe in giving mom & pop stores a lot of business. But occasionally it's nice to know that I can splurge and pretend that I am not living on the end of the earth, far removed from chain stores (or stores of any kind for that matter.) The other good thing that is happening around here is that our northerners are beginning to come back, meaning our roads will soon be crowded with people who shouldn't be on the road but are because they crave their own independence over any one else's safety. Whoops! I think I said the other "good" thing that is happening . . . well, SINCE the northerners are returning, our produce stand officially reopened today. As I drove down the road, my eldest daughter let out a "whoop!" for fresh produce. Ahh, my dear sweet darlin'!

So this is the news from Arbuckle Creek, where the population doubles when October rolls around, the community gathers for Bookstore openings, and children still watch for alligators in their backyards. (the local community paper -- 8 pages/month! -- told us that a 12 footer had been removed from our canals! Yikes!)