Southern comfort

When it comes to the South, it is rather easy to envision it as a backward land of barefoot, gap-toothed yokels or an idyllic spot untouched by modernity. The former is patently offensive, but the latter isn't an altogether fair assessment either. The romanticized image of the bucolic southern town, a place for northern city slickers to rediscover the simple life, may hold some truth, but it can be just a kinder way of dismissing the region. I don't know what people thought when I told them I was headed to Arkansas for vacation, but I'm guessing they fashioned an image, "good" or "bad", that had chickens running around in the front yard.

What I've seen of Fayetteville isn't like that at all. For instance, the potluck dinner Sunday night was far more Woody Allen than Hee Haw; however, I suspect that claiming this city represents Arkansas would be like believing Austin exemplifies Texas. I've been in something akin to grad school fantasy camp than The Real South.

Nevertheless, the way I'm approaching this vacation is in tune with the lazy southern summer. The heat will do that--a triple layer of deodorant probably isn't sufficient for the sweltering temperatures--but the people I've met have been friendly and fostered a laid back atmosphere. Except when it comes to mistakes on menus. Jenn, an aspiring grammar vandal, produced a pen to eliminate an errant apostrophe on a menu Monday night.

Since Jenn had to work, I was on my own Tuesday morning. I woke up later than I intended, but I'm on vacation. I can do what I want when I want! Jenn drew me a map with some of her favorite places, so I was ready to set out on foot and see where the day took me. I went east on Dickson Street and turned south to get to the Little Bread Company for breakfast. I ordered a pecan sticky bun and coffee. Bun is not an accurate descriptor; it's more like a loaf. The pastry was enormous...and delicious.

I didn't have a lot of time before I needed to meet Jenn for lunch, so the library seemed like the place to go. I could check e-mail, maybe work on a blog entry, and hope to get a chill from the air conditioning. Jenn loves this library and encouraged me to take a look around. I must say that it's an impressive facility. On the way there I came upon the farmer's market in the square. The vendors displayed a beautiful array of locally grown produce and flowers.

Jenn and I lunched at Petra Cafe, a Mediterranean eatery whose potato soup she gushed about. I had the falafel special, which included a bowl of said soup. It was good stuff, even if there were leftovers on my plate. I was too full.

Jenn went back to work while I sauntered to another of her picks of the city, the Dickson Street Bookshop. No wonder she loves it. There are books stacked at your feet and towering over your head in every nook and cranny. Overwhelming doesn't begin to describe how many books are in this shop. Just when you think you've seen everything you find another long corridor with cubbyholes branching off of it. It's a bookworm's paradise.

After wiling away an hour or so in the bookshop I was ready to knit. I embarked for the the yarn store and took a seat in the knitting lounge. Before long a sock knitting class was underway. As you know, I'm no expert on the subject, but I was amused that the older ladies--grandmothers in a couple cases, I'm sure--were as befuddled, if not more, than I have been with socks. Incredibly, I think I knew more than they did about socks. These were women who have knit off and on for years. It felt good to realize that I have gained a lot of knowledge and been willing to take on new challenges for as short a time as I've been a knitter. Sometimes it's easier to stretch yourself when you are unaware of what you're "supposed" to be able to do.

I got a kick out of hearing them talk and make the same mistakes I've made (and will probably continue to make once I go back to sock knitting). One woman was fascinated that I wrap with my left hand. All of them were knitting with circular needles. Dpns can be a lot of trouble. Are circs better?

I was probably at Hand Held for two hours knitting secret project #2 before heading back to the library for a much needed cold drink and some internet time. Then it was time to meet up with Jenn and be introduced to something very, very dangerous: the Nintendo Wii. Newer gaming systems can be ridiculously complicated. Compare the latest version of John Madden's NFL football game to what was on the old Sega Genesis cartridge. There are more buttons than I can handle. The Wii, though, is exceedingly simple to pick up, which isn't to say that you can master it immediately. Jenn whipped me at most of the games, although I held my own in tennis and pool. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I could be tempted to purchase a Wii eventually.

Jenn got a stir fry started for dinner. Her boyfriend took over and whipped up another excellent meal. I'm eating well on this trip. There was a brief bit of alarm when the carbon monoxide detector started chirping, but a cleaning of it seemed to do the trick. Everyone is still alive.

She showed me how to single crochet so I can get close to finishing secret project #1. It is pretty simple now that I see how it's done, but she's going to have to show me again. When I tried to single crochet today, I found that I couldn't remember what to do.

Wednesday will be my last full day in Fayetteville. I'm really grateful for Jenn's friendship and how generous she's been while I'm visiting. Although we had never met in person until Sunday, I felt I had a solid idea of what she's like. Still, you never know if it might be weird off the internet. Happily, I've felt very comfortable with her and her circle. She talks faster than I expected. I'm taller than she thought I would be. Other than that, picking up in person hasn't been any different from our online communications. How wonderful it's been to get to know and hang out with such an effervescent person.