Turn Off the Gravel Road
August 6, 2008|Comments (21)
Having grown up in rural Virginia, I got to know quite a few people who got to say “turn off the gravel road” when giving directions to their house. This meant that my old station wagon was probably not going to make it to or from their house in inclement weather. In fact, short of riding a horse or just hiking out — waiting out the weather was a very real part of life. Of course, the benefits are pretty handy. No door-to-door salesmen trying to push Encyclopedias or overpriced vacuum cleaners, nosy neighbors, or hum of lawnmowers to wake you on your first day off in a month. Nope. Just a seasonal stream to ford, deep ruts from water runoff to throw your suspension, and a farewell to a clean car.
Yesterday, I enjoyed some where-the-blacktop-ends existence with my friend, Amanda. This afforded us lots of time to chat or simply breathe — whichever struck us as being most important at the time. A short series of turns and we were clear of houses. Fields and woods lined the road with the occasional red dirt path leading off to the unknown. We pulled over several times just to take pictures and gaze out at the uninterrupted beauty or geek out over the shadows from an ancient barbed wire fence.
In these moments, I always think about my uncle. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool city boy, who arrives at our house and instantly starts asking where the nearest Carrabba’s is located or when we can go to see a movie in a theater. The very thought of living at our house sends him into a full-on panic. No sidewalks. No smog. No restaurant chains. No streetlights. And as often as I tell him that the Cahulawassee River was pure fiction, he’s just sure that that his sojourn into banjo territory will end badly. We haven’t done anything to soothe those fears. During his last visit, Josh shot a wild cat from our front porch after the evening meal. The cat had been stalking our then kitten, Remington. Poor fella. We took him to Carrabba’s the next night but I doubt that helped. There will never be a “turn off the gravel road” in the directions to his house. Nope. How much he misses, eh?
Question: Where do you go to empty the jumble of thoughts rattling around in your braincase? Do you know any dyed-in-the-wool city folks? How did you scare them? I want dirt!
Okay, so while I’ve got your attention — I thought it might be nice to tell you that I’m giving away three bars of homemade soap to those of you who comment on this post. The three lucky readers will be selected at random and the winners will be announced tomorrow (as a celebration of my “Finally a Good Use for Fat” series). Click here to see my latest post on GRIT.com that’s all about
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Being a country girl who has to live in town, I am totally getting a kick out of your post today.
I don’t have any place that I could go to be alone, to let my thoughts out…to just be.
When I used to live in the country, just giving directions to my house scared city folks.
We had some city slickers watch our farm for a week while we went on vacation last year. Poor things. The man of the couple was never so happy as when he could finally drive away from our farm for good! He had thought of building a chicken coop so they could have a few pretty laying hens. They still haven’t done it yet, though. I wonder what turned them off farming. Was it the drowned rat he had to remove from a goat’s watering dish? Was it the goat that jumped on his leg and left a streak of poop on his pants? Was it having to scoop up a bunch of newborn rabbits off the wire floor with his bare hand when the nesting box got put in the wrong cage? Was it trying to get in the goat barn when they’re all pressing against the door? Or was it having to chase the turkeys into their cage in the pitch black of night? Your guess is as good as mine.
Well, I like to just go sit on my front porch or on the back patio. I also like to just go ride the 4-wheeler and just look at everything.
As far as city slickers, I really can’t think of anyone right away, but If I ever go North, I like to bug them by acking for things you can only get in the South.
oh…..How sweet, you left out the part where i giggled while i tried to fish-tail it down the gravel road!! what do ni do when i need to clear my head, i kidnap you ( THANKS JOSH) and we go for a drive to the middle of nowhere and hope we have enough gas to get back!!!!!
now i would have to say my favorite thing to do to scare the “city folk” is take them by the post where at any giving time there might be an explsion!!!! oh yeah and tell them no alchol untill after 2 on sundays!!!
by the way my jelly is half gone!!!!!
Speaking as a token “city slicker” having to drive more than 5 miles to find a grocery store would have me pitching a fit. As much as I enjoy peace and quiet, I’d just as soon stay in the suburbs
I’d sure love to try your soap!
Thanks Lacy. My mom’s doing alright; she feels better now that she’s home and not stuck in the hospital anymore. We’re planning a trip to the zoo. They have lots of baby animals right now and we all want a chance to see them while they’re still babies, which won’t be long! There will be no pictures to share though; not for a while. My computer is rapidly running out of free space and I just don’t have room for more pictures on it right now.
I live in a rural area that people around here (from the city) call “the country” and I always have to correct them on that. If I lived in the REAL country I wouldn’t have so many neighbors so close. You’ll never convince anybody from Pittsburgh that where I am (a mere hour outside the heart of the city) is NOT “country”. Much as I love the country I don’t mind it here though, I have the river to go to when I need alone time and if there are people there I can always hike up into the woods. There’s on hill in particular with a nice view of the river and town below.
Both boyfriend and I are feeling a bit under the weather today; I want to take a nap but that’s what HE is doing at the moment and he needs me to wake him up in a little while so I can’t fall asleep till he’s awake. *sigh*
Hey! That red dirt road looks like mine! =D
I love that when I “get cranky” I can walk outside and re-center. I could never really do that in the city. Everytime I walked outdoors, there was always a neighbor out which required a smile and a greeting. One of the many reasons I love the space of being in the country…. Cranky just doesn’t last long out here!
I lived a mile down a gravel road for most of my life. Had to walk it in the winter more than once. I was kinda sad when the state finally paved it! I love to go into the deep dark woods to get away.
Having never lived in the country, always in the city - I have to rely on my dang brain to calm me down - and it is a BATTLE. So, I’ll try little mantras, or I’ll remember vacation - sitting by the lake, the sound of the water, or I’ll think of a tree swaying in the wind. Sigh, I would love to live on a lake…..and here I am in the desert, LOL!
We just talk about “the predators who kill our goats” - that seems to make their hineys pucker and they look longingly toward the state road (in Texas called a Farm to Market Road). We do have predators, most of them are neighborhood dogs who like to kill for fun - the rare but documented bobcat and lawzey me a buncha coyotes (in this county we are told there are very few pure bred coyotes - most are dogoytes - I didn’t even know they WOULD crossbreed but live and learn huh?) Great post - sort of Shel Silverstein - ish.
‘Where the Sidewalk Ends
Poems and Drawings
by Shel Silverstein
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer,
A wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er,
A magic bean buyer …”
Thanks for posting Lacy - I had forgotten all about that poem and it is such great fun!!
((((Lacy)))) Sending you some HUGE, whopper, GIGANTIC, super-colossal hugs and hoping that you are feeling muchO better today. I hate to think of you sick. I want you to be well and cheery and all that jazz.
Hmmm, where do I clear my brain? If it is autumn, I love to go for a nice longggg walk at any of our favorite walking places. Otherwise I guess I don’t really “go” anywhere.
Have a great rest of your Wednesday! Hugs, Robin
I am soooooo glad that I didn’t wait until we “had” our place in the country to start living more simply. We are about 45 min from the big city of Raleigh proper. But the Raleighburbs stretch out really far these days. We live about 1.4 miles off the interstate that leads from way up north (NY) I think… to Miami. But we are tucked away in our little corner on about 3 acres with a little lake behind us and fields on all other sides…. we grow our vegies and flowers. We now have our chickens… hoping for eggs any day. And Sugar gets to be a French Country Poodle and guard the chickens and bark at the deer and chase the squirrels. One of these days… I would like a more rural setting. *dreaming* reality starts as a dream. I do so enjoy your thought provoking posts! Have a great day!
Christina
Just catching up again after a few days of crazy work schedules.. Your photography the past few posts are beautiful! How exciting that you may soon meet the kids. My foster parent classes are almost complete
As for getting away, Wow your place is a taste of heaven. I grew up in the country barefoot and dirty! We have lived in the city and altho it is fun to have so much at your fingertips, it is never quite as satisfying as the country. I live on a postage stamp now, in a housing community in the country, but I long for those long lanes and No immediate neighbor days!
Ok I just moved from a large city to the smallest town I have ever lived in. I am trying to adjust.
If I can get used to it hubby and I will purchase a lot of land somewhere here.
I grew my first ever tomato this summer and next summer I am going to plant even more
I have never seen homemade soap before, I thought those were brownies on the sidebar lol…. I would love to try some!
Hi Lacy.
I’m a city gal. I have never lived outside of it. I do like to visit the country. What gets me every time is how noisy the country is. It is peaceful because there are no cars or lots of people, but the crickets, cicadas, frogs and trees make A LOT of noise. I have to take something to help me sleep when we camp. While I’m sure that eventually I’d become accustomed to all the noises of the country, the thought of actually making a move there is daunting.
The thing that scares me most about the country is….mystery meat. Yep, I want my meat to not be wild or caught and always boneless.
I loved reading this post. Very well written might I add! You had me cracking up about Carrabbas
I’ll confess. I’m a city brat. Even worse, I’m a city brat that’s never lived farther than 20 minutes from the coast (east and west). And if there’s no traffic on the freeways at any given time of the day, it must be a major holiday and everything is closed. I just spent the past weekend in NYC with a dog that never gets to poop on grass
How is this city brat scared? Don’t provide me with a coffee house within a 1 mile radius, and tell me “turn off the gravel road” when giving me directions
Born a country -or at least tiny village -girl, and 64 years later, I still am that too! I live in the house my grandparents built, where I was born, grew up and have spent all but roughly 10 years of my life here. I’ve lived in the city and it didn’t bother me but I always looked forward to being able to come back here for weekends or vacations. And now that I’ve been back here for 36 years this time -not ever planning to leave “Home” again, I can go for a leisurely drive (on roads like you described here) or walk about a quarter of a mile down the street from my house and be in the woods, go a mile further and explore the old coal mining ghost town there, see trees, flowers,(wild and otherwise), have deer, rabbits, raccoons, possums -even a rare black bear along with some creatures I’m not happy to see in my yard too -snakes -come calling throughout the year. Yep -I’m strictly a country girl and a coal miner’s daughter/granddaughter/great-granddaughter to boot! Wouldn’t trade living here for all the tea in China!
Yet another post of beautiful photos. I would have loved to have been with you. I grew up in the country and miss it very much. I yearn to live in the middle of nowhere again…
To unscramble my brain, I work outside. I love cutting the lawn and tending to my plants and flowers. Wish I had more space to do it with. I also get away by taking walks with my son. He and I are two peas in a pod and by the time we get back home are calm and full of inner peace.
Beautiful pictures.
I love reading the comments on this post! It is so hard for me to think that so many people haven’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t…live in the country! REAL country….Someone said they envied me for having a WINCO to shop at (grocery store)…well, it is 60 miles away! Some friends were here the other day, wanted to take us out to dinner…let’s see now…80 miles one direction..60 another…95 another…hence, the relinguished to eat my homegrown, homecooked meal….
I grew-up “off the gravel road”, but am not there now. Even though we live in a small town, it is still town. My very own brother is a city boy. The biggest scare we’ ve given him is sending him to stay at Dad’s house in a small town(pop. 300) in the heart of wheat country. No city anywhere close, no coffee shops, no wi-fi….