I'll Have An RC and A Moon Pie, Please Ma'am

This morning I was at the RC and Moon Pie Festival. The last time I was there was in 2000, when my niece Lucy and I ran the 10-mile race associated with the festival. It was my very first race, and Lucy and I came in dead last. In fact, we were so last, they were taking up all the race signs, and we had to ask where the finish was. But we did finish, and after many years, marathons, half-marathons, and various other races, here I was again. Today I didn't do the race, but Lynnette and I decided to come to enjoy the festival and watch Steve and Sam finish the race.

Our plan was to leave Nashville about the time the race started, arriving at Bell Buckle about an hour later (the time it takes to get there). I knew the race was held on the surrounding rural roads. As we got closer to the town, we saw what we thought were the runners. We also saw a police car and fully expected to be given instructions to be rerouted around the race route. But we weren't. Instead, the policeman directed us on the road where the runners were running. Just imagine this - here we are, creeping along in my red Camry, as runners are running all around me. Soon they started running from the left side of the road to the right because of a water station ahead. Needless to say, it was a bit nerve-racking as we tried not to hit anyone. We also kept the windows rolled up to avoid the probable foul language directed at us from the sweaty runners' mouths (did I mention it was in the mid-80s?).

Anyhow, we got to the town limits, parked in Farmer Joe's front yard (literally) by paying Mrs. Farmer Joe $5, refused his offer of his cats, and waited for Sam and Steve to run past. Sam came first, sweating from every pore in his body, shaking his head in case we were planning to ever enter him in this race again. Steve came along a little later, gratefully taking the venti Starbucks iced tea lemonade I had brought from Nashville. We bade goodbye to Steve as he beat a hasty retreat back to Nashville in his air-conditioned car. Sam changed into dry clothes and the three of us shopped and enjoyed the festival, including fried moon pies and RC colas.

Today was a fun day of Southern hospitality. It reminded me of the little town where I grew up and those delicacies and hometown goodness that can best be enjoyed in the South. Maybe it's true that you can't go home again, but sometimes it's sweet to go back for a visit.