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Published: January 2nd 2009
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While my last travelblog was mostly a figment of my imagination, the following events occurred exactly as presented. We arrived in Albany very late on Friday, Dec. 26th for a visit with my wife’s mother. On Saturday the 27th we decided to drive up to Andersonville, the Civil War POW Camp. We had been there twice before. Last month I saw an article about the Habitat for Humanity Global Village and Discovery Center. It is located in Americus, just a short drive from Andersonville. The Global Village has examples of 3rd world housing. Sounded interesting so I suggested we stop by for a look see. Wilma (my mother-in-law) commented that there is a Mennonite Restaurant just outside Montezuma, another nearby town. I thought Mennonite was a mineral. Turns out I was thinking of melanite. Anyway, the name of the place is Yoder’s. So the plan was to see the Global Village, have lunch at Yoder’s, and wind up at Andersonville. Sounds simple.
We arrived in Americus just after 11. We followed the signs to the “Habitat for Humanity Global Village and Discovery Center”. Turning into the parking lot it looked as if we had the whole place to ourselves. We
did. There was no one there, including employees. Seems that the place is only open Saturdays 9 months out of the year, December not being one of them. Oh well, such is life. Maybe I should have read the article instead of just glancing at it. At least we had a good meal to look forward to. We were off to Yoder’s.
Yoder’s is not in Montezuma. It’s about 7 miles outside of town. It is renowned for its food. If you Google Yoder’s Montezuma you can read all about it. As we approached the town, Wilma instructed me to turn left down a farm road. A few miles out she informed me that this probably isn’t the road to Yoder’s. She asked me to stop and ask directions at a lone cinderblock farm house, set about 100 yards off the road. Two giant pecan trees out front, each with a dog chained to it. I was very uneasy. Knocking on the door of a remote cinderblock house in the middle of nowhere with out of state plates is not something I care to do. I get images of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (which took place in Wisconsin). I
parked strategically and left the motor running. Door open. My only means of self defense were in the console of the truck. I knocked reluctantly and stepped well back from the door. I counted to 15 and headed for the truck. “I guess no one is home” is the only thing I could muster up to say. To the best of my knowledge, no one in the truck had a clue that I was uneasy.
Driving back towards town, we came upon a SMV. That is a slow moving vehicle. It was an old Ford tractor. Wilma suggested that we ask the man for directions. I’m thinking “there is no way he can hear anything other than the sound of the tractor”. We pull alongside. I hit the power button to roll down the passenger window. The driver is an old African American. He is thin and his face looks like leather. It is obvious that he is very happy. Wilma hollers something to him. He smiles, points to the engine, points to his ears and shakes his head. I wave and we accelerate away.
As we entered Montezuma I pulled into the parking lot of the first
connivance store I saw. There was a payphone outside. It had a phonebook that had seen better days. The cover was missing. It had gotten wet. I found the listings for restaurants in the Yellow Pages. The pages were stuck together. I saw a listing for “der’s”. I wrote the number down on the palm of my hand. “472-2024”. My cell phone needs 10 digits. I search for an area code. It must be on the missing cover. I go inside. There is a lady behind the counter and one customer. I ask the customer for the Montezuma area code. He stares at the ceiling and after a brief pause states ”31063”. I stare at him with a confused look and say “That is too many digits”. The lady behind the counter said “He’s talking about the one for the phone, not the one you put on a letter”. He looks back at the ceiling, as if it is written there. “Dat be 478”. I ask if he could tell me how to get to Yoder’s. “You goes up dat there hill. Turns right, dat be 26, goes ‘bout seben mile.” Brief pause. “ But ‘dey close today. I werks
wid ‘em”. We ate at one of the few places in town that was open. A Chinese buffet called “The Main Wall”. We were just hoping that Andersonville isn’t closed as well.
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Little T
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Good Writing
I enjoyed the blog entry.