If you like ethnic food, Fannin County is not the place to be. Aside from a few Italian and Mexican places, there are not a lot of small, convenient ethnic restaurants around here. You have to travel to another county to get Chinese, Cuban or Thai food. As for Greek food, forget about it. I don’t think there is a Greek restaurant north of Atlanta.
The absence of local ethnic restaurants is somewhat of a mystery to me given the number of tourists who visit Fannin County and the number of people from Atlanta, Florida and other points south who have moved here or have second homes here. Surely they bring their appetite for something other than barbeque, southern home cooking and country buffet food with them when they come.
While we’re on the subject of food, the concept of fast food seems to have escaped the owners, operators and employees of many of Fannin County’s fast food restaurants. There is a Taco Bell in town that may well be living proof that there are alternate universes where time moves at a different pace. The McDonald’s in Blue Ridge is not going to set any records for fast service.
I speculate that the slowness of local fast food restaurants may be related to the concept of Georgia time where things are done in their own due time. It took Meredith and me a little while to understand that when a repairman or delivery person says he’ll be out tomorrow, that’s to be taken as a general indication that you’re on his list and not as a promise that he’ll actually arrive in the morrow. It really means that he’ll get to you some time in the next few days.
Looking on the positive side, if you’re seeking a slow-paced, unhurried existence or want to test whether you have learned patience in retirement all you have to do is order a meal at a local fast food restaurant. While a slow-paced, unhurried lifestyle was one of the many reasons I moved here, it’s become apparent that I need to work on the patience thing. Not unreasonably, I want my morning cup of coffee at McDonald’s now while it’s still morning.
I miss having a convenient Barnes & Noble or Book-A-Million store to go to. While I can always order books online, nothing beats wandering through a book store and perusing titles. I’ve stumbled across so many interesting books and subjects that way. Unfortunately, the nearest Barnes & Noble bookstore is in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Speaking of entertainment, it would be great if there was a movie theater in Fannin County. The only way to see first run movies around here is to drive to the next county or go to the local drive-in movie theater. I’m told the Star Drive-in is a great place, and I know that it shows first run feature films (as opposed to the second rate B-movie horror flics that are standard drive-in movie fare).
The problem is that I used to go to drive-in movie theaters when I lived in Kentucky many years ago, and as I remember it, the last thing one does at a drive-in is watch the movie. What I remember about the experience is a lot of back seat grappling with dates, sneaking around and sticking potatoes up tailpipes, drinking beer and shooting the shit with friends. I don’t think I can really get into a movie at a drive-in, and I’m too old and arthritic to be grappling with Meredith in the back seat of a car.
We could use some more radio stations around here. I listen to the radio as I drive around. Unfortunately the station choices are limited. There are about a dozen religious stations, several country stations, and two Latino stations to choose from.
For the most part, the religious stations are hell fire and brimstone Baptist stations and not what I consider entertainment. The country stations are okay, but the selections get repetitious after a while. What’s odd about the Latino stations is that they come in loud and strong as if they were broadcasting with a lot of power or located nearby. As far as I can tell, there are not a lot of Latinos in this area or at least not enough to justify having a powerful Latino radio station. There’s nothing wrong with Latino music, but a little marimba music goes a long way if you know what I mean. We could really use a good classic rock station, a good 24-hour news channel, and a good talk radio station, but I’m not going to hold my breath.
I guess the lesson to be learned here is that there are trade-offs in life. You can’t have it all, and on the whole, I’d rather live in rural Fannin County without having a lot of ethnic restaurant choices, prompt fast food restaurants, a big bookstore, an indoor movie theater and better radio stations than live in a more populated area where all those things exist. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t kill for a good gyro or a plate of pad thai right now.
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