The view in front of me this morning as I drove down Montreat Road towards town was so beautiful! It rained downtown last night and there was still moisture in the air which formed soft clouds nestled onto treetops on the side of the mountains south of town, I reminded myself how lucky we are to live in this incredible place. Even though I was on my way to Ingles to recycle plastic bags, and I have a grudge against Ingles because of their horrible produce department, everywhere you look here is like a travel poster.
We have the nicest people, the most beautiful scenery, and the best places to eat breakfast and lunch. It’s a great place to live. If only we had a better place to buy produce (aside from Herschel’s which has marvelous stuff but not everything you need.) If you need fresh herbs, Ingles might have some, except if you don’t catch them when they are first put out they will be limp and wilted if not black and dead. Same is true for just about any green vegetables. Wilted, dead, turning black.
A few years ago I bought a bag of organic potatoes at Ingles, and when I started to cut them for dinner, I discovered that they were all completely rotten. I called the corporate produce manager and complained.Oh, and I did that thing that everyone hates: I started my sentence with “Where I used to live, this is what they did…” He did not hang up on me when I explained that at Harris-Teeter in Charlotte, the produce manager would keep a careful eye on his stock, and when things were turning, he would remove them to a Reduced for Clearance section. That way, if you were extra busy, as I always am, you could safely select produce from the regular section and rest assured that it would be okay. If you were looking to save money, you could head straight to the Reduced section and find something to use right away.
He said deadpan, “We don’t do that.”
I said, “I know you don’t, but you should. I’m tired of being faced with dead vegetables.”
He said, “Fine. I’ll send you a $50 gift card.”
And that was that. But why can’t they simply remove blackened vegetables from the shelves? I know they are very short-handed now, and I feel sorry for them. But that should be a priority. I mean…!
On the other hand, something that I anticipated with dread, proved to be wonderful. This past weekend was the annual Sourwood Festival. Sharon Tabor and the Chamber worked so hard to organize this big event, but I had a grudge against Sourwood. (I really am unpleasant!!) I had unrealistic expectations for the event, believing it to be an art show. It is not an art show. It’s more like a carnival, and a great carnival at that. The streets of Black Mountain were full of vendors from all over, and the crowd estimated to reach 35,000, loved it.
So many lovely customers came into Chifferobe, people who had never been here before, or even been to Black Mountain. I had great fun meeting them and agreeing that Black Mountain is a wonderful place, and that I am lucky to live here. Now if Ingles would only get their produce act together…
