I live in a crazy place called Sandersville. Now crazy is not exactly the word that the average joe would use to describe this place in which I live, but, if you have lived here, worked here, or know people who have resided here for an extended period of time, then you know that it is a little off. So, I would like to take some time to describe this small town and some of the things that make it "crazy."
Sandersville is in the vicinity what us East Georgians from the Appling area like to refer to as "Middle Georgia." When an Augustan or Thomsonian resident refers to "Middle Georgia" the conotation is normally not that of respect, admiration, or even civility. It is more like we are saying "Middle Georgia...the last step down before Hell." Now, I don't mean to make it sound like everybody is like the Grinch and there is never any sunshine here - it is actually a pretty little town - but when all that surrounds you is Davisboro, Riddleville, and Tennille (pronouned Ten-el) and the biggest city closest to you is Dublin (gross) then you know that you may be in for some culture shock - even if you grew up in the middle of nowhere like I did.
See the thing is, small towns are obviously different from small towns and Metropolis's (like Atlanta?? lol) but they are also VERY different from a small rural community with hay bales, fields, cows, and no stop lights/signs (like Winfield, where I am from.) Here in Sandersville, you are lucky if you go a day without hearing your own business pouring from the lips of some random person (you may or may not know) walking in the square.
The first time I learned of Sandersville's "uniqueness" was from my neighbor, Robert, who referred to this lovely town as "SLANDERSVILLE." Well, at the time I had no clue why he would say such a thing about this quaint place...but I soon learned what he meant. I swear to God, people will talk to you about any and everybody they know anything good, bad, ugly, or incriminating about! It is so funny, I walked into an antique store here one day and a couple of ladies were talking about a couple they knew where the wife had cheated on her husband. They ask me if I know them - I don't - and they keep talking about the situation like they are talking about the weather, no big deal and who cares who hears right? Lord have mercy in that store I found out more about that one couple than I knew about my own relationship...and come to find out, the wife had only told her husband about the affair that same morning! Yeah, news travels fast right?
I also have a friend that teaches at the high school here. She is a cute, 22 year old that teaches junior tech-prep kids English. But, what is this whole town worried about with this girl? Is it her education, since she is educating their impressionable children? No. Is it her creative style that makes her classroom look like the Taj-Mahal compared to other classrooms? No. Well, I will tell you - they are worried because she is...drum roll please...UNMARRIED. They even had the audacity to announce this fact in a faculty meeting. It went something like this: Principal: "And this is our new English teacher Miss Conley." Person yelling in back of room: "Hey y'all she's not married!!!"
After living in Sandersville for a little while Derek and I decided we needed some excitement...so we got a dog. Penny Parten we named her (and now I regret it because that would be such a cute name for a little girl!) But anywho...we got this puppy, only 8 weeks old. Only, can you believe that daily I get comments on how BIG she has gotten, how much she eats, and how smart she is because of all the tricks she can do. This would be all fine and dandy, except the people who say these things do not live near me nor do I ever have Penny out of the fenced in backyard with them. So, either they are making small talk or they walk into my backyard and see my dog. Something creepy happened the other day - I went back to play with Penny and thought it would be a good time to teach her to roll over...but when I said roll over, she ALREADY KNEW HOW TO!!!! No joke, my dog knew a trick that me nor my husband had taught her. On top of that there are random toys that appear in her backyard and I don't know where they come from. Just this morning she had ripped to pieces a new red play toy that Derek and I had not bought her.
But, as much as people seem to be nosy around here you think they would get their information straight right? No. People still think that Miss Conley's dog is mine. Yes, she has a white bulldog named Ruby. She is like my 2nd daughter because she and Penny play all the time. But Ruby gets out a lot and runs around and gets in people's yard, etc. I had someone threaten me that they were going to spray my dog with pepper spray if I didn't do something about her --- come to find out they are talking about Ruby. Oh yes and if that doesn't do it for you, how about my husband being called out of the class he was teaching because someone complained about our dog being out. They actually call the high school and complain to the point that Derek leaves to go find Penny. But, the dog that was out was not Penny, it was Ruby. Crazy people.
Besides the dogs, constantly being reminded if I was or was not in church on Sunday, and having people chastise me about the leaves in my yard, Sandersville has some interesting quirks of its own that I must talk about.
#1. Dairy Lane: The Dairy Lane is a restaurant in town that has been around since right at 1950. This place serves burgers, shakes, BBQ, chicken, fries and the like. It is not a drive through but it is very much like fast food (the Jumbo burger is the best). This is not the interesting part though --- what is interesting is that when you walk in there are 2 distinct sides of the establishment. One is furnished well and has good lighting whereas the other part, the right hand side, has concrete flooring and wooden seats. People, this restaurant never renovated after integration. That is right, you can still see the segregated sections of Dairy Lane at each and every visit.
#2. Kaolin: Kaolin is what you make chalk out of. Sandersville is very proud of its Kaolin supply as it has more Kaolin than anywhere in the world it seems. Even driving down the road just a bit, cars get white dust all over them. Sandersville loves Kaolin so much that every October they have a Kaolin Festival. Unbeknownst to me until recently when Mr. Wilcox, my 7th grade history teacher, told me, Sandersville used to have the Kaolin 5-K race! Wow...so yeah, Kaolin is great. So great that even the Historical Society wants to build a Kaolin Museum. Great idea Sandersville - let's make kids think museums and history are even more boring and pointless!!! Oh...and one more thing....this little kid was telling me how her mama ate chalk and sometimes it would get on her nose, etc. Of course, Miss Educated as I would consider myself to be thought "Oh My God, this kids mom is doing crack right in front of her!!!" After further investigation I found out differently. People around here go to backroads where Kaolin is easy to get to and put the Kaolin in bags and bring it home and EAT IT!!! These people eat chalk! I am not lying, kids around here eat Kaolin for a snack! So kids, your chalk now has a double purpose - for decorating sidewalks AND fulfilling that after school hunger!!!
#3. Segregation: No, legally Sandersville is not segregated, but socially it very much is. A person was telling me a story just recently of how an African American friend of theirs came to preach at a church here one Sunday. Afterwards the friend was walking down the street and a white someone said to him "You ain't from around here are you?" The friend answered "No, I am just visiting from Atlanta." The white Slandersvillian followed up with "Yeah...I can tell...our N** (N-word)'s don't dress like that here!"....After hearing that story I am pretty ashamed of where I live. But really, you can see it everywhere - not only at the Dairy Lane - but in churches (except for the Episcopal Church), restaurants, the local shops on the square, and in the schools.
#4. Religious Nuts: I am not talking about holy pecans, no - I am talking about people who prefer only to talk about Christ, Our Lord, Holy God, and how they want to please him. These people are everywhere around here. I am not saying that it is not good to love your God but come on people, there is more to life than church, the Bible, and Charles Stanley. I would not say this except some people cannot even hold a normal conversation, not even small talk, without inserting how they are not good enough, how we are going to hell in a handbasket, or how many blessings have been bestowed upon them in the past 2 seconds. Sorry for the cinicism, but holy crap it gets annoying.
I guess Sandersville is like most small towns...Lincolnton, Washinton (Wilkes County), Thomson, etc. but I have never been so immersed in it like I am here. There are a few things I do like though - I have made some friends, Meg and Meghan to name 2. I work out at Curves which seems to be a great place for finding people more like myself. Ray Hollingsworth and his family - they have taken us fishing, brought us pecans, and have been genuinly friendly to us. Penny Parten - without her my life would be in complete. The Carriage House - only the best Antique Market I have ever shopped in - Ever. The PastTime Theatre: plays only one movie at a time but it is only $5.00 for a ticket and $4.00 for a large Coke and large popcorn -- awesome!
Well that is way more than enough for one day.
