about 2500 people reside here: there are plenty of children, and plenty o' elderly, and its safe to say that brad joel garrison and I account for the town's mid-20s population. most weavervillians work in nearby Asheville, many others work for Arvato Digital Services - the world's second largest replicator of CDs and DVDs and the towns most prominent facility. the Well-Bred bakery and cafe is our favorite hangout; we sit in the corner with our computers and watch as crowds of residents and the occasional flash-happy passerbys flow indoors and outdoors. the bakery is more often than not packed to capacity. other than Well-Bred, the downtown Weaverville strip boasts furniture and pottery shops, a pizza joint and diner, a drug store, a town hall and a small park with a big old-fashioned lamp-post clock.
the current hot topic is a tuesday vote that will determine whether or not selling liquor by the glass becomes legal for the first time in town history. there is a liquor store in town, but restaurants/vendors are limited to beer and wine. a few days ago, I was writing in the bakery when an impressively annoying news reporter trailed by a large camera on legs went from table to table fishing for opinions on the upcoming vote. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the diverse array of opinions, and was proud of all my fellow townsmen. Yesterday, a somber middle aged man made his position clear by standing in the middle of town with a giant sign around his neck (a universal sign of seriousness); it read: "liquor by the glass in not progress, it is a sin, vote no on tuesday." I give him a ten for succinctness. Tuesdays vote will show whether or not the campaign was successful, and I promise to keep everyone updated.
no lie, it's fun to be the boys from "out west." for me, the West evokes sister-words like vast, open, young and new. it's so fun to be in an area of the country champions a new set of characteristics, like maybe history, tradition, respect. Of course, these are petty generalizations, and all fall apart once scrutinized, but there is no denying some blatant differences between "here" and "there." Thomas Wolfe, a great early American author, grew up in Asheville and based many novels on the area. Civil War memorials abound here; in fact, the land rented by our employer, Navitat, has a great history involving a father and four sons that all fought on different sides of the war, lived to tell about it, and continue to pass their property down through the generations.
All this to say, it is exciting to be here in Weaverville, to plant roots in a new town, and to marvel at tradition so deep that all a newcomer can manage is to admire the budding spring leaves, much less try and comprehend the roots that are responsible for today. A favorite quote from a favorite author goes something like "You would have to spend a winter here to even begin to understand." After a few years of tossing this quote around in my head, I am really beginning to appreciate it's depth. - So here's to being a newcomer, and here's to being an old-timer. And for the record, could I vote, I'd vote no on the new liquor proposal in Weaverville. I honestly hope this town stays the same for as long as it can; and if I get thirsty, I'll just go to Asheville, it's cooler anyways.
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