will work for doughnuts

On my way back from Tahoe on Hwy 88 yesterday I stopped by an Albertson’s grocery out near Jackson. The area reminded me of East Tenn, it’s got rolling green hills and farmland. It doesn’t have those huge homes that Knoxville has now, rather it looks like the scenery driving from Knoxville to Kingsport.

Anyways, we swung into the grocery store to grab some Funyuns and Cheese Balls (I like to eat junk after a day in the snow). It was in the check out line that I noticed a couple of things.

1) The groceries were cheaper than in the SF Bay area. This is one of those things about CA that they never tell you about. Groceries are more expensive here than in TN. Just one of the things you’ll notice the first time you try to buy some Oreos.

2) The lady working the register was pleasant and we had a short nice chat the way folks do back in TN. That’s another thing you don’t get so much in the densely populated areas of CA. People for whatever reason just ain’t so pleasant. Whether it’s the bank teller or the mail man. They just don’t talk. They don’t even say ‘hello’.

I think perhaps some of it is the drawback of the incredibly diverse area. On the plus side, you get a lot of variety when it comes to restuarants. On the negative, folks just don’t always have a lot in common and there are just so many people that I think it just encourages people to keep to themselves and be guarded.

Yep, all it takes is a visit to a grocery store in a small California town to remind you a little of what you gave up in moving from good ol’ Tennessee.

ps - one thing that used to be on my list of things that was better in TN was the donuts. But in the past few years Krispy Kreme has really moved into Northern California, so I’m good there.