Why Did They Lose the Scrubbing Bubbles? That Was the Best Thing They Had Going for Them!

FO Drug Co
Originally uploaded by link5001.

Shoppe or just regular old Shop

Pretty much the only thing people have to do in Four Oaks and surrounding areas is to shop in the little stores. By little stores I mean places like drug stores, sandwich shops, and gas stations, (though a gas station can become a real megalopolis by comparison.) I once worked in one such store, Kerr Drug in Benson, and let me tell you, the general public are some strange animals.
After a while the way people in the south (myself included) repeat the same phrases/jokes when purchasing stuff is really amazing, but really annoying. Take for example the age old classic, when whatever item they want doesn't ring up for whatever reason and they explain, "Taht must mean iis FREE!" followed by a hearty fake laugh. Or how in our particular store we offered a variety of nuts. For some reason people felt the urge to request the "Cashew Nuts." Every time they ordered them the exact same way, as if I may mistake them for some "cashew lighters" or a "cashew bandage."
Oh the cashew nuts, of course ma'am, right away.
And while they're on the topic of the nuts, what constitutesfresh nuts? From time to time we'd get customers asking us if they were fresh. What do they want me to say?
"Yes sir, we have a team of midgets in the stock room whose job it is to daily roast, crack open, and mix the nuts...just for you!"
They're nuts! We rip open a plastic bag and pour them in the sanitary covered trays! SHEESH!

Then there's always that customer with the blank soulless expression on their face. The one that you feel has black pupils because their eyes are just like glass and you can see straight into the emptiness of their skulls. Yeah, those guys are the ones that put a 25 cent pack of gum on the counter with a fresh Benjamin. Or, if they don't do that, they pay with a little balled up $1 bill that is mysteriously damp, which instantly makes me want to yak.

Enough about that though, my friend Matt still works at that store and has many interesting stories to tell of it. Like the time he and the assistant manager, Anthony, were talking and one of them made the comment, "You just don't see cowboys anymore." About an hour later they hear "CHING....CHING," and look up from the photo counter to see two real cowboys, clad in spurs, wranglers, vests, and of course, big hats, coming through the sliding front doors. Or earlier today when a man came in who sounded just like Clint Eastwood and asked "Where's your lubricant?" These are the small joys you don't get from other places, so I suppose it all balances out.

I particularly love Four Oak's little drug store, aptly named "The Four Oaks Drug Co." which still carries items from the 60s and 70s. Today I noticed a set of glasses straps that hold your glasses to your head with a faded out 60-ish drawing of a man in black horn-rimmed glasses on the front. Another favorite was a Kodak camera that I almost grabbed from across the counter. My "Jones" instinct urged me to shout, "THIS BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!" My sister and I often chuckle at the bottle of "Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific!" shampoo that was once in the hair care section. Sigh...good times good times...
I should go in there any buy that stuff up....YOINK!

Who wants to go the the heavy metal xylophone concert tonight? ...I think it just means the bars are bigger...