Sweet Tea

So far, I like Tennessee. Sure it's been over 90 the past three days, but I don't have to spend a lot of time out of doors. And there's plenty of sweet tea to cool me off. Let me tell you, some places around here serve their tea so sweet it's likely that I'm now missing a couple of molars due to decay. I actually asked for unsweet at the Waffle House last night and it felt like I had just commited some grave, mortal sin. I almost repented and changed my order, desperate to appease the gods of the South, but instead I took it as an opportunity to experience the depravity of unsweet tea, or rather, relief for my teeth.

We're in Tullahoma, working with kids from the local Air Force Base and other kids from the town. Our audition was held in a local church gym and of course, the air conditioning broke that morning. Over 90 degree weather + 83 kids + their parents + one air conditioning-less gym = me dripping sweat 15 minutes into a 2 hour audition. I was drenched by the end of it. Literally drenched. Other than the heat, it went all right. It was the first time we've had to make cuts, but there were no angry parents or devasted kids that we could see. And it was the first time that we've cast according to our ideal numbers for each group. Instead of 15 beggars like I've had for the past two weeks, I have 10, as it's written. Boy that makes a difference.

After our second day, I can say that I like this cast. We have a lot of older kids with experience under their belts. They are smart, fun, interesting, and unlike the last two weeks, they came to audition completely out of free will, rather than being registered to go to camp. And to top it all off, most of the characters now have a healthy dose of Tennessee twang. I love it. I am constantly tempted to start adding an accent whenever I speak, but I know I'd either end up sounding like a fool or unintentionally mocking the kids. And our contact, Deborah, is so much fun. Loud and exciting, full of life, and revved up for this week. Great woman.

Today during our snack break, Mallory just had to point out that I didn't like country music. The entire room of kids was aghast. One girl jokingly called it blasphemous, but she's probably right. Not liking country in Tennessee is akin to not liking salt water in the Pacific. We're 50 miles from Nashville, so as another girl put it, "If you don't like country, what do you listen to?" She had a completely baffled look that convinced me her question was asked in all honesty. Maybe if we were near Memphis this conversation wouldn't have been such a big deal.

Well maybe I'm not the biggest fan of one of Tennessee's major music streams, but I do like the way they eat. Both yesterday and today, Mallory and I have stopped at local diners for platter lunches. This is what I got yesterday, as written on the menu:

Meat & 2 Veggies $4.79

It was delicious meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, served up cafeteria style with a side of cornbread and plenty of sweet tea. We were obviously the only people at Granny's Kitchen that weren't regulars. Today at the Downtown Cafe my menu choice wasn't too different:

Meat, 2 Veggies, Cornbread, Dessert, Tea $5.99

I love the simplicity of menus like this. Mixed and matched from a steam tray line, thrown on a plate, and sold at a good price. I'm definitely going back to Granny's. Still gotta find some BBQ.

I'm excited to spend next week off travelling through the state, this seems like a place that could get under my skin. We'll see.