While on foot in far west Texas recently it was interesting to note the frequency with which the subject of Asheville came up, and how it was most often in the presence of folk from Austin. During a week spent at Big Bend Ranch camping and hiking I was rubbing elbows with a woman from Austin who wore (for 2 days in a row) a T that stated "If you're too weird for Asheville, you're just too weird". She was there mountain biking with her daughter, and other folks often commented on her shirt and how much they liked Asheville. I don't know whether she had two of those Asheville T's or whether she washed it each night for the next day but she did love that shirt and so did the rest of the folk staying at the bunkhouse. Her daughter said that 12 Bones fare was refreshing after too much Texas BBQ. I don't know - I do love 12 Bones but I haven't gotten too much Texas BBQ yet (more on that later).
The next week I was 100 miles north in Alpine for the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering and met a couple there with an Asheville Tourists sweatshirt. They were from New Hampshire and were big fans of all that Asheville has to offer, including the Tourists and beer. The next week on AmTrak home I chatted with a young woman who lives in Asheville and works as a wilderness camp counselor. She loves Asheville but likes to hang out in Brevard between shifts. Which brings me back home to Brevard - today I listened to cellist Alistair MacRae perform J. S. Bach and Gaspar Cassado solo at the Porter Center. Tonight I will listen to local friends perform Celtic at the tasting room of the local brewery. It is good to be back home in Western North Carolina.
If you have a comment, and/or an argument, please do so below. Feedback is welcome.
If you enjoyed this post, take a few seconds to subscribe. Use the Social Media Sharing buttons below to share it with your friends.
If you would like to see my collection of Carolina Lowcountry memories—"Magnolia Elegy: Place In the Edisto Fork," you can view the book trailer here, and see the book page here on the publisher's website. The book is also available from Amazon, B&N, and your independent local bookseller.