Rough Drafts for Curiosity Seekers Series

The starting of -

"Curiosity Seekers: Country Markets of Williamson, Maury and Rutherford County, Tennessee."

Here we go! Let me know what you think.

Every morning my drive to work takes me down State Highway 431 past the A&D Market. It is located in the Thompson Station/Spring Hill area of Tennessee, south of Nashville.

It usually isn’t gasoline I’m seeking, but the best cup of coffee in the world. Fresh, hot and they have real cream, too! The same man greets me every time I stop and his demeanor is welcoming with that “thanks for trading with us,” attitude.

Back in the kitchen you glimpse a woman baking hot biscuits. The warmer case is filled with biscuits loaded with tenderloin, country fried steak, sausage, country ham and chicken. There's always a basket of fresh tomatoes and an occassional homemade cinnamon roll or coffee cake on the counter.

The locals congregate in the little side room sipping coffee and swapping stories. Deer heads adorne the walls. You can hear the comments on the local weather and the local hunting.

Of course, you’ll see the citified pumping gas, but they rarely venture inside to savor what has become one of those comforting, predictable aspects of my day. A&D is one of those rare places you would feel comfortable not locking you car door. I feel like I’m at home even though I know no one’s name.

There was a day when I did need to fill up the tank. I pulled up to the pump by the front door and as I fumbled for my wallet in the early morning hours my door was opened by an older gentleman in coveralls and a ball cap. He addressed me as "ma'am" and inquired if I was paying with cash or credit card.

Puzzled, I asked, "is this full service." That term is so rare, but so is someone greeting you willing to pump your gas.

His reply took me back, "it is for the ladies when I'm here."

I handed him my credit card and he slid and handed it back. Still a bit puzzled I ventured into the market looking over my shoulder as he started pumping my gas and washing my windows. If you are curious at all, no it was not an extra charge!

It occurred to me that this man must be the original owner of the market and the family must be the ones at the counter and cooking in the back.

So this will tell you why I was instantly curious about the origins of the market and its owners. Eventually I would not only have to find the answers to my questions for A&D, but also for other markets in the area. Thus the idea for this book.

I hope as people read these stories it satisfies their curiosity, but more than that makes them open their eyes and minds as they pass through their route each day and makes them curious of their own surroundings.

I am sure I'm not the only person that drives through their day and notices things that peak their curiosity. Old churches, cemetaries, these markets, old barns - things from times past that seem to carry their own history with pride and just beg to tell a story.

“Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.” - Arnold Edinborough