A Waycross Picnic

A cowboy, a monkey and a cop walked into a bar …

Truth is, it wasn’t a bar, but they all were there that afternoon for the local feed store customer appreciation day in Waycross, Georgia.

Once a year the proprietors of this store throw a down home country buffet lunch for their many customers who trade at the store throughout the year.

Here you could sit elbow-to-elbow with farmers, accountants, family and friends. One fellow and his Mama even brought a pair of pet marmoset monkeys—to the delight of children of all ages (myself included).

Half a dozen state troopers stopped by and dug into plates of ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. There were three or four flavors of BBQ sauce—including the unlabeled house special.

Cowboys in Stetson hats perched on bales of hay in the parking lot. It wasn’t a prop, just more outdoor seating for the crowd that topped 300 visitors.

There were more than 60 pounds of potato salad, an equal amount of country style green beans and a mess of pork and beans served up from steaming pans and platters. I happily tossed my diet out the window and dove into a piece of homemade red velvet cake (make that two). Coconut cake, chocolate dipped pecans, peanut butter and divinity candy leapt off the serving table onto paper plates, at record speed as the hungry diners helped themselves to the home made sweet delights. Everything was made from scratch, with lots of heart.

Visitors wandered around the parking lot admiring the gussied up pick-up trucks being loaded with pallets full of animal feed. Inside the store they found a wide assortment of farming supplies and saddles—real working gear, not the stuff of show horses or dude ranches.

Talk centered around the harvest, speculation on the weather and how one of the kin was going to Las Vegas—not for the gambling or showgirls; for the rodeo. That's country!

Thanks folks, and we’ll see y’all next year.