WILL THE SOUTH RISE TO THE OCCASION?

T

The gang's all here!

A theory of mine is about to be put to a test this week.

But first, some background.

For the last few years, some good friends from my high school days and I have gotten together for a few days in the summer to kick back and recall good times. Adult beverages are consumed.

The first three times we rented a big cabin in woods between Bloomington and and Brown County in southern Indiana and just kicked back.

We’d sit around all morning, go into town for lunch (at a spot that offered breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, a southern Indiana specialty), return to the cabin for the afternoon, and then back to Bloomington for dinner at night.

The first cabin in the woods.

During one of our conversations two years ago, Tom (a former Ford engineer, though that really doesn’t have anything to with the subject) suggested that we might want to go out to Oregon, where he had a small summer place in a coastal village called Manzanita. He said he was going to sell the place and this might be a good chance.

He didn’t say this, but he was probably thinking that since he was going to sell the house, it wouldn’t matter much if we burned the place down or something.

It took us all of about two seconds to agree to this and so last year, joined by yet another long-time friend, we all gathered in Oregon for a memorable five days.

Each bedroom has its own private bath.

End of background.

Now for my theory.

It was after we had been in Manzanita and surrounding environs for a few days that I made the observation that I thought one of the differences between Oregon and the South, where I resided for more than two decades (the real South, not just Florida) was that if we were in the South we would be seeing a lot more pretty girls.

Tom's place in Oregon.

I wasn’t saying there were no pretty girls in Oregon but simply that there would be more of them in the South. At least I hope that is the point I made. Tom has a daughter living there, after all, and she resembles very much her mother. They are both on the “A” list.

Now here comes the test to that theory.

During the visit to Oregon, Tim, who was with us for the first time, got so wrapped up in things he invited us to his place for this summer. We readily accepted, of course.

His place is in a small village at the south end of a big lake in South Carolina.

South Carolina, you must recognize, is very much in the South, which I said had more (emphasis on more) pretty girls than Oregon.

So, will I see more pretty girls in Seneca, South Carolina, than I did in Manzanita, Oregon?

I think so, but Seneca is a small town.

Clemson University is nearby, which improves the odds. Of course, summer school might not be in session so I may lose that advantage.

In any case, I am looking forward to doing the research.

The Pacific waves roll in on the Oregon coast.