Pulling Into the Station The first thing you see when you pull into the station is a man sitting on a bench outside. On any given summer day, Pop Teague is sitting on the bench watching the world go by. When Herb has to run an errand such as pick up a car at one of the factories to bring it back for an oil change or detailing, Pop Teague minds the store. Most any time of the day, trucks and cars are parked on both sides of Valdese Amoco. The owners of the parked vehicles are in the service station sitting around talking. In the winter they sit around a black potbelly stove smoking cigarettes, visiting and embellishing their stories. The men—wearing work pants and shirts, overalls, felt hats or caps, and work shoes—answer to names like Pop, Potleg, Obie, Fat Farr, Doc Ollis, K.O, or Tot. Occasionally one of the men gets up and saunters out the back door to the bathroom out back or to take a drink out of the communal jar. The plain half-gallon jug filled with local brew is in a “poke” (paper sack) in an old tire behind the store. Not everyone is privy to this information. Most of the regulars have a jar of peach brandy or “white lightning” at home or in their trucks, and one or two even supply a jar from time to time. More than one of the regulars has spent time in prison for making liquor. The chief of police and a few local officials drop by from time to time and meander out back. Making and selling illegal alcohol is against the law. Everyone knows that. But the law of the land at this time in a close-knit service station community is simply live and let live. Some women and children are at Herb’s Service Station, too. Herb’s wife, daughter and son might be behind the counter, out front pumping gas or letting Herb go to the house for a meal. When a woman or child is present, the tone of the regulars is respectful. Children are treated with great tolerance. When a child can’t come up with enough money to buy candy, Herb or one of the men finds extra money in his pocket.
|
|
