People can't help from feeling a little depressed, if you know what I mean.
We have this virus, for which we have a vaccine, that is still hanging around and killing people who haven't taken the vaccine. And we still can't convince enough people to get vaccinated, probably because all the scientific information on earth is no match for a rapper's story about her cousin's friend and his enlarged gonads.
(Unrelated, my friend, the great Bill Wade, was once on an intramural football team called The Nads and their team cheer was Go! Nads!)
The economy is still in the doldrums. There are more jobs than people to fill them but nobody wants to work. Have you tried to get supper at Chick-fil-A? The lines are so long you might want to use a PTO day.
While there are no shortages, so far, again, for toilet paper, you cannot find a product I call "Hiney Wipes". Something about the supply chain.
How can we forget our inspirational leadership from Washington? President Biden appears every two weeks to yell at us to get off his lawn. Our former President is issuing statements basically calling everybody a loser and that HE actually won the election and everybody knows it.
Then the thrill of all thrills, Trump is making noises that he will run again in 2024. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Instead of "Making America Great Again", his slogan will be "Even Closer To 80 Years Old Than The Last Time".
On top of that, the music the kids listen these days still sucks.
But do not let your heart grow weary. There is something out there, on our interstate highways, that will bring you joy. Yes, my friends, JOY! (As preachers will say, that is a good place for an "amen".)
Buc-ee's.
As the kids say, "Wait, what?" Buc-ee's.
Buc-ee's is "a chain of travel centers known for clean bathrooms and many fueling positions." That's from their website. Actually, Buc-ee's is a big old honkin' convenience store with about twelve billion gas pumps, give or take a billion.
Buc-ee's started in Texas by two guys, one of whom is nicknamed "Buck", hence the name. It grew in Texas because they like things bigger in Texas, including convenience stores. Then they expanded to Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, praise the Lord.
They are building stores in Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Hopefully, there will be a Buc-ee's in every state, including Vermont, which doesn't have an interstate.
Mrs. Manis and I stopped at the Buc-ee's in Calhoun, Georgia, while going to a weekend getaway to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The first thing you see is a parking lot full of cars. Then you see the gas pumps. Our Buc-ee's did not have a billion gas bumps, only 120 gas pumps.
The store is 53,000 square feet. It is filled with people like it was Black Friday. You also notice they have plenty of employees, and they all seem to be working, and they all seem to be nice. One gave us directions to someplace essential: the bathrooms.
The bathrooms at Buc-ee's are spotless. I don't know who is in charge of the bathrooms at Buc-ee's corporate, but he should win a Nobel Prize. You could, if you had to, eat in the bathrooms. (Which I saw a guy do at The Chelsea Market in New York City. He was eating a sandwich.)
They sell all of the usual convenience glob at Buc-ee's: drinks, mints, etc. But they also sell barbeque beef brisket sandwiches. I know barbecue beef is the devil's BBQ but the Lord wouldn't mind you having a sandwich or two.
My Facebook friend, "Tater" (yes, that's his name), went his local Buc-ee's and posted this the other day. "Got me some sliced BBQ brisket sammiches for lunch and dinner." He also bought some snacks, like "Beaver Nuggets" which I can't explain what they are but I will tell you they are glorious.
Along with the "sammiches" and "Beaver Nuggets", you can buy their homemade beef jerky. They have 15 types of beef jerky. When I was coming along, there was only one flavor of beef jerky: beef.
The little lady and I bought some Beaver Nuggets, Buc-ee's BBQ crunchy snack that's bad for your health but tastes good, some bottled water, and a t-shirt with this little fella on it.
It was a pleasant, enjoyable experience. When was the last time you had that on an interstate?
If anyone asks what makes America better than say China, just tell them we have Buc-ee's and they don't.
At the Buc-ee's south of Macon, I felt like I needed a golf cart shuttle from the outer gas pumps. Then I see something I've never seen before...a guy creating a 360 degree video on his phone of the men's restroom. I was careful to stay behind this dude; don't want any "cameo appearance" in a bathroom video...or ANY appearance for that matter :). Oh, one other thing...how many bathrooms have "art" for sale in the bathroom entrances?
ReplyDeleteThere was a significant bruhaha over the selection of a Buc-ee's site along I-10 near the LA/MS border. Seems the Buc-ee's home office didn't take too kindly to the "usual" Louisiana political shenanigans and picked a site in Pass Christian, MS.
2 thumbs-up for the Buc-ee's chips, too.
I didn't put it in here, but they had hand sanitizer at every stall, so there's no excuse for anyone not cleaning their hands.
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