Beers, Bars and the Bible Belt: A Journey Back In Time
In The Beginning…
My trip began on July 5th. A friend who I hadn’t seen in many years was visiting relatives in Pensacola. Since I live in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, several hundred miles away, we agreed to meet halfway.
The midway point we decided to meet was where I-75 North and 10-E meet. A “quaint” little town called Live Oak, which happens to be a part of Suwannee County.
Not having brushed up on my Floridian Law (or at least my Suwannee County Law) we hadn’t realized that Suwannee County is one of only 5 Dry Counties in Florida.
We started by grabbing a bite to eat at “Big Daddy’s” BBQ. I ate some of the best sliced pork I had ever had, the ribs were a little dry, and you guessed it, no beer! So we set off looking for some hole in the wall bar to grab a cold one and reminisce about old times.
On our way out the door we noticed a little 70-75 year old woman getting out of her pick-up whose front license plate read, “Lee Surrendered, I Didn’t!” Yea, my thoughts exactly, an awesome start to what would soon become a very memorable day.
After pulling into a local auto parts store, we asked a man behind the counter who can only be described as Larry the Cable Guy (sans-humor) if there was a bar in this town? ”Down Yonder ’bout 2 miles on the left past the pet store.” So off we went, hesitantly. Apparently “dry” is a relative term, and those relatives are inbred.
As we’re pulling away I couldn’t help but notice, every vehicle in the lot was a Chevy truck, not that this is a big deal… I mean, I’m a Ford guy, but Chevy’s are great trucks. The issue I had was over half of them, 4 to be exact, had some sort of rebel flag, either painted on the truck, or sticker somewhere announcing some form of southern pride. OK, OK.. yes this is America. God bless it! We have the freedom to do things that outwardly promote our beliefs without fear, but I have a very hard time believing this was some sort of political statement.
Oh, and for the record, “Yonder”, I come to find out, is a general direction, not necessarily the direction someone is pointing. And “’bout 2 miles”, means 3-4 miles, for those keeping track.
The Bar: Hammerheads
There it is.. just around the corner… Finally. A place for us to sit and talk over a beer, smoking a Marlboro and catching up on who’s been doin’ what for the past 10 years. (cue the sound of a needle scratching vinyl)…
A gravel parking lot graced the entrance to, what could only be described as a double-wide trailer with a covered porch. I don’t recall seeing any neon beer signs or drink specials. Though I may have been too terrorized (swearing I could hear Dueling Banjos off in the distance) to pay attention. But dammit we were gonna get a beer even if I had to take one for the team!
We walked in to a room so dark I couldn’t tell if I was walking on a dirt floor of if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. For the sake of the story, they were dirt.
Lit only by old multi-colored Christmas lights, the smell of cigarettes filled the room. Off in the corner there were a few, what looked like teenagers, playing darts, but using blow-guns instead of throwing them. That’s right, blow guns.
We bellied up to the bar and my friend asked for a Jack and Coke, and I asked what was on tap. “We don’t sell liquor and only have bottles of beer. Bud, Bud Light, and Miller Lite” she answered. They did however have the most impressive selection of Segram’s wine coolers I had ever seen. But I digress.
So my friend had a Mike’s Hard Lemonade and I had a Bud Light. I hadn’t had a Bud Light in years. All I can say is, “Water”… After drinking so many different home brew, craft beers and micro brews over the past couple years, Bud Light tastes like water.. Ok… Beer-flavored water. But that’s all you’re getting out of me.
Needless to say we only stayed for one drink, but we not only got to catch up, we had a pretty intelligent conversation with the bar tender and a few other people at the bar as well.
Summary
Looks can be deceiving. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Beauty is only skin deep. Whatever cliche you want to use…we had stereotyped this small town based on only a few simple observations. We poked fun at them, rolled our eyes, and at times even got nervous about what we were getting into. But once we took the time to get to know a few of them, even if it was only a couple hours, we had it all wrong. They are people just like you and me. People doing what people do with what they got. So no matter where you are, the combination of good food, good people, and good bee.. well 2 out of three ain’t bad?
The next time you’re driving through Florida on I-10, make sure you swing by Live Oak, and stop by Hammerheads. It’s just “down Yonder ’bout 2 miles on the left past the pet store”. Tell Stephanie, I said “Hi” and ask her about her Harleys.
