"I Hit the Road, Again....Last Stop, Smithfield"

The black sign: SPEED CHECKED BY RADAR AND OTHER ELECTRICAL DEVICES. Maybe they are using toasters, irons, you know? Seems as though ELECTRONIC would be a better word. Oh, well....

 

The last five days or so have been crappy. As the kids would say, I've really been bummed out.

In fact, the only reason I'm mentioning it is that what I have to say...or write, may well be colored or influenced  by my mood.

I'd been moping around the last few days and felt I needed to get out. Yes, I know you haul the moods around with you like an albatross.

When I left, about 9:00, I had planned to head for Wakefield and eat at the Virginia Diner. Well, I did make it to the Virginia Diner, but it was only about 10, they were jam packed with a breakfast crowd, and it didn't appeal to me.

On the way to Wakefield, which is where the Virginia Diner is, there were many neat things to take pictures of. Yep, dilapidated and abandoned houses and businesses, but just didn't stop. No enthusiasm.

In Wakefield I stopped at a 7-Eleven and got some coffee. I took a smoke break and said hi to a young fellow who'd pulled up on a motorcycle. Ironically, he lives in Richmond and was headed to Virginia Beach. Yep, he said he was just going to hang out and walk the boardwalk.

I headed home but stopped and took the photo of the sign up top. Then, decided to head for Surry.

"That we through life may not forget to love the thin grey line"

The soldier is in front of the Surry court house. I had planned on eating at The Surry House but they are closed until May.

Some in the South, and yes, in Virginia, do seem to still be fighting the Civil War. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that our governor nixed a Civil War day or week or some-such celebration. Not long ago a group of citizens erected a huge Confederate flag alongside I-95 outside Richmond.

Of course, then the comment sections of our local online newspaper lights-up with rants from both sides.

There is the group on one side that claims the War wasn't about slavery but about states' rights. The opposing voices of course, claim the War was about slavery.

Yes, there are many pickups running around with Confederate flags proudly displayed in the rear window as well as all of the Confederate flag bumper stickers. Actually, I doubt if many of these people displaying the flags could even tell you when the War was fought. Many of us do love our Civil War.

Had thought about riding the ferry across to Jamestown but that would mean battling the traffic on I-64. At that point, basically headed back home. However, when I got to the Smithfield turn off, that's where I headed. And, yes, had a pleasant time. Well, not exactly pleasant, but a better time than I thought I'd have. Well, it was OK and of course had nothing to do with Smithfield. It's a really cool town with many, if not most, of the houses nicely restored. 

Of course you can't read it, but this was erected in 1947 to honor the troops who served in World War I and  World War II. Surry Court House.

"Our heroes 1861-1865"

As I mentioned, churches everywhere. This is the Tree of Life Church!

Surry, Virginia

The following photos were taken in Smithfield....

No telling the razzing this fellow gets. I'm one of the few who don't think all lawyers are crooks and scumbags.

The "Exquisite Junk" is noteworthy....lots of neat stuff, frankly, didn't see any junk. Great place to browse or shop. Should be able to find just about anything you're looking for.

 

 

Yes, the Smithfield Times. A truly crappy photo. Not making excuses but I'm using free software that came with my Kodak video camera. I do need to stop using black and white until I get some software that will let me do a little more adjusting. I used to use Elements but can't find the disc. Oh, well............

The sandwich was pretty-darn good. It's a club sandwich with a fancy name. Had some kind of rosemary flavored bread, Smithfield country ham, turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. I have my sodium quota for the next three months. The coffee was as good as it gets. Yes, drank it without adding cream or sugar. The French fries, as you can see are ordinary. The waitress agreed to pose but I could tell she didn't want to so I passed. It's a nice place...upscale, you might say. Have a great gift shop with a huge variety of stuff to eat and stuff to buy that you don't need and that would most likely just lay around collecting dust. This area is known for peanuts and country hams.

Well, I don't think I look like Hemingway today. Nope, just a really old guy. I guess I'm sharing the bench with Benjamin Franklin, though I could be wrong. Here are a few of his quotes:

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” (I need to remember this one.)

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”  

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.”  (Ben, what about gin, bourbon, and Scotch?)

"Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” 

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”  

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.” 

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.” 

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” 

"There was never a bad peace or a good war.” 

"Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.” 

"A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.”  (Yes, yes, yes, I try to keep telling myself!)

“When you're testing to see how deep water is, never use two feet.”  (Somewhat akin to measure twice, cut once.)

"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”  (Nice one, I'm biting my tongue.)

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”  

“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.” 




Left home around 9:00 and got back at 2:30. Drove 145 miles.

Yes, still bummed out and ticked off, but it was an OK day all things considered.


BTW, forgot to mention, the Chinese now own Smithfield Foods. This from our local paper.

"Two top executives of the Chinese company that last year bought Smithfield Foods Inc. were given stock worth nearly $600 million as a “reward” for orchestrating the takeover, according to a regulatory filing in Hong Kong.

WH Group, the Chinese company, which was known as Shuanghui International Holdings at the time of the takeover, said it issued the shares to Wan Long, its 73-year-old CEO, and Yang Zhijun, its executive in charge of mergers and acquisitions. Yang is 40 years old.
Wan was issued 573.1 million “ordinary shares” in the company, or about 70 percent of the stock award, while Yang got 245.6 million shares. WH Group said the total value of the shares issued the two was $597 million.

It said the payouts were “to recognize and reward their contributions” in the $7.1 billion takeover of the Smithfield-based company, America’s top pork processor."