An Asheville Kind of Day

Friday morning we had breakfast at the Over Easy Cafe with Ben and Gary. We were chatting about what to do that evening with Mike. Gary and Ben suggested we see Plays from Li'l Nashville which is playing at a local playhouse. We were weighing our options when a handsome and dramatic-looking sort of fellow swept into the cafe. Of course it was the author of the play we had just been discussing. Ben and Gary motioned him over and he joined us for breakfast, regaling us with tales of Asheville theatre people. Nothing beats a good theatre story. Naturally, we decided to go to the play.

Later in the day, we took Mike to the Friday afternoon drum circle in the center of town. It is a wildly fun and eclectic crowd of professionals and amateurs. Drums ranged in size and quality, from bongos to barrel drums to plastic bottles. We were sitting at the edge of the park, and I scanned the crowd, thinking it would be fun to see if we've been in Asheville long enough to recognize anyone. Of course that's the exact moment our friend Luke happened by. After a quick chat, he was on his way to dinner and we were on our way to the play.

Entering the lobby of the theatre, we saw Scott and Terry the owners of Sante, our favorite little wine bar. We introduced Mike as our California guest for the week. They then introduced us to a friend of theirs, a woman from San Diego, who was their California guest for the week. After comparing our sight-seeing and activities agendas, we went into the theatre to see the play.

At this point, it should have been no surprise to us (or you) that one of the stars of the play was our new hair stylist. It's part of the charm of a small town, I suppose. But there's something else. Something that's distinctly Asheville about it all. Everyone is so happy to see each other, to catch up and then tell the next people they run into about who they happened to run into that day. There's something old-fashioned and quaint about it, yet somehow also synchronistic.

Luckily, it's still more on the sweet side than the Twilight Zone-y side. But I'll keep you posted.