This past weekend was my youngest daughter’s prom. I had hired a photographer to capture the moments for us and we decided to take a lot of her pictures in the middle of town. At first I was kind of skeptical about the location because I wasn’t certain that there would be enough of a variety there to capture many good shots.
Of course being the proud mother that I am the only thing that I cared about capturing was the subject of the pictures and that was my beautiful daughter. Lindsey (the photographer) was putting Kailee in front of doors, walls, signs and even nestled into a little opening between two buildings. During the process of taking the pictures I kept noticing little things about the town, that I have spent a majority of my life in, that I had never paid attention to in the past. I mentioned to my mom and some friends that ‘I never saw this or had never seen that before.’ But if the truth be known it wasn’t that I didn’t see them I just didn’t take notice of them.
After we finished in town we went up on the river to take a few for a different range with scenes. In all the hustle and bustle of taking the pictures I was content with just focusing on Kailee and her date. At this point the scenery had taken some what of a back seat in my thoughts.
When some of the pictures were ready to look at I was amazed at how much the backdrop
in the pictures enhanced the beauty of them. After I was finished fixating on how beautiful Kailee was in them; I looked at the pictures again and this time I looked at the surroundings.
It’s funny how you can grow up somewhere or you spend years living in a place that you just don’t pay attention to the things around you and just become complacent with driving by and not taking in the scenery around you.
With that scenery there are so many memories of growing up in such a special and beautiful area.
Our little town of Tellico is a community that is nestled amongst some of the best things that life has to offer. There isn’t a corner in that town that doesn’t have a bit of history that intrigues anyone who takes the time to listen to the stories. You could stand in the center of town and point in any direction and someone in the crowd would have a memory that would instantly be associated with whatever landmark that you pointed to;
whether it be Moree’s Grocery, Tallent’s Hardware or where Slim’s Tavern or the Coffee Shop used to be, there would be stories to tell. Not to mention that we own the bragging rights to the best bakery in East Tennessee.
Some of the old businesses aren’t there anymore and new ventures have started over the years. With the passing of old traditions new ones have started paving their ways for the newer generations. But the memories that little town holds for so many others like me will all be close to our hearts no matter how many buildings are updated or torn down.
Several years ago there was a group of men (lawyers I think) that it was rumored were going to invest all this money in our little town and fix it up like a mini Gatlinburg.
I don’t know if it was just that – a rumor, or if the plans just didn’t follow through. Personally, whatever the case may be, I’m glad it didn’t happen. That’s what makes where I live most special. It is its own little corner of the world where the hustle and bustle hasn’t invaded the streets and the sidewalks. It’s the place where you can still buy your garden seeds and plants in front of the hardware store and just walk in and charge it by signing your name on a piece of paper in a notebook. It’s the place you drive through and wave at the men standing at the co-op loading feed on a Saturday morning. And it’s where you drive along the river and stop at the Beach Drive-In for a foot long hot dog and a hot fudge cake while you sit at the picnic tables and watch the kids swing fearlessly from the rope across the river.
Granted there are some advantages to living in the big cities – being able to spend the afternoon at the mall, making a last minute decision to go to the movies and not having to drive an hour and having your choice of 20 or 30 restaurants within a 5 mile radius where you could get a good steak or a some seafood. In fact you could probably list a lot more reasons for some people to live in the city than you could for them to live in a small town called Tellico Plains. To each their own I suppose but to me I like having my little town with it’s own special perks and personally I would take a foot long at the beach on a summer night over a lobster tail in the city any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
