The Franklin Mercantile.......

.......my workplace, as viewed through the camera on my phone last night.


The beer case. I sell more beer than anything else. One night, last week, I sold $100 in beer alone in one hour. Of course, that was also all I sold that night. There is wine too, and a surprisingly large number of older cowboys like to come in for jug wine after working cattle all day. Mostly though, it's Cobra beer in the 40 oz bottle. The cheap stuff. And Keystone beer in cans. The really cheap stuff. My friend George comes in every night for his Keystone. Sometimes it's a single can, sometimes it's a twelve pack. But, it's every night. Funny, when we were in high school, George drank Coors and nothing else. I guess that less in the wallet can affect what you drink. I was always a Michelob person (waaaayyyyy back then). I was NOT a cheap date if you were buying me beer. I suspect, I would be spending a lot of time alone if I were looking for a date to buy me a beer these days.


The register. When you walk into the store, I will scurry behind the counter, plaster on a smile and say "Hi!". Actually, most of the time the smile isn't forced or plastered at all. I am pretty glad to see a lot of the people who come in. They are usually family and old friends. Plus (shhhhhhh!) there is this really sweet older cowboy who comes in to chat with me. I think he is a little sweet on me. I always did love cowboys. This one is especially nice. He knows I have a husband and kids. My ring is always on my finger in plain sight. I guess he just finds me more interesting than the horses he has been breaking all day, and is eager to chat with a woman. Any woman. Oh, and see those nasty pickled eggs in a jar. I sell tons of those awful things!!! EWWW! The licorice tub and I have a love/hate relationship. I love those things and dip into the tub many times during my shift. But, I hate that I am constantly dipping into that tub. Fortunately, as far as candy goes, red licorice isn't all that bad.


For no particular reason, these are my Justin's. (isn't the floor of the store in GREAT shape?) I usually wear boots in some form to work. I have 4 pairs of cowboy boots. Tennis shoes would be more practical, but I have been wearing my boots more and more lately. And they feel right while I am working, with country music on the radio and all the cowboys coming in for beer (or to flirt with me). Yes, I am even further down the road to Redneck Land. Funny thing though, I haven't felt so much like "me" in a very long time. Granddad used to tell me, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.". I think he was right, and all of that latent country is coming to the surface. Yeehaw!


and finally, me. Yeppers, that's me. Not a great pic, but self-portraits with the phone just aren't my specialty. I seem to have this major strawberry color thing going on with my forehead. No, I really don't have red skin. And Photoshop wasn't any help. Nor do I have whorish red lips...but they certainly look that way here. Maybe that explains all of the attention from cowboys last night. Maybe they thought I was selling more than beer......I don't know if I should be flattered or embarrassed.

That's it. A little slice of my workplace. It's not much, and I certainly didn't drop out of college to go to work in a convenience mart. But, it gets me out of the house and gives me a little pin money.

Plus....did I mention that I love cowboys? And that they come in a flirt with me?