Which Way to Bluffton?

September 19, 2005

… Dunkin’ Donuts
… A Sporting Clays Course
… 24-hour Coffee Shop with “Wi-fi”
… 24-hour Steak house that delivers spaghetti dinners
… Greek Restaurant
… Corner Store
… Mellow Mushroom
… IHOP
… Cracker Barrel
… Kohl’s
… Best Buy
… Circuit City
… Burger King
… Rita’s
… Barnes & Noble
… Borders
… Chili’s
… Bertucci’s
… Krystals
… White Castle

Ok, bloggers – don’t shoot the messenger. Each morning I check the Bluffton Today website (job security) to see what the community is blogging about. And frankly I am a bit surprised by the continued action that the “What Bluffton Needs” blog sees.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the bloggers posting the above suggestions have similar address histories and birth certificates to mine. I’d assume (I know, I know what that implies) that they are Yankees, not that there is anything wrong with that.

When my family made the decision to move to Bluffton, our “pro and con list” never included fast food restaurants or stores. Don’t get me wrong - I’d give my left arm for a Lord and Taylor. In my dreams I continue to drift to a place where designer clothes sit on clearance racks and coupons for an additional ten percent off arrive in mailboxes. But, I digress.

People, wake up! Bluffton is a jewel, a precious gem. And the lack of the establishments listed above is the reason we chose Bluffton (except for those of you forced here through the witness protection program of course).

Let me give you an example …

There are two people in this world who call me “sweetie”. The first is my husband, mainly because I think he can’t come up with any other clever nicknames to match the ten or so that I have for him. The second is whoever is working the register at the Sippin’ Cow when I go in for lunch.

The folks at the Sippin’ Cow don’t know me from a hole in the wall but they make me feel like I’ve been going there forever. How I love when my sandwich is up and I hear “where’s Courtney” – I swear, my thank you is always uttered with a Southern drawl so I feel like I belong – my, how I love the way of the South.

This, my neighbors, is why we chose to live in Bluffton. Embrace its charm, don’t try to change it. We live in place where there are road-side stands selling fresh seafood (I marvel that there is always a line and I bet that the people who own those stands know their customers by name), where a curvy, bare-bottomed lady sits high above Route 46 inviting customers to the Squat –n- Gobble (as if the name isn’t enough to pique your interest) and where the associates at Publix bag your groceries and walk you to your car. This is nirvana!

On my first “cruise” on the May River, I noticed a directional sign that sits in the River with arrows pointing in two directions, both toward Bluffton … as if whoever placed it there never wants the town to end. I know I don’t.