There is a small town mindset. It is hard to say how far from, where, and exactly when it begins, but in my new little town, they have it.

The big box store (there is only one of the two competing big box stores here) is totally different from the same company’s store in Atlanta. I often go to the small town big box store after dinner, about 8:00 pm (they close at 9:00). When I drive up, there may be one or two customer vehicles (typically pick-up trucks) in the entire parking lot.

The other night as I entered the store, immediately to my left, all the managers and associates were gathered in a big circle. They were laughing, singing a pep song, etc. — a real rah rah sales meeting. It was odd. They stopped, looked at me (a customer! yeah!) and asked if they could help me. I had about 5 different items I needed from about 4 different departments so I eagerly admitted that I needed help. Two of them escorted me around the store and helped me pick out the items.

The checkout register is #1, just past the two holiday decorated ATVs and right next to the  mounted deer head. (No kidding!). I am getting to know many of the associates. The same female has been the cashier at #1 multiple times and I think she finds me interesting, somewhat to be pitied as I recount my story of unheated accommodations (especially when it gets to 25 degrees).

One day as I parked, I saw the sign. It said, “No Dumping: Violators May Be Prosecuted”. Pretty interesting. First, what in the world would people dump in the middle of a parking lot? Kids? Dogs? Wives (no wonder it said No Dumping). Secondly, how polite do you want a warning sign? May Be Prosecuted, not Will Be Prosecuted. Like I said, a small town mentality.

I like it.

For Thanksgiving, 2010, my partner and owner (I should say, “boss, owner, and I am just a very minority shareholder partner), invited all the family down for a big gathering at Erywilde. Everyone, including my 92 year old father, my mother, sister, brother-in-law, Aunts, Uncle, dogs (Ellie, Atlas, Bruno and Charlie) for a rollicking good time. The weather was wonderful and a grand time was had by all.

I had spent a fair amount of time with my laser leveling tool preparing the building site. The level is very advanced. You set it up on a tripod and then it will shoot out a laser beam on a lens that swivels 360 degrees. I would mark a tree with the laser, tie a bright red string around the tree at that spot and then proceeded to mark all trees of key positioning (septic tank, corner, where the patio will be, etc). I did not realize it but the property is quite a bit higher than the lake and if we build a 40 foot cabin, the hill slopes 10 feet before the porch even starts. What a spectacular view it will afford.

So, I mapped out the foundation and the plumb lines for the visitors to see and gain an appreciation of the site. Marvelous.

Looks like the septic tank system will be on the South side of the house, with the approach and front door on the North so that works out well. Additionally, since we will have to clear a lot of pines (thankfully no hardwoods) on the South side, perhaps I will be able to mount the solar panels on the south facing side of the roof.

One of the issues that we have been discussing is the actual size of the house. First, 30 x 30 with a loft, 40 x 40, 30 x 30 with a basement, etc. A lot of it depended on the logs on the property, logs we could buy, topography, etc. Currently the choice is 40′ x 40′, single floor, crawl space, perhaps root cellar or garage on the downhill side.

To build a 40′ x 40′ we need to buy logs, 45′ long (there is a 10% allocation for the “over dongle”; see footnote 1). I spoke to a very knowledgeable man in the Timber Institute who would “grade” the log on site for my building code classification. He had just been to a site in Cashiers, NC to evaluate the logs in a house using exactly the same approach as I. He suggested that we buy some logs from a company who makes telephone poles. He said 45′ logs are common and do not incur any extra handling fees. They use a standard developed by ANSI. They will be debarked and treated. Boy, that would save a lot of work. I need to talk with the telephone pole company soon and get some more details.

Remember the driveway permit that I need? Upon that quest, I drove out a major state highway looking for the County Public Works office. I found it easily as this building is quite interesting. I reminds me of the movie Cars. Remember Doc, the 1951 Hudson Hornet? This building must have been built about the same time. It is turquoise cinder block with a gravel parking lot. In the back is a large maintenance building (sheet metal, not so interesting).

I walk in. A smallish building, offices sort of willy-nilly, dark brown tile and a “trusty” (see footnote 2) mopping the floor. No one else around. He stops mopping and looks at me. I tell him that I have come to get a driveway permit and ask if this is the right place. He says, “I think he’s around back”.

I walk outside and “around back”. I approach the maintenance building and a man exits the building and walks towards me. I introduce myself and he is, in fact, the man I need to see, Mr. J. We return to his newly mopped office and discuss the property. He knows exactly where it is. “Wasn’t there a mobile home on that property?” he asks.

Amazing. The county isn’t so small that he should know about a mobile home from years ago. He said that there was a driveway on the property, down closer to the creek than the current driveway and that he would swing by and take a look at it to see if it was okay. I explained about the 20′ x 50′ pad that the State’s building department’s brochure said I needed. He said that was a State requirement.

I’m finding that this is sort of code talk for “someone else from far away says to do this and we don’t necessarily cotton to their way of thinking and after all, Georgia is a big state, and we are a small town so we just kind of do what we want, if it makes sense to us.” But, I need to put some gravel down there anyway so if it has to be 20 x 50′ so be it.

Your promising not to dump anything in the parking lot author,

Frank

Footnotes:
I really would rather use superscripts but I don’t know how to enter them with this word processor, hence, footnotes. Anyway, as a word of explanation:

1. Over-dongle. In the “butt and pass” method, logs are not “notched” and joined with both ends sticking out the same amount (think Lincoln logs). In the butt and pass, one log butts up against another log at a 90 degree angle. That log continues past the intersection for 3 or 4 feet. This continuation past the “butt” of the other log is the “pass”. This “pass” section of the log is called the “over dongle”. I guess it could be called the “over pass” but that might confuse some people in the highway department.

2. “Trusty”. A convict who can be “trusted” outside of the jail or other place of involuntary confinement. Usually someone convicted of a minor crime, like dumping his wife, stealing a golf tee from the game at Cracker Barrel, not cheering for the Bulldawgs, etc.