Tennessee has all the social events of any big city, even in the backwoods. They may be a little crude but they still exist. Big Sandy is one of those places on the banks of the Kentucky Lake. It is a little rough around the edges but they do have a Barbeque place we like to visit. Kid Rock and Hank Williams Jr. like to eat there as well when they are in the area, so I guess that could tell you something . This Barbeque Shack is just that. A small cook shack with a large carport attached to keep off the rain or sun, and depending on the day it might be both. The smoker is right beside the carport so the aroma of brisket and barbeque is quite delicious.
One of their specialties is a huge baked potato smothered in cheese and barbequed pork. It is a favorite of ours and quite a meal all by itself. We decided late one afternoon to make a run down there and enjoy the meal. We didn’t know we would be treated to an impromptu side show with our meal.
When we pulled up, we were the only ones there, but seconds after we arrived a woman walked around the side of the cook shack. The Barbeque stand is right beside the local VFW and the owner frequents the bar there so if you show up and no one is cooking, they will soon appear.
It turned out that they were not open, but the woman worked there and had just stopped by to get something for herself. She offered to open up and serve us. She knew we were friends with the owner, but I think she would have done the same for anyone. She said it would just take 15 minutes to heat up the food and we would get our meal. That was where the evening took quite a turn.
She kept saying how this had been just a terrible day, the worst ever, and she was also exhibiting signs of some level of intoxication. As she was cooking, a guy who was her boyfriend, showed up and she asked him if she could make him a burger. He stormed off. We soon learned his role in the story. After she served our food, she sat down and regaled us with the day’s events.
It seems she had driven her boyfriend up to the casino in Kentucky, early that morning. She dropped him off at the door and went to park. She drove into the employee parking lot and promptly ran out of gas. She went looking for gas, while the casino security went looking for the person who parked in the restricted area. Her boyfriend came looking for her when he had burned through his gambling funds. She tried begging fuel off everyone she met, to no avail. With security threatening them for parking in an off-limits zone, they finally got some gas from a guy mowing the grounds.
Off they went for home with him mad and her in tears. Along the way she turned into a Tennessee Watershed restricted area, by her account to show the boyfriend some construction site along the river. She didn’t see the NO TRESPASSING signs. Along comes the TWA officer and threatens to arrest them for entering a restricted area. Sure enough, when she tries to start the car, it was out of gas again. Lesson Two is don’t gamble away your gas money.
So, the guy heads out hiking looking for gas again while she takes her dog down under the bridge. At that point she learned that her next mistake was going into a restricted area after just being warned prior to not trespass again. The boyfriend finally procured another can of fuel and they arrived back at Big Sandy. This one-person play ended with another day shot and one player mad and the other in tears. As we sat for half an hour listening to the sad tale, I couldn’t help thinking that less alcohol and more common sense would have been very beneficial to these two actors. But the burgers and the hot potato salad were pretty good.
