I pulled up in front of Dad’s Camper Outlet in Picayune, Mississippi, with my T@B trailer.
There are several acres of travel trailers on the lot, but they call them campers down here. I let my dog Miss Cannoli out of the car and we walked into the showroom. I have blue-dyed hair, but I wore my Saints T-shirt and an LSU ball cap to soften my liberal NOLA vibe.
I told them I had an appointment to see Marvin, the service manager, to get my ceiling fan replaced. Fox News played on a big TV screen.
Suddenly a young woman came screaming across the showroom floor: “Oh how adorable!” I thought she was looking at the T@B through the plate glass, but it was Miss Cannoli that caused the scene. The young woman ran upstairs to get her colleagues from the warranty department. Four women cooed and petted and loved up Cannoli for at least 15 minutes. They showed me cell phone pics of their dogs. One has 17 dogs and feeds the three who live inside peanut butter toast for breakfast. One of her dogs would walk down the road to a bar, knock over beer bottles the poker players sat on the floor, lap it up, and stumble home drunk. Another of them has a Dorkie, which is a dachshund/Yorkie mix, with outfits for Christmas, Mardi Gras, and all the rest. A guy came in with a stack of boxed king cakes from a vendor to give to the staff, and they asked if I wanted one.
Finally someone asked: Did anyone tell Marvin you were here?
Once Marvin arrived, things sped up a little. He wore a camo hunting cap and took some time to explain the open carry laws in Mississippi. When I couldn’t quite figure out how to unhitch, two salesmen and a technician came around to help. As I was leaving, three redneck looking guys walked up and gave me the thumb’s up on my very cute T@B.
Finally I got out of there. I felt warm and fuzzy. It was time well spent.