Cross Your Sweet Teas and Clot While Saving Lives: Crossville, TN [July 1 – 2]

There are certain things that come with being in the southeastern United States. The southern drawl, sweet tea, country-cookin’ soul food, and Baptist or Presbyterian churches on nearly every city corner. T It’s no surprise, then, that in a town with ‘cross’ in the name these Midwestern folk would find all these foreign elements.

The drive down to Crossville was their most scenic one yet, putting them through the entire state of Kentucky including a stop in Louisville to visit the Colonel.

The stallions also galloped through Horse Cave, KY, a town quite fond in their hearts for the fact it has more single people than single horses and is home to the first-ever naturally air-conditioned indoor tennis courts.

After entering Tennessee, which was state #6 on their journey, they finally arrived at their ‘destination’ for the evening- a modest home in the countryside just outside of Crossville.

Waiting for them were Pete & Seth, two graduate students at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville studying savannah restoration. These two outdoorsmen were fittingly met by our heroes while filleting their day’s catch of bass to fry up for the evening’s meal. When they stepped out of the car, the humid air hung as thick as their hosts’ accents. There was a certain feel to this state that was distinct from their Midwestern surroundings in Indianapolis. While only traveling 300 miles, they had connected two places with completely different histories, communities with ultimately differing values and cultures. Now, it was up to these community builders to pinpoint exactly what those differences were.

Their temporary home was refreshingly modest and to-the-point. It had all the essentials: a roof, floor, bathroom, kitchen, and a few chairs. There was no unnecessary clutter or decorations, nothing to distract from the spirit of conversation and fellowship among strangers. It was ironic that the boys found themselves in this house immediately after leaving the company of Warren, who so prominently expressed his burden with having too many ‘things’ around his house.

Seth cooks up the fish

The next morning brought fresh light to their surroundings, which was mostly farmland and cattle-grazing country. It was a great rural life for Pete & Seth, who found themselves moving between three different observation sites within a couple-hundred mile radius. These guys were the perfect campaign hosts, and although they did admit to thinking the boys were either hardcore hippies or part of a church group when they saw the matching orange t-shirts, they quickly moved on to shooting the breeze on sports, travels, and the outdoors.

The morning in Crossville was full of opportunities to explore the community and meet people, which is just what these journeymen needed as they entered yet another day with no destination to be sent to. The day started out at Grandma’s Diner, where the food was cheap, real cheap. This was where they said farewell to Pete & Seth, two gentlemen who knew the meaning of southern hospitality.

At the Chamber of Commerce, the stallions found Jeanny, Melody, and Gail proud to proclaim Crossville as the ‘Golf Capitol of Tennessee,’ but with no destination to send them too later that afternoon.

Next, following the suggestion of Pete, they continued their stroll down Main Street to the American Red Cross for their Blood Drive. They learned that giving blood can save up to two lives, so overcoming the fear of needles was a necessary step. Even though one campaign member experienced a needle clot while attempting the feat for the first time, the community builders gave enough blood to save four lives. However, it wasn’t enough to inspire a destination from one of their nurses, Jennifer, April, or Donna.

No, that's not a smile... it's a wince of pain

April

They moved onto the paper where Katie and Mary attempted their contacts in Georgia, but no luck. They moved on to the corner hot dog stand but Mary and Linda had no ideas for them. Times were becoming a bit uneasy now, but the stallions still had faith that somebody would come through for them at their lunch destination, Family Ties.

And that’s just what happened. When the staff heard about the task at hand, they came together like a family to find somebody to send them to. Through an improbable connection, a friend of the restaurant manager named “T” had a friend in town named Bobbi who had a brother Benny in Cross Hill, SC, about 320 miles away. Also at the restaurant were Randy & Cliff from Quincy, IL, a pair of stand-up guys who run a world-class gymnastics camp called Flip Fest.

Bobbi & T

Cliff & Randy

So off to South Carolina it would be, but the journeymen had a long drive ahead of them. There was no telling what the evening would have in store for them in a town of less than 600.