On Saturday afternoon we stopped by Cheese”s Main Street Pizza for lunch.
I know, as breaking news that ranks down there with “Teenager turns moody” or “Man in dive bar orders Bud Light.” For me, however, the visit served as yet another reminder of a curious divide — and no, it”s not the bitter feud between crispy and pan crust.
Cheese”s was a convenient spot. We had to be at Soper Reese by a set time in order to drop one person off for the showing of “Once Upon A Christmas Card,” a holiday-themed play. We hoped then to join in the open house hosted by many of the county”s wineries. For this, we skipped the festivities at O”Meara Bros. Brewing Company.
Well, draped like a tapestry on one wall of Lakeport”s downtown pizza joint is a marker-friendly calendar listing many — though hardly all — of the day to day goings-on around the county. It sits under a beam on which someone painted a slogan: “So you think there”s nothing to do in Lake County” or something to that effect.
Point made at least for a few.
Over and over I”ve heard the ”there”s nothing to do” refrain. Some of this comes from the perpetually grumpy, the ones who issue a resounding “no” to everything (taking a cue from ?). The naysayers exist in every community, large and small, of course. In a rural area, their voices just ring louder. Most of it is simply misguided. ”Things” are what happen elsewhere.
I assumed the same growing up in a small college town. I was surrounded by theater, concerts, first run films, art films, college sports, lectures, parades, food, Saturday morning barf stains outside of fraternity houses — no shortage of excitement. Yet I was convinced of the town”s quaintness and quiet.
Even when production trucks for a brand new network, then known as Entertainment and Sports Programming Network rolled into town I remained wowed by the possibilities elsewhere.
Lake County is not home to a destination university, of course. And it”s highly unlikely ESPN”s Gameday crew will set up outside a local high school. Yet a rundown of the weekend”s activities serves, like the calendar at Cheese”s, as a reminder of just how many ”things” we have to choose from — if we choose to budge from the couch.
Maria Muldaur”s appearance at Soper Reese may stand out as the weekend”s headline event. She did, after all, pummel the top 40 airwaves with “Midnight at the Oasis” and put out something like 40 albums over her career. But Muldaur faced some competition: music and art at the Main Street Gallery”s First Friday Fling, a colorful parade in Kelseyville and a Christmas event in Cobb, just for starters.
On Saturday, in addition to the play, the wine tour and flowing microbrewed beer, Upper Lake hosted a parade, the Lake County Wine Studio in that community held an art reception and refined tea service continued at Lakeport English Inn, among other things.
There are always movies, restaurants and bars. If time had not been against us on Saturday, we might have ended up at The Boar”s Breath in Middletown. And I”m certain I heard race cars warming up at the Lakeport Speedway.
Lakeport”s quarter-mile track looks daunting. It may not be Darlington or Spa-Francourchamps, but it contains all the noise and fury.
The Blue Wing Saloon and Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake present an ambitious schedule of live music. For example, they hosted one group on Sunday, another on Monday and a third will take the stage tonight.
Or one could opt for the classic film “The Manchurian Candidate,” screening at Soper Reese.
Most likely I have omitted dozens of events, large and small, but it can hardly be helped. For an area where there”s nothing to do, it”s difficult to keep up.
So why the moaning? Those interested in breathing life into the community believe it necessary to reach outside the county, to draw people in search of activity into the county. And they are likely right. Residents interested in a fun night out are limited by temperament and are pulled in many directions.
Yeah, I know — personal preference slams the brakes on us all. While the 15-year-old in our house would rush out to see any form of live music, from symphony to the top performers of the day, I”m content to kick back with a remote in my hand, when not venturing out to restaurants and tasting rooms. But I”m hardly allowed to infer from my inactivity that the county suffers from the same. There is a whole lotta nothing going on around here.
For people like me, Cheese”s Main Street Pizza delivers.
