Editorial by Bobby Tingle

 

Several years ago, I spent Easter Sunday afternoon at Ted Triplett’s place, a beekeeper in West Point, Mississippi, with his family and mine. We enjoyed a very good meal and gracious southern hospitality.

Ted took me on a tour of his farm while we waited for the cooks to complete the preparations. His dog had been sequestered in a cage several feet off the ground. His chickens were in the process of producing the next day’s egg crop and his beehives were abuzz.

I must say the beehive was the most interesting. It is a fascinating thing to watch bees at work. Another Mississippi friend of mine set up a bee box on his porch. He had a front row seat to the spectacle any time he desired.

Annually, Ted robs his bees of their honey, pours the sweet nectar into jars and sells their produce to any one lucky enough to get a jar. He labels it Teddy Bear’s honey.

Susie, his wife, informed me that when you consume locally produced honey it provides a kind of immunization from local allergies. Susie took this to a whole new level of good reasons to eat honey. I thought it just tasted good.

I was grateful for Susie’s sound advice as I made my rounds one day. As I hung out at Farmers Mercantile in downtown Orange waiting my turn I noticed a display of jarred honey. But this isn’t like the honey in a plastic bear with a flip-top in the grocery store. This honey was produced in Buna. That made it local. That means it’s therapeutic. Bingo. Up to the counter I went with a jar.

Then on another day, I noticed a display of jarred honey at Pickin An Grinin in Pinehurst. They are right next door to Lucy’s. Here was another treasure trove of local honey. This batch was produced near Sour Lake. I know it is the wrong county but it would probably provide the medically necessary benefits.

Well both jars have been properly consumed. And I must say I feel much healthier. Thank you Ted and Susie and thanks to the bees.

But back to Lucy’s, I would like to make my first trip. I really need to go eat lunch there. While making my rounds one day, I went in to Lucy’s Cafe at lunch. That place was packed full of happy customers. I didn’t have time to eat. I intended to go this week for my wife’s birthday lunch but she had other plans. Her and her friend spent a nice afternoon at the First Cup Café at First Baptist Church Orange recently. She had wanted to go eat lunch there since her coffee date. So, we enjoyed a nice sandwich, wonderful view, relaxed atmosphere and good service for her birthday lunch.

Just about once per month, an out of town consultant spends a day with me. One of the highlights of our day is his buying lunch. I took him to Old Orange Café on one of those lunches. He has asked to go there since. He didn’t have to twist my arm. I am a sucker for a good chicken salad sandwich and they have one. They also have a smoked salmon salad sandwich.

But, I have a plan. The next time the consultant comes to town I am going to pretend to get lost and end up in Pinehurst.

This all started with Ted and Susie and local honey therapy. I think I am hungry.

 

Bobby Tingle is publisher of The Orange Leader. He can be reached at bobby.tingle@orangeleader.com