Shealy's

  First Baptist Columbia has a strong program for Senior Adults.  They do a lot of things to keep active, and one of those things is trips.  Without a car and relying on buses to get around town, I didn't go away much.  My church helped with that.

 My first out of town trip with the Seniors was to Shealy's BBQ in Batesburg-Leesville.  I love barbecue, but I had never been to Shealy's.  It had a reputation around the state of having really good food.  It was a cold February day.  About 30 of us went there to eat (a lot).  I didn't know how I would be accepted by the others.  Mostly women and older than me.  I sat by myself on the church bus, just staring out of the window.  I hadn't been to BL since working at Belk, where we had a store in Batesburg.  Back then, it was important to do your work as a buyer for Belk, and then get out as quickly as possible.  I talked about that earlier in another story about not being from around there.  I put those feelings of fear aside to go to Shealy's.  After all, if anyone tried to attack me, I had a lot of older women to defend me.

 The food was wonderful.  I know that different regions of the country like their barbecue cooked certain ways.  Some like vinegar or ketchup base.  I prefer mustard.  The great thing about Shealy's was that you could put the base you liked on the meat without offending others.  It was a judgmental-free place.  I ate way too much.  When I go to a buffet, my eyes are much bigger than my stomach, and then I try and eat it all.  I did.  Real barbecue is so much better than store-bought.  Can I get an "Amen"?  

 We left Shealy's to go back to Columbia.  I no longer felt as an outsider with the group.  I was an official traveler with the Seniors.  They accepted me, and I wasn't intimidated by them.  We went back every year to Shealy's.  My stomach said "Amen"!