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"That is new," I said to my wife as we passed by a large convenience store with an attached Subway. We were about to cross the river that has forever separated town from where I grew up; a little place called Cumberland Heights in Clarksville, TN. It was Christmas day, and I had returned to this community to attend the family Christmas party. I thought to myself as we passed the new store, "I wish subway would have been that close when I was growing up." This convenience store that rose up overnight out of nothing did not surprise me nearly as much as Beach's Market, the old convenience store I grew up with, being closed.

Cumberland Heights was always home to me. Visiting on holidays and summers was the only consistency for me from year to year. After high school, I joined the Army. In the Army, I would drive from Kansas to Tennessee on almost every long weekend. I would inevitably end up at some point in my stay at Beach's Market. When I asked, my aunt was able to fill me in on what had happened with the store. In her words, "those greedy Beach's moved it; they closed the other store too. Now I have to put makeup on just to get a pack of cigarettes. I can't wear my pajamas or anything." In other words, the store is not staffed and patronized by people close enough to be family anymore.

Generation after generation grew up in Cumberland Heights together, intermarrying and blurring the lines of friend and family. The feuds and politics give the area a charming simplistic feel. It is the type of place where people help others without asking for anything in return. Common courtesy requires that one offer to compensate for any help given, but the same common courtesy requires that the helper turn down the offer. People there had nicknames for each other, the reasons for which had long been forgotten. No one called before coming over, and no one expected it either. Friendship worked in circles there. People were friends for years, and then they would become enemies for a time. Eventually, given enough time, they would become friends again and forget that there was ever a period when they were not. Cumberland Heights has its problems but that only adds to the charm.

Beach's Market had that same kind of charm. A long time ago, I can remember thinking that if you stood outside of Beach's for long enough; you would eventually see everyone you knew. For a large part of my life that was true. Going into the store, there was always a person who did not recognize me until someone

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