Scribes Valley Notes

August 31, 2013 is quickly approaching! For the Eleventh Annual Scribes ValleyShort Story Writing Contest , we are looking for stories that enthrall us, leave us breathless, make us say “Wow!” and stay in our minds even weeks after we read them. You've worked hard on your story, pondered every word, developed characters so real you know them personally, and created a setting which pulls readers out of the real world. Don’t keep it to yourself, don't let it sit on your computer yearning for the light of day! Let others read it. Let US read it! Online submissions available.

My wife and I love to take day-long road trips. We get in the car with no particular destination in mind, stop at a local grocery store to stock up on “rations,” then hit the road, making decisions on which way to turn as needed. Most of the time, we are pleasantly surprised where we end up. Last weekend, however, we had a destination in mind. My wife and I grew up in a small town in Tennessee. While we didn’t know each other until we were older, we both frequented, over the years, the same establishments in town. One, specifically, was the Blue Circle Restaurant (http://www.bluecircleburger.com). It was a drive-in style restaurant, part of a small chain in East Tennessee, famed for their steamed-bun hamburgers. The restaurant was wildly popular with both the older and younger crowds in our town, but, as with most popular things, it eventually faded, then went out of business. Sometimes we sit around and reminisce about such things from our past; how it seemed so much easi...