Everyone has those rites of spring that indicate for them that winter’s about over: daylight savings time, return of the osprey, first robin, baseball etc. For Buzzy it was always seeing the first camper go past the Store on the way to Pt. Lookout. He would always feign excitement and say something to the effect “Got to dust off those souvenirs, the touristas are back.”
For me it’s the return of Sean Price. Each year about this time Sean starts coming down to his property across the road from the Store and begins cutting, mowing, burning and doing his spring clean up of what used to be his Grandmother Leola’s home place. I always enjoy arriving at the Store and hearing Sean across the way chainsawing and mowing his piece of the Scotland rock. Not only does it tell me that spring is here, but also I feel like Sean and I are kindred spirits in a way. While he’s across the road trying to clean up and tame a wild, unruly and somewhat entrenched environment, I’m on the other side of the road trying to do same with Buzzy’s Country Store. I think that between the two of us though Sean’s got the more manageable job!