It has been pointed out to me by a close relative (my daughter, Valerie, to be exact), that in my last post I didn't include some important places to eat and gather. To be honest, I didn't consider two of them because they are not what I would call unique places where people go to sit and jabber for an hour or more with friends.
Alma does have a Subway sandwich shop and a Pizza Hut. They are just like the same stores found in cities across this country. I don't want to demean them, it's just that they are what they are: chain stores that sell formula food that's reasonably good. Generally, people go there to eat and then they leave. Of course, my other daughter, Eva, wants me to tell the world that my 16 year old grand-daughter, Enchantra, makes sandwiches at the Subway when she's not in school. She's a great kid, but then as her grandfather, I tend to be a little prejudiced. When I eat at Subway and she makes my sandwich, she professionally pretends she doesn't know me, which is difficult in a town where everybody knows everybody else.
There is another fast food place on Highway 183 in Alma called the Dairy Barn. It's an old eatery building that was closed for a long time, but about four months ago it re-opened with new owners and its current name. They serve soft ice cream, shakes and malts in addition to hamburgers, fries and broasted chicken. Again, it's a good place to eat, but its limited seating doesn't lend itself to groups of people sitting and talking about their day.
There is one more place to gather and talk, but it had been my intention to save it for an in depth post as a single subject. It's called Joe Camera, but trust me, it's one heck of a lot more than a camera shop. Located in downtown Alma right next door to the Subway sandwich shop, Joe Camera is owned and operated by a young husband and wife who have combined their talents to offer a camera shop, coffee shop and bicycle repair shop. Don't laugh. It's a heck of a place to get a Starbuck's (In fact, I think it's better) type of coffee, sit with some friends and catch up on the news of the day or simply lie about your last fishing adventure on the lake.
What kind of coffee do you like? Ethiopian? Jamaican? Colombian? Hawaiian? Make your choice from a bewildering selection of large hermetically sealed jars with beans from around the world. It is ground for you on the spot. New mama Dusti will put it together for you while she tells all about her brand new baby boy. A computer with a large monitor runs an endless loop slide show about the new one so that all who enter can admire Alma's newest citizen.
On top of the tall display case for the coffee is an array of old cameras. They range from the oldest Kodak Brownies to the first Polaroids to older cameras hard to describe. There is even an old Argus C4, which was my first 35mm camera, purchased in 1954. On the shelves below are 35 mm film supplies, photo paper for computer printers, and a few other items that are nice to find locally in Alma. In this era of digital cameras, finding the right film for my three 35mm cameras is getting harder and harder, but they have it here
Toward the back of the store, out of sight, is a one hour photo processing machine. The store also has a professional film lab operated by Dusti's husband, Joe, who is seldom seen because he is either processing film, taking portraits, or at home taking care of the baby. Oh, yes, and he also sells and repairs bicycles at the rear of the store.
Overall, its an outstanding merging of the skills of two young people. They have a website at www.joecamera.biz that shows off what they do.
Why, then do my daughter and I have our morning coffee at Bugbee's up the road? Simply because Joe Camera isn't open yet when we finish our daily three mile walk by the lake. We are early birds who hit the trail literally at dawn's early light. It's great to be a morning person.
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