If you're too weird for Asheville, you're too weird

Well hello there, blog world!  It seems that I have been neglecting the ol' blog, but I have good excuses, I promise.  Let's just say that there will be no "Adventures in house hunting, part 3."  On the other hand, there may be a series entitled "Adventures in house selling."  Let's hope that's a one-parter. 

I will save that excitement for another day.  First, I need to share a recent experience.

My cousin, Kelly, got married over the weekend outside of Asheville, NC.  My immediate family made the trip to North Carolina, sans nieces, nephew and brother-in-law. I have heard that Asheville is a cool little city, and it is consistently ranked as a top city to live.  I suppose I assumed that would mean it is fairly normal.

Bad assumption.

As we walked through downtown, we quickly realized that there was an inordinate amount of piercings, tattoos and dreadlocks.  Which means that the Grecian family looked more than a little out of place.  My first impression was that it was similar to Boulder, CO.

After going in a few shops, we walked toward the center of downtown, where loud drum music was playing.  A couple hundred people had formed a circle, and nearly everyone had a drum, bongo, tambourine, maracas or in the case of one lady, finger cymbals.

The Friday night drum circle in Asheville

The people were all ages.  Some had teeth; many didn't.  Some looked like they had just gotten off work at the bank, thrown on a Hawaiian shirt, and grabbed a drum from the back seat of the car.  Others looked like they had been high since Easter.  As we looked around, we realized that even the people sitting in the crowd had drums.

We eventually got bored, despite the amazing people-watching opportunity in front of us.  We wasted some time walking around before our dinner reservation, and I kept catching myself staring as we walked by people.  In one store, we found a t-shirt that read, "If you're too weird for Asheville...you're too weird."  Well put.

One store manager explained that the drum circle is a weekly occurrance, and everyone looks forward to it.  I'm guessing most of the clean-cut people in the suburbs don't attend.

Following dinner, we chatted outside the restaurant, when suddenly a paddywagon pulled up, and 4 cops jumped out and rushed toward a group of people near us.  They began searching the people, and obviously found something on one guy, who very wisely decided to resist arrest.  If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, I recommend that you not attempt to fight off 4 cops.  Just a helpful tip from yours truly.

A group of hippies, and a few other tourists formed to watch the spectacle.  A few of the hippies yelled that the cops were using excessive force, and that the guy was being peaceful.  I can assure you that neither was true.  Needless to say, for a family from Kansas, it was extremely entertaining.

Don't take this to mean that I wouldn't recommend visiting Asheville.  Just be prepared.  And if you're there on a Friday, bring your drum.