Folks raised below the Mason-Dixon line cannot drive past roadside stands selling boiled peanuts, and the little Oriental lady, nicknamed “Peanut Pearl” by her late husband, boiled the best goobers Southerners ever gobbled. I befriended her after going into sticker shock when an orthodontist informed me that even a self-respecting garfish wouldn’t put up with one of my daughter’s teeth, and that his fee for making her smile as beautiful as the rest of her would set me back five grand. Luckily, I found a weekend truck-driving job to earn the money.
