It's a long drive from Withlacoochee to Perry,
through Chiefland and Cross
City. Perry calls itself
the Pine Tree Capitol of the World. I saw a movie
about
Mahler in a motel there, on the educational station
out of Tallahassee. Whatever
mountains he summered in
had quite a few pine trees. One thing Perry had that
Mahler didn't
was Pouncey's restaurant. Fried mullet. Hushpuppies with guava jelly.
Fried
quail as a side-meat for breakfast. We stayed in a motel in Perry,
with a swimming
pool, when we drove from Delray Beach to Panama City.
The kids could get a swim
in before supper. Usually, we hadn't eaten mullet
for awhile. They don't eat it
in South Florida. A person gets to craving it.
