Putnam's Landing and Crackhead Tom
My family has a lot of good stories and memories, but I think one of my favorites is Putnam's Landing and Crackhead Tom.
Around the time I was in middle school, my father had an Airstream camper that was more or less permanently stationed at Putnam's Landing on Lake Murray. Given it was only about an hour drive from home, we spent basically every weekend there through summer vacation. From Friday after school until late Saturday or early Sunday, we would spend every moment possible living it up on the lake. Boiling up a pot of shrimp on the shore, cruising around on the boat, fishing, swimming, or racing a pair of RC boats we had, we were always busy doing something.
As a home away from home, I loved that old Airstream. The AC unit was absolutely amazing, and we kept it freezing inside, even during the stifling heat of summer. Quarters were a little cramped, but with a full or queen size bed on one end, and 2 twin beds near the bathroom, it was plenty of room for us. The kitchen rarely got use beyond snacks, since we cooked outside on an open fire most of the time. The bathroom worked (presumably), but Putnam's Landing didn't have water hookups for recreational vehicles. As such, we kept a gallon jug of water by the toilet to flush with, and we took showers at the landing facilities, if at all. Yes, we were nasty, but it was weekends during summer vacation. Showers were for Sunday before church.
If you wanted to make the most of a Saturday, you had to fuel up with a good breakfast. Fortunately, Putnam's Landing had a restaurant and shop, run by a man named Tom. The shop was always freezing cold, and Tom would be working the grill, sweating buckets. He was animated and loud, but Tom could make a mean bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. To this day, I don't know what he did to make something so simple taste so delicious, but I've never had a BE&C as good as what Crackhead Tom made. We don't actually know if Tom was on crack, but he certainly seemed like it at the time.
Other regulars at Putnam's Landing were Gerald and his three-legged dog Tripod. Gerald didn't seem much older than my cousins and I, but he was wise for his years. He had a glass eye, the end result of playing a little too dangerously with bottle rockets. Once, we left the key to the camper at home, not realizing our error until we tried to get in. We contemplated taking the door off the hinges, just so we wouldn't have to make an hour drive back to get the keys, but it would have required some fairly specialized tools. Lo and behold, who had the exact tools we needed but Gerald. We got the door off the hinges, and turned an otherwise unfortunate circumstance into another fun weekend. He was a good guy, and I'd love to get back in contact with him to catch up.
In the mean time, if it was too dark to play outside, I'd play my Game Boy. I had a gallon Ziploc bag of games that I'd take on any trips, including down to the lake. One time I misplaced the bag, and searched for it in a mild panic. My father thought it was trivial and that we could replace the games, until he learned that they were about $30 each. We combed the camper, since I wouldn't have taken it outside anywhere. We finally found the bag of games in the bathroom, nestled down beside the toilet. I'd taken them to the bathroom with me for some quality gaming time, and left them in there on accident. I was certainly more careful with them after that.
Most evenings, we made a fire in the pit by the camper. One time, we were disposing of some cardboard boxes, so we threw them atop the blaze. This was all well and good, until it occurred to us that we'd thrown one of the bigger boxes on with the opening facing down. The buildup of hot air could potentially have caused an explosion or flare up at least, had we left it as is. We used a long pole to tip one end up, at which point a huge fireball blew out. Fortunately, there were no negative consequences, but it was an exciting few moments.
On the way home, if it wasn't too late in the day, we would stop by a deli not far from the landing. Gerald either worked at the restaurant or knew the owners, and he was the one who first introduced us to it. I can't recall the name of the restaurant, but I know it had a sandwich called the Lake Murray Dipper, and a lower calorie version called the Lake Murray Skinny Dipper. Thinking back, they almost remind me of sandwiches from Groucho's Deli, but it's been so long ago, I could be completely off. I just know those sandwiches were delicious, either on their own merit or being the icing on the cake from a fantastic weekend.
When the deli was unavailable for whatever reason, we would occasionally stop in Prosperity for my parents to trade me off. I had to be at church on Sunday, but there was still a day left in the weekend, so we met at the midpoint between the lake and home. Fortunately, there was a delicious buffet BBQ place called Hawg Heaven, so we would usually grab dinner during the switch. I blame a non-trivial portion of my extra weight as a kid on all the times we ate at Hawg Heaven, but it was fantastic.
I definitely miss those days, and I would love to be able to recreate them with my own kids. From what I can tell, Putnam's Landing is still open for business, so we could probably go down just for a day trip if nothing else. If you've never experienced a true lake day, though, I highly recommend it. Go visit Putnam's Landing and see if you can get Crackhead Tom to make you an unforgettable bacon, egg, and cheese.
Around the time I was in middle school, my father had an Airstream camper that was more or less permanently stationed at Putnam's Landing on Lake Murray. Given it was only about an hour drive from home, we spent basically every weekend there through summer vacation. From Friday after school until late Saturday or early Sunday, we would spend every moment possible living it up on the lake. Boiling up a pot of shrimp on the shore, cruising around on the boat, fishing, swimming, or racing a pair of RC boats we had, we were always busy doing something.
As a home away from home, I loved that old Airstream. The AC unit was absolutely amazing, and we kept it freezing inside, even during the stifling heat of summer. Quarters were a little cramped, but with a full or queen size bed on one end, and 2 twin beds near the bathroom, it was plenty of room for us. The kitchen rarely got use beyond snacks, since we cooked outside on an open fire most of the time. The bathroom worked (presumably), but Putnam's Landing didn't have water hookups for recreational vehicles. As such, we kept a gallon jug of water by the toilet to flush with, and we took showers at the landing facilities, if at all. Yes, we were nasty, but it was weekends during summer vacation. Showers were for Sunday before church.
If you wanted to make the most of a Saturday, you had to fuel up with a good breakfast. Fortunately, Putnam's Landing had a restaurant and shop, run by a man named Tom. The shop was always freezing cold, and Tom would be working the grill, sweating buckets. He was animated and loud, but Tom could make a mean bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. To this day, I don't know what he did to make something so simple taste so delicious, but I've never had a BE&C as good as what Crackhead Tom made. We don't actually know if Tom was on crack, but he certainly seemed like it at the time.
Other regulars at Putnam's Landing were Gerald and his three-legged dog Tripod. Gerald didn't seem much older than my cousins and I, but he was wise for his years. He had a glass eye, the end result of playing a little too dangerously with bottle rockets. Once, we left the key to the camper at home, not realizing our error until we tried to get in. We contemplated taking the door off the hinges, just so we wouldn't have to make an hour drive back to get the keys, but it would have required some fairly specialized tools. Lo and behold, who had the exact tools we needed but Gerald. We got the door off the hinges, and turned an otherwise unfortunate circumstance into another fun weekend. He was a good guy, and I'd love to get back in contact with him to catch up.
In the mean time, if it was too dark to play outside, I'd play my Game Boy. I had a gallon Ziploc bag of games that I'd take on any trips, including down to the lake. One time I misplaced the bag, and searched for it in a mild panic. My father thought it was trivial and that we could replace the games, until he learned that they were about $30 each. We combed the camper, since I wouldn't have taken it outside anywhere. We finally found the bag of games in the bathroom, nestled down beside the toilet. I'd taken them to the bathroom with me for some quality gaming time, and left them in there on accident. I was certainly more careful with them after that.
Most evenings, we made a fire in the pit by the camper. One time, we were disposing of some cardboard boxes, so we threw them atop the blaze. This was all well and good, until it occurred to us that we'd thrown one of the bigger boxes on with the opening facing down. The buildup of hot air could potentially have caused an explosion or flare up at least, had we left it as is. We used a long pole to tip one end up, at which point a huge fireball blew out. Fortunately, there were no negative consequences, but it was an exciting few moments.
On the way home, if it wasn't too late in the day, we would stop by a deli not far from the landing. Gerald either worked at the restaurant or knew the owners, and he was the one who first introduced us to it. I can't recall the name of the restaurant, but I know it had a sandwich called the Lake Murray Dipper, and a lower calorie version called the Lake Murray Skinny Dipper. Thinking back, they almost remind me of sandwiches from Groucho's Deli, but it's been so long ago, I could be completely off. I just know those sandwiches were delicious, either on their own merit or being the icing on the cake from a fantastic weekend.
When the deli was unavailable for whatever reason, we would occasionally stop in Prosperity for my parents to trade me off. I had to be at church on Sunday, but there was still a day left in the weekend, so we met at the midpoint between the lake and home. Fortunately, there was a delicious buffet BBQ place called Hawg Heaven, so we would usually grab dinner during the switch. I blame a non-trivial portion of my extra weight as a kid on all the times we ate at Hawg Heaven, but it was fantastic.
I definitely miss those days, and I would love to be able to recreate them with my own kids. From what I can tell, Putnam's Landing is still open for business, so we could probably go down just for a day trip if nothing else. If you've never experienced a true lake day, though, I highly recommend it. Go visit Putnam's Landing and see if you can get Crackhead Tom to make you an unforgettable bacon, egg, and cheese.
Crackhead Tom isn't very PC.. we call them Methican Americans 'round here boy
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