By

Jimmy Joe Meeker

Legalized liquor by the drink in Lebanon? Have I suddenly been moved to the 20^th Century or am I dreaming?

There is a move afoot to legalize bar drinks in this city and I am beside myself. I've been wondering for years what separates us from Murfreesboro or Nashville and I believe I've stumbled upon the answer…it's drinks.

A few years ago, there wasn't much difference between Lebanon and Murfreesboro. Okay, they had MTSU, a four year university with one of the finest liberal arts programs in the State of Tennessee. All we had was Cumberland College, but that was all that separated the two cities.

The Murfreesboro got package liquor.

Next, they got liquor by the drink.

Then Lebanon got old and crusty.

Next, Lebanon got a Wal-Mart.

Then Murfreesboro got some good restaurants.

Next, Lebanon got two Burger Kings.

Then Murfreesboro got O'Charley's, Chestney's, and bunch of other places where you could actually sit at a table instead of a booth, and eat dinner. You didn't have to swill down seventeen scotch and sodas, but you could if you wanted to. And I wanted to.

Next, Lebanon got Captain D's and Arby's, two places reminiscent of cattle cars where the lights blind you and the sound of a counter person screaming "Fish and Chips! Diet Coke! Slaw!" can send you into a wall-punching fit.

Can we dare to hope for a good restaurant in Lebanon? Maybe.

And before The Wilson County Advocate gets more Letters to the Editor, Lebanon does have a few good restaurants. Meecham's comes to mind. But I refuse to eat Italian food without a bottle of wine and I would rather be in hell with my back broken than cut into a steak without a Wild Turkey and Coke at my right hand.

We all want to go out to dinner in Lebanon. We want to finish a perfect evening close to home. We want to take our clients, dates, and even, God forbid, our wives to a nice place. And while we don't mind driving 30 miles to do just that, we're damned tired of driving 30 miles to get back to the house.

Mike Dinwiddie, the guy who single-handedly organized the drive for package liquor stores, is on the move again. He's taken the bull by the horns and there are petitions going around to put liquor by the drink on the next election ballot.

Moving Lebanon into the 1990's may be too big a task for one man, but with his track record, I think he may be able to pull this one off. See you at the bar, Mike.

No one here gets out alive.

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