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Visit Our Other Locations

In a town, the size of Nashville fast-food restaurants come and go. When one closes it’s really no big deal. You can usually find another location just a few blocks down the road. But in America’s small towns when a fast food joint closes down it’s a BIG deal.

Recently we were visiting my wife’s hometown Rensselaer, IN when we noticed a sad sight. The Arby’s restaurant just down the road from her aunt’s house had closed. And from the looks of things, it wasn’t just closed for remodeling.

It feels like there have been more business closings in Rensselaer the last few years than there have been openings. The McDonald’s just a few doors down is still there, as is the Pizza King a few blocks away, but there’s no doubt that the town is hurting.

We’d actually eaten at this Arby’s a few times through the years and we even knew one of the former managers who went to school with my wife. So we had a connection.

Now I realize it’s just an Arby’s… they’re all over the place. We can still get our roast beef fix just off the interstate. But I still feel sad. Obviously, if business had been better they might still be open. But it’s too late now. And truly, there’s nothing we could have done about it. We don’t live there, and even when we visit we’re usually just visiting with family.

But in America’s small towns the loss of a national franchise is a big deal. I’m all for supporting local business, but when you have chain stores it says your town is still thriving. The loss of the Arby’s may upset people for a few months, but life will go on. But if Walmart ever closes, watch out!

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2016 In Pictures

Over the last few years I’ve come to love Instagram. While I’m actively involved on most social media sites, Instagram has become my personal favorite. It allows me to share many of the special things that I observe on my travels around the US.

Most people are satisfied with having one Instagram account, but I actually utilize 4 different accounts. For the most part, each of them has a theme. I find that I get more interaction (likes and comments) when I stick to this theme based approach.

My @kevinmason account revolves around my love of signs (especially neon signs). My @ghostadsigns profile is devoted to my love of fading ad murals or ghost signs. My @thekevinmason account is often a hodgepodge of things, but often features graffiti and street art. And my @kevinmasonmusic profile is my professional account and is focused on music and social media.

Below are short videos for each account highlighting my most liked pictures of 2016. If you’re so inclined, I invite you to follow along on Instagram. Happy New Year!

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Donut Porn

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the phrase food porn on the web. It made me chuckle. I’ll admit, I’m one of those people. I take pictures of my food all the time. I know that some people hate it when people post pictures of their food, but I truly appreciate good food and a good food pic.

Last weekend when going through my photos from Mary Lou Donuts I found some of the pictures I’ve taken from other doughnut stops. So of course, I had to do something with all of those pictures… Why not a video? That’s easy. Finding the appropriate donut porn music was the toughest part. The music I found reminds me of something from a Jack Horner/Dirk Diggler movie. If you’ve seen Boogie Nights you know exactly what I mean!

So sit back and enjoy 50 seconds of pure Donut Porn. I’m sure that you’ll quickly see that I have a bit of a Fritter Fetish….

Oh, and if you too love taking pictures of your food, let’s connect on Foodspotting.com! It’s a fun website for food lovers like you and me!

Ron Swanson Quotes