At the corner of Post Road and Mason Mill Road just west of Douglasville, Georgia near the county line separating Douglas and Carroll counties lives a Shell Sta

At the corner of Post Road and Mason Mill Road just west of Douglasville, Georgia near the county line separating Douglas and Carroll counties lives a Shell Station that fits description of those beloved gas stations in this article. I stop there regularly for a variety of reasons. The windows have a thick haze of years of fried chicken grease, engine grease, and daily abuse. It doesn't matter much though because windows are so plastered over with posters for lost dogs, fish frys, and general advertisements. You can get the quality Shell gasoline but you can also get diesel and off-road diesel because there is a demand for such a fuel here. You walk in and the hot food counter is steps away straight ahead, boiled peanuts immediately to your right at the register, snacks and Cokes to your left, and beer in the back corner. The coolers make loud humming noises but the Bud Light is always cold - sometimes so cold the condensation has frozen over again on the tab forcing you bend your fingernail backwards a little too much for comfort just to open it. On the hot food counter there's always fried chicken of some sort, usually bone in but at breakfast they have a patty to put on your biscuit. For breakfast I like to go for the sausage biscuits. The biscuits are as big around as the palm of your hand, maybe a little bigger. The sausage usually has sat a little too long to be considered "fresh" but the biscuits are so good that you don't even worry about that. Besides, the two packets of mustard that get smeared on top usually help. Fried okra is a lunch-time staple during the hottest times of the year and it pairs well with the fried chicken. In the South fried okra is a prized seasonal side item. Good fried okra isn't just good, it's outstanding. The clientele is a mix of construction, tradesmen and tradewomen, lawn care, school teachers, office workers, and various day laborers. The trades and construction folks are too busy to stand around and chit chat so if they seem a little hurried it's because they are. Most of them have to be in the city (Atlanta) by 7am to start their shift. If you want that Southern hospitality look for someone not in a hard hat or wearing a shirt patch with their name embroidered on it, or you can wait for the weekend. Regardless, in such a diverse group respect and congeniality is always shown.