A trip to Biloxi (or Biloxi Bobby)

One of the items on the upgrade list was new anchor chain. Not any old chain, but US made, high test, hot dipped galvanized chain. Only Acco/Peerless would do. I started shopping for chain and found it to be expensive. I could get a good price on the chain but then shipping was a killer. Since we were going to be in Alabama I figured that I might be able to buy the chain there and haul it home in the car. Through the good folks on Cruisersforum.com I got pointed in the direction of a store in Biloxi. I called there and had an extremely hard time understanding the woman on the phone. Eventually we connected and I was quoted a very fair price on the chain. We made plans to stop in Biloxi on the way home from Alabama. A week or so before it was time to go to Biloxi, I called to firm things up. I talked to a man there and once again I could barely understand what was being said. I chalked this up to my poor northern hearing and this guys southern English. I told him that I didn’t want to pay the Mississippi sales tax since I’m from Montana and we have no sales tax. We went around for a while and I understood him to say that if we would pay in cash there would be no sales tax. Sounded a little shady but what the heck. Finally, I told him that I’d email him to get the details straight and asked for his name. I didn’t understand what he said so I asked him to spell it. “B-O-B-B-Y, Bobby” was his answer.

We showed up in Biloxi with a pocket full of hundred dollar bills and met Bobby, who happened to be Chinese. That explained a lot. My Montana ears were definitely no match for his Chinese southern English. Unfortunately the chain had been ordered late and wasn’t going to arrive in time for us to take it with us. In the end though, Bobby was able to get the chain drop shipped to us from the factory for a very reasonable shipping charge. So the chain is now in the yard, waiting to have some nylon rode added to it and be pulled into the rode locker.