Melli's Donuts

I new tradition has surfaced in Jonathanland...in Marlin, TX:

Not content to sob, mope, and moan about Krispy Kreme's (aka "The Kreme") recent expiration, matters were taken into our own hands. Yes, we ventured to Marlin, one of the many third-world towns that dot the rural areas of these fine United States. What is there? Not much, really, besides a sizeable population of rural/semi-rural poor. Much more to the point, however, was the existence of Melli's DONUTS. Soft and glazed, like The Kreme's, these have a slight vanilla flavor, bursting with doughy goodness.

We went a little donuts.


That's my buddy Choong-kun. He's 100% Korean. From Seoul. Todd drove us.

Street level, this is a typical sight in Marlin:

So poor, sadly, that that we weren't charged sales tax—neither at Melli's nor the nearby gas station. Which reminds me: Those fighting poverty shouldn't forget that poor folks don't just live in big cities...it's counterpart, rural poverty, in the small towns across the U.S. is alive and well, and receives very little attention from both the media and from aid groups.