A Little Delay and A Great Visit!

 We ordered our new car in December, but, due to the world-wide computer chip shortage, it finally arrived in the US for us to pick up only two weeks ago.  It was just in time to learn to pack it and head out on our six week trip.

Our first stop was to be in my home town of Waynesville.  From there we would travel to Morristown, Tennessee, for a visit with my 93-year-old Aunt Nancy.  Her husband, Uncle Jim, had died in July at age 95, and we were not able to travel to the funeral, so, we were looking forward very much to this visit.

We had just passed Old Fort and were  almost to Asheville when it happened.  I did not even see whatever we ran over in the road.  A tire picked up a “whocking” sound which lasted only seconds before something flew off into the air and all of air went out of the right rear tire.  

I tried to seal it, but the sealant went right out the big hole in the other side.

Attempts to seal and reinflate the tire failed, so, we ended up being hauled to the dealership in Asheville.  It was Saturday afternoon and everything was closed until Monday. So, no trip to Aunt Nancy’s and no weekend in Waynesville.  We were now in the motel near the car dealer, waiting for Monday for a new tire to be ordered and installed.

You can see the flat tire in the rear as we are loaded and ready to be hauled to the dealer.

Later that evening my Uncle Steve and Aunt Norma called.  Unknown to us they were in on the planned visit, so, the new plan was that they would pick us up at the motel on Sunday and take us to the dinner visit at Aunt Nancy’s house. It was so very nice; we got to visit with them going and coming. When we arrived there was another surprise: my cousin, Nancy Carol was there from Texas.  She and her husband, Gordon, are retiring and building their retirement home nearby.

My Aunt Nancy, age 93, and my cousin, Nancy Carol, age variable!

We had a wonderful dinner visit which included looking at loads of family photos and remembering so many things.  Trish got a whole new semester of my mother’s family.  It was worth a blown tire to have this fine time!

My Grandparents, Grady and Zephie Walker, in the early 1950’s.

On The Road Again!

 While festivals are opening back up as live events, Trish and I are still not flying this year.  We simply do not want to put ourselves into the uncivil and potentially unhealthy space of airports and airplanes.  So, we are driving everywhere.

Besides those considerations, Trish and I love to travel side by side in the car across the beauty and variety of our country. And, if we plan time correctly, we have opportunities to see family, friends, and favorite places along the way.

A main consideration is packing for six weeks away from home in a variety of climates and events The main things to think about are: upcoming events, weather along the way, and, maximum times between laundry opportunities.

We end up with two suitcases each: one for daily casual travel (this one comes in from the car each night), and one for dress-up and performances (this one stays in the car until needed).  Then there is the back-up pharmacy bag, the office bag, and extra coats and shoes.  Wow! Does this all fit in the trunk of the car?

After several rounds of adjustment and elimination, we made it!  Now, will the trunk lid close?  It did.  So, we are off on our way for both play and work.  Maybe we will see you somewhere along the way.

Going Bananas!

 When Hurricane Dorian hit the island in 2019, every living plant around our house was destroyed.  We had to finally get down to the bare dirt and start planting everything all over again.

One of the things we decided to try was bananas!  We ordered one plant each of four different varieties.  We chose the varieties that were listed as most hardy as we do sometimes get an edge of freezing weather in the winter.

When the plants came, they were like dead sticks with a small bundle of roots at one end.  Trish and I set them out in April and waited.  Six weeks passed and they continued to look like dead sticks.  I even called the nursery from which we had ordered them and told them I thought the plants were dead.  The lady I spoke with told me to scrape the side of the “stick” and see if there was any green down under the brown.  If so, she said, just wait and watch!

By the end of May we had the first emerging green leaf!

All through last summer the plants grew…at a surprisingly rapid rate; about one new leaf every ten days or so.  By exactly this day last summer, the plants were almost as tall as I was.

Winter arrived.  In February we had a couple of nights when the temperature dropped to the edge of freezing.  As spring arrived, we saw that most of the banana leaves had turned brown and were falling off. But, new growth was starting!  Soon there was no doubt that the trees were alive and well.

Through this summer the growth has been amazingly fast!  About a new leaf every week, and new babies coming up from the original plant roots.  Now the plants have totally outgrown me!

Will we have bananas?  The answer will depend on the coming winter. We are told that it takes about 16 plus or minus months for the bloom to appear.  Then it takes more months for the fruit to appear, grow, and ripen.  If we have a mild winter, all of this could happen!  We will let you know if it does.  In the meantime, this certainly is lots of fun!

Church on the ‘Hooch.

 We have been in LaGrange, Georgia, for the week for the Azalea Storytelling Workshop.

On Sunday we got to go with our hosts, Joyce Morgan and Bill Young in their boat on West Point Lake to “Church on the ‘Hooch.”  The Chattahoochee River is a major feeder of the lake and First United Methodist Church in LaGrange each summer holds a lakeside worship service for people who are spending their summer weekends on the lake.  

The service is held on the lakeside grounds of the Boy Scout camp.  We had about a dozen boats filled with people gathered as well as another couple of dozen people in chairs on the lakeside.

The real treat was that the speaker for this Sunday was Storyteller Carol Cain, both a good friend and a member of the Workshop Week.

We had music and a sermon on prayer and even had the offering taken by teenage boys in kayaks reaching out with small nets on sticks.  

It was a relaxing and inspiring way to worship on a summer Sunday morning.

At the Zoo

 The State of North Carolina has a wonderful natural habitat State Zoological Park in the center of the state near Asheboro, NC.  I had not been there for many years and Trish had never been there when we decided to stop by on a trip last week.

I was amazed at how much the zoo has grown since my last visit and how beautifully the animals lived in their environments. 

Otters play in North America.

There are two large divisions: North America and Africa.  We went to Africa first.  You walk along paths in the woods and visit the large natural habitat areas where elephants, rhinos, and other large animals have their homes.

The elephants covered themselves with so much dust that they turned pale brown.

Then we went to North America and saw everything from bears to bison…we bypassed the snakes!

We spent about three hours at the zoo because it was a very hot day.  The walkways are very shady, though, and make it much more comfortable than open space would be.

Beautiful black bears at feeding time.

The Fourth on the Island.

 Here on Ocracoke the Fourth of July celebrations started with an island wide adult scavenger hunt on July third.  Then on the evening of the third, we have our fireworks here and an outdoor kick-off celebration down by the harbor.  It was discovered that by having our fireworks on the third we could cut the cost in half and afford a much better show!

We went down to the Preservation Museum about eight-thirty and got our choice seats for the nine-fifteen show.  It was beautiful as the  rockets went up above the waters of Pamlico Sound.

The Fourth itself started off with the sand sculpture contest on the beach.  The day went on with the island parade at four in the afternoon.  This year there was no classic car show as many of the old cars from years past were destroyed in Hurricane Dorian.  We are sad for that.

Watching the parade pass a block from our house.

After the parade, I told stories on the stage beside Books to be Red and then there was an evening fire on the beach.  The Fourth here is always a lovely day!

Time With Friends

 I met Put and Nannie Brown in 1982 at the North Atlantic Storytelling Festival in Rockport, Maine.  From that day until now we have been great friends.  We have visited each other’s homes and traveled together several times.

This year, Put and Nannie came to be participants in our Ocracoke Storytelling Week workshop.  When the week was over, they stayed on with us for the first good visit we had had in some time and so that they might get to know Trish better than there had been a chance to do before COVID.

 We had a wonderful time playing around the island, eating together, getting rest, and best of all, just visiting.

Time together on the porch.

We deeply realize that this kind of time is probably the thing that COVID forced us to miss most and we are delighted that their visit is the beginning of seeing in person many many people whom we treasure and love.