Is it worthwhile to revive a lingering blog? Well, this is probably the third, fourth, or maybe fifth time I’ve done it… so I guess I see something in it. But then, here’s the deal, now that I’ve decided to revive it I am going to go on vacation for two weeks and probably won’t do much on it besides posting some photos of very pretty Ocracoke. The photo of the ferry is from last year’s trip to said island.
Ocracoke is one of my most favorite places. A small barrier island off the N.C. coast, part of the Outer Banks, there is something very special about it because it has cultivated a great community which many other “beach” destinations here lack. For this reason, we find ourselves going there as much as is feasible for a destination that includes a 2 hour ferry ride.
At any rate, welcome back dear reader… if there are any of you left.
I knew very little about Kathleen Parker until today. She was on the Colbert Report last night and was funny and entertaining. If you are not familiar (as I was not) she is a syndicated columnist who tends toward the conservative side… ok, not really tends… she is a conservative Republican. Last night she was on Colbert mainly because she had written a scathing article on Sarah Palin that has drawn some fire. During her interview last night, she almost admitted that she was voting for Obama. Crazy.
But I bring it up only to note that she has another, more recent, article I read this evening. Its entitled To Appalachia…. with Respect. Its about the Obama campaign’s work in the Appalachian region. Instead of going to the political hired-hands to learn about the region, she chose to go to someone who writes literature from and about it. That almost makes me a Kathleen Parker fan.
The person she went to is Ron Rash, a poet, author, and professor at Western Carolina… an N.C. man. Parker quotes Rash about what advice he would give Obama for campaigning in Appalachia to which he talks about the similarities Obama has with the people of the region:
African-Americans built this country and got nothing back, he says. So did Appalachians. What Obama may not know is that most mountain communities were pro-Union during the Civil War. These often-impoverished descendants of the Scots-Irish weren’t slaveholders, after all. In a sense, blacks and Appalachians are natural allies.
Well… I don’t know if that’s exactly what I expected from a poet, but I can kind of see his point. But despite that, I always have one big problem with people who are talking so specifically about the Appalachian region – which is a problem that is true for almost every area of the United States – its far too big to be so compartmentalized. Our impoverished N.C. mountain history has very little in common with the steel history of PA. Yet both are “Appalachian”. Its not so simple to give advice about an area so large and so diverse. Its the same just in our state – although we have a portion in Appalachia, its only a portion. I personally don’t identify with the region yet I am excited to see Parker go to someone from N.C. for her article due to my state pride.
You have to admire any campaign that can even partially recognize all these nuances.
Mark (no. 631) has pointed out in comments that the ATF have raided Blackwater after reading those reports about their stash of automatic weapons.
I have to say… I am pretty surprised about this.
Living in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area of NC does insulate me a great deal to how the rest of the state is – but I also grew up in a rural area of eastern NC so I still feel some connection to that way of life. So when I see stories like this one about Blackwater, I get really angry.
Back in the 80s we went through the whole “militia” craze with only a couple of dumb-ass groups – now we have one that is being paid billions by the government and is skirting our laws. What I don’t get a sense of though is how the local folks feel about having Blackwater in their backyard. The sheriff seems to like them – but he’s getting free shooting-range time. I imagine if most local folks don’t mind them, we will have them around as long as there are governments willing to pay them.
… which brings up another point, what happens if the US stops paying them? If another country is funding Blackwater do the local folks feel the same way about having mercenaries in their backyard?
There has been a fire burning at the coast of N.C. since June 1st. June-freakin-1. Today however, there was what must have been a major shift in the winds so that the smoke has blown all the way from the coast to l’il ol’ Chapel Hill/Carrboro. The longer the day grew, the worst the smoke.
We are now in a Code Red air quality alert and I am feeling it. I was curious about those winds shifting from the East and John Fleck share with me quite a few links to maps and weather data which only a climate-nerd like John would have (said with the utmost respect, mind you).
My favorite is the NOAA “Fire Hazard Mapping System” image. I guess I didn’t know the NOAA kept such a thing – but its pretty impressive to see the smoke drifts from the current North American fires. Its also interesting to see how many fires are burning too. Amazing.
I had some interesting conversation at a shindig last night about the planned growth for my town, Carrboro. There is a great deal of development coming to our downtown area in the next few years. All of it seems just a bit out of place until you realize how quickly our state, and the greater “Triangle” area is growing. In fact, this year N.C. eclipsed N.J. to become the 10th most populous state. And we’re still growing.
Nonetheless, I learned that two large parking lots downtown will be going away with the addition of all these new buildings. Plus, the neighborhood street-parking will be permit protected to help out the folks who live near downtown. Sooooo… considering our free buses stop running at 8pm and don’t run fully on the weekends do they expect people to patronize all this new business-tax-base?
Growth is a hard problem, but N.C.’s its getting some recognition . In fact, a friend sent me a link to a good article about N.C.’s growth problems, through the eyes of a Californian. Its an interesting perspective. One very good point the author makes is that N.C.’s growth has to be seen through the historical filter of a state moving from an agrarian society to whatever it is becoming. California skipped the agrarian step thanks to the gold rush.
Like the rest of the South, North Carolina must struggle every day with the dream of being rural and the reality of being urban. That’s what makes it increasingly difficult to keep growth good.
I think about the town I grew up in through that filter, and I suppose I see Carrboro through it as well. N.C. is not the simple place it once was. I am grateful for that, but always a little nostalgic for the old state too.
As any regular reader might imagine, I am quite proud of my state right now. Bringing it home for Obama last night was a great thing in my personal voting history. The first time my primary vote mattered (in a presidential race) and the first time my primary choice is a front-runner/winner… and it all came down to lil’ ol’ N.C.
I was looking at an interactive map of results by county and found it interesting how the state split by West and East. I’m really not sure what that means – both ends of the state are poor. I don’t think there is a higher African-American population on either side (though I could be wrong).
Here is a screengrab of what I’m talking about since its not likely that map will remain active – click to enlarge:
I highlighted Cumberland county because its where Fort Bragg is – all military and it went for Obama.
John Edwards won’t endorse.
Of course not, its not all about him. He doesn’t do anything that isn’t all about himself.
Yesterday was live-music day here in Carrboro. After a brief spot of work at Carrboro’s own “Open Eye Cafe” and a quick lunch at Carrboro’s own “Akai Hana” sushi restaurant, it was time to hear some tunes. First up was the Obama Early Voting Rally (I only vote on election day thankyou, I like ceremony) featuring Chapel Hill stalwarts Superchunk opening for Arcade Fire. The show was outside at the Carrboro’s own “Carrboro Town Commons” and was packed with people. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time. A bunch of us headed to my main man Fred’s (Carrboro’s own) house for grillin’ and chillin’ afterwards.
We left that a bit early to take care of the dog, sit for a moment, and then head out to watch The Pressure Boys play a show at Carrboro’s own “Cat’s Cradle”. The Pressure Boys owned Chapel Hill long before Superchunk ever did and were an integral part of my rock-n-roll education as I used to devour their shows in high-school and college. They were playing this reunion show to raise money for CF research too. It was a great show and once again, everyone had a great time.
However, all this “great time’in” in Carrboro has done wore me out. Crap, I’m actually sore from all that.
Above I share with you a shot from the Superchunk portion of the day – That’s Laura Balance on bass. If you’d like to see some more shots from the rally, look here.
Update: Fred makes the following note in his twitter: “Carrboro should do that every friday.” – Agreed.
