We Are All Local - Little Worlds

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Morris Norton Dancing at the Sodom Music Festival, with Inez Chandler watching, Madison County, NC 1975.

We Are All Local - Winter Studies

In these times of turmoil, when pure evil seems to reign, I look out my studio door for a measure of peace, serenity, and regeneration.

We Are All Local - Little Worlds

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Robert Peebles, PawPaw, Madison County, NC 1983

Another March. Another March Madness.
But this year has special resonance as
It's the 35th Anniversary of NC State winning the championship.
Our friends Robert and Jane are diehard Wolfpack fans,
And their boys are in the tournament again this year.
So, here's to NC State and Lorenzo Charles.
May they be victorious.
And may it happen quickly.
So the rest of us can change the channel.

Copy of We Are All Local - Leslie 64

When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a Valentine,
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I've been out 'til quarter of three,
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.?

Answer: Yes

We Are All Local - Marshall 1983

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Daisy Worley Black (left) and Ruby Roberts at Roberts Pharmacy, Marshall, Madison County, NC 1983
- Thank you Cynthia Niles

This was a stressful period of time in my life. I won't go into the gory details except to say I had just opened a studio in the empty warehouse space on the third floor of the Flow Building. It would prove to be a cold and hot place to work. On most cold mornings I would wander down to Doc Niles's place, Roberts Pharmacy. They had an old fashioned counter with a soda fountain and would serve breakfast and lunch. Invariably, I would order biscuits and gravy, two eggs, sausage and coffee. Enough carbs and warm playfulness to keep me going all day.  

We Are All Local - Marshall 1982

In 1982, Marshall was a picture of a dying Southern town. Businesses were closing or moving to the Bypass and there hadn't been a new business in town for many years. The Mayor at the time was Betty Wild, a newcomer from Michigan who had been here for years and had been active in the community. The young people in town had little to do so, in an effort to help, Ms. Wild opened a game room in what is now the Flow Building on Main Street. 

Can anyone help me out with the names of these young men who are now 36 years older?

We Are All Local - Little Worlds There Remain

UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU TO. . . 

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Sprinkle Branch, Madison County, NC 2014
- Thanks Matt Hess

HEAD TO THE HILLS WITH HIM

 "Folks, things is bad and getting worse." He was heard to say.
       "We best lay low for a time and gather our strength."

We Are All Local - Preaching

This isn't the first time I've posted about litter and
trash dumps.
It could be an ongoing and regular feature.
There are many differences of opinion in Madison County.
But I've always thought our point in common is
our love of the mountains.
They are sacred to all of us.
We call our place The Jewel of the Blue Ridge.

Yet I wonder. 

This dump site, less than a mile from our house, 
never ceases to amaze me as I pass by it on my walk.
This is but a small piece of the entire dump. 
Placed judiciously along the creek in the hope that
high water will take at least some of it away.
It appears to be the remnants of an entire house
with a couple of vehicles added for good measure.

People will say, "Aw, who cares,
you won't even notice it in a couple of years."
Or, "I had to get rid of it and can't afford a dump card."
Or, the best, "Well, we've always done it that way."

As I get older I'm finding I have less patience
for people's stupidity.
It exhausts me.
Yet, here I am, still talking about it.
Witnessing so to speak.
Not expecting change.
Venting.

We Are All Local - Cold

HOSTA

Frozen time and again.
Pissed on by dog and man. 
Looking like nothing you'd want in your yard.
But patiently waiting for spring and
a return to its former glory.

We Are All Local - Thank You

“Blessed” is not a word I often use, the religious connotation is too strong for me. That said, I am extra blessed by the people around me and the place we all share. I live in a community where I feel supported and loved and encouraged. I’m surrounded by a landscape that offers both solace and challenge, raw beauty and man’s imprint, a contrast that only enriches our experience. I am a fortunate 70-year old man.

Saturday night, I was surprised by a birthday party on the Island in Marshall. I was totally oblivious to the months of planning and truly shocked when I walked through the door. After catching my breath and bearings, I was immediately struck by the diversity of people in the room. People I have known for my full forty-four years in the county, the older newcomers and locals, and many young people I’ve met in the last ten years who are the future of our county. It was a wonderful and heartening mix. 

I can only say thank you to everyone who came out on the coldest night of our recent record-breaking cold spell, risking freezing pipes and cold houses. My only regret was not being able to speak with everyone, but please know I did see everyone and love that you were there. 

There are people in my life who I couldn’t manage without. They put this party together – Leslie, Kate and Justin, Paul and Laurie, Joe and Janet, my brother Mark and his wife Marisa who traveled from Maryland, and their daughter Lily and her partner Joe (who win the prize for traveling the farthest, Philadelphia.) Newer friend Ricky Pumphrey, and one of my oldest and dearest friends, John Rountree.  Thank you. 

I’ve been saying that 70 got my attention in a way that 60 or 50 didn’t. I don’t feel differently than I did two weeks ago at age 69 and during the party people kept telling me how good I look for my age. But with the average life expectancy for white men in our country at 76 years, the reality is I’m officially old. 2018 marks my 45th year in Madison County, almost 65% of my life in this very special place. My deep and heartfelt thanks  to all of you who have made my life the incredible journey it has been.

We Are All Local - Selfies A'plenty, Selfies Galore

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I don't do many selfies although photographers will tell you their photographs are mostly about themselves. But today is my 70th birthday, despite what Facebook may tell you, and I felt I deserved a selfie or two. I needed to look at myself more closely at this age and then subsequently decided that you viewers needed to see me too.

The wrinkles amaze me although I certainly not one of those people who thought they would never appear. They have and I do delight in flexing my arms and hands and legs so I can then watch the  wrinkles dance in time to whatever tune I'm humming. Part of the 70-year old package is being easily entertained.

I look at my feet a lot because of my diabetes and my doctor tells me they are doing well. I had some burning for a time, but vitamin B12 and cannabis cream in the morning have done the trick. 

I've just given up on my belly. Except for the hair I'm proud to say I can mimic most any pregnancy. 

My head remains gnarly, probably more so since any of you last looked at it. What has interested me are the strands of hair sprouting up there like a badly seeded lettuce patch. Normally, I would shave these random, longish growths, but I'm finding I like them. I've decided there's memory in them of long ago, but not so long ago, too. Memories of a wrinkle-free, painless, no itchy skin, hairy time.

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We Are All Local - Feliz

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Marshall Bypass, Madison County, NC 2017