I was writing about the mass shooting tour of the US by train you can take ... but I didn't expect to be in a shooting myself. It happened just hours ago in Concord, NC, at the annual tree lighting ceremony. I was so happy to be going after years of missing it, and when… Continue reading Shooting at the Concord, NC, tree lighting
I was reading a book called "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written By Herself", published just before the Civil War. The author is Harriet Jacobs. Harriet was born a slave in 1813 on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, and she spent about 10 years trying to escape. When she finally did,… Continue reading When evil overplays its hands
I made a video about not planting vinca: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3JBtcSOyMM So seriously, don't plant vinca. I entered this video into the Fredrikstad Animation Festival. I've been entering animations into this festival since I was in graduate school. I had it as one of my life goals to be selected into this festival, even if it took… Continue reading Don’t plant vinca part 2
I went to the California Science Center, and guess what, there's a drawing of a kid from Siler City, North Carolina, hanging on the wall. Somehow, a drawing from one of the most random towns in North Carolina made it to a very busy area on the other side of the country. I'll bet it… Continue reading Siler City Fame
After removing the invasive vinca, we planted flowers that are natural in North Carolina in the yard. Here you can see some pictures of them, and maybe you'll want to plant some yourself! Remember, when they're native plants, you just have to water them when they are first planted and newly caressing their roots into… Continue reading Native North Carolina flowers
Vinca is an invasive plant. I learned about it when I used to go volunteer with a nature group. Please don't plant it, it wrecks natural ecosystems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3JBtcSOyMM The group I was volunteering with would help to keep a forest at UNC Chapel Hill healthy. There was an old couple who would always volunteer there.… Continue reading Don’t plant vinca
This is a memory ... Vickie Honeycutt was a much-loved teacher at my high school for decades. I had her for English. In spite of her universal popularity, I didn't like her that much, and I don't think she liked me either. She probably thought I was annoying. She died quite young of cancer in… Continue reading Vickie Honeycutt Baccalaureate Speech, 2000
Spruce Pine is a little town in the mountains in North Carolina. They have Oak St, which is the main street. But off of Oak St is Low Street, which is just what its name implies, lower down the mountain slope. And even lower than Low Street is the Riverside Park. We were there in… Continue reading Riverside Rumble in Spruce Pine
We went to the Dellinger Mill. It's "in the middle of nowhere" but nowhere is very beautiful, very lovely. It's in the North Carolina mountains close to Tennessee; it's on a long winding road and nestled in trees. And it's been there since 1867. The man who owns it, Jack Dellinger, is 94 years old… Continue reading Old mill in North Carolina mountains
Union Street is the main street of Concord, North Carolina. It's been partly closed off the past few months because they're doing construction. But on Sunday, both sides of the street were blocked from traffic. So towards sunset, we set off to see what the occasion was. Maybe some kind of street festival, now that… Continue reading Judy Blume movie in Concord
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