NASCARolina

This week’s blog entry is delayed somewhat, first due to writer’s block and then due to a funeral in North Carolina for my aunt, who was also my dad’s twin sister.  Now not only is my father gone (2004), but also both of his brothers and both of his sisters, which brings that generation of my father’s side of the family to a close.  My mother, one of nine children, still has a few siblings left alive (including herself) but no one is getting any younger.  Neither am I…

I have already addressed the issue of funerals, so I’ll keep that element as brief as possible.  Moreover, my experiences in NC are likewise limited, which will make this blog fairly brief as a whole.

I have a law school classmate doing fairly well in Greensboro (“John B”), who have I yet to visit since he moved down there.  If the invitation is still open, I’d be happy to see how he’s doing.  I have an elementary school classmate (“Michael B”) who is now a professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, but I don’t have much contact with him – just oblique messages on political topics on Facebook – much less any invitation to visit.  Moreover, Boone looks like it’s fairly remote, so it’s not even on the way to anything else.  

Ages ago, when my other law school classmate, John G, was still living at home and hadn’t yet met his wife, I visited him in Virginia Beach.  We took a day trip down to Nag’s Head on the Outer Banks.  We even stopped by Food Lion for sandwiches, which the store identified as “miscellaneous retail items”.  You can really sink your teeth into those.   I have relatives who visit the Outer Banks every summer, but I’ve yet to join them.   The Outer Banks look like much of the East Coast beach scene, like Ocean City, MD; Virginia Beach, VA; Coney Island, NY; Jones Beach, NY; Sandy Hook, NJ;  Atlantic City, NJ.  Outer Banks, though, doesn’t seem to have a boardwalk.  Too bad.

Raleigh-Durham.   My uncle – the recently-deceased but much beloved aunt’s husband – died last year, which gave me my first taste of this area, which is about 4 hours south of the DC area.  I didn’t visit any downtown area, but I did stop by Duke University on the way out and picked up a pint glass from the bookstore.  The weather then was fantastic, and I was in no particular hurry to leave.

I didn’t notice the area looking much different than Virginia, except maybe more trees and much taller.   But that looks is shared with Virginia southwest of Petersburg, along I-85. 

NASCAR.  I associate North Carolina with NASCAR, which is why I call it the way I do.  I don’t watch much auto racing, period, and almost none of NASCAR.  In the short time I’ve been in NC, I had no occasion to run into Don Garlits, John Force, Don Prudhomme, Helio Castroneves, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ayrton Senna, or other such NASCAR (!) heroes.  Nor did I see anyone driving like that on the street.   Looks like I missed out on NC. 

If I have occasion to return, I’ll be happy to.   Until then…