THIS is why you don't say things like "I will leave this stupid state," or "I'D never live THERE!" No. You fight for what's yours. And if you live in North Carolina, it's YOURS. Fight for it. Fight for what we once were and can be again. Don't just talk about it here at Facebook - FIGHT for it! Nothing worth anything is going to happen without fighting for it. Talk is cheap. FIGHT for your beliefs.
Here's a list of all NC representatives. I hope you'll consider writing to them - ALL of them - to let them know how you feel about what they're doing to the State of North Carolina. OUR state. We are so much better than they're showing us to be. The backlash is growing. Use this link - http://codeforasheville.github.io/email-all-nc-legislators/ Cut and paste these names into an email and tell them how you feel, if you haven't already. And PLEASE feel free to share this!
Sen. John Alexander; Sen. Tom Apodaca; Sen. Chad Barefoot; Sen. Tamara Barringer; Sen. Phil Berger; Sen. Stan Bingham; Sen. Dan Blue; Sen. Andrew Brock; Sen. Harry Brown; Sen. Angela Bryant; Sen. Ben Clark; Sen. Bill Cook; Sen. David Curtis; Sen. Warren Daniel; Sen. Don Davis; Sen. Jim Davis; Sen. Joel Ford; Sen. Valerie Foushee; Sen. Rick Gunn; Sen. Kathy Harrington; Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, Jr.; Sen. Ralph Hise; Sen. Jeff Jackson; Sen. Brent Jackson; Sen. Joyce Krawiec; Sen. Michael Lee; Sen. Paul Lowe; Sen. Tom McInnis; Sen. Floyd McKissick; Sen. Wesley Meredith; Sen. Buck Newton; Sen. Louis Pate; Sen. Ron Rabin; Sen. Bill Rabon; Sen. Shirley B. Randleman; Sen. Gladys Robinson; Sen. Bob Rucho; Sen. Norman Sanderson; Sen. Jane Smith; Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram; Sen. Dan Soucek; Sen. Josh Stein; Sen. Jeff Tarte; Sen. Jerry W. Tillman; Sen. Tommy Tucker; Sen. Terry Van Duyn; Sen. Joyce Waddell; Sen. Trudy Wade; Sen. Andy Wells; Sen. Mike Woodard; Rep. Jay Adams; Rep. Gale Adcock; Rep. John Ager; Rep. Kelly M. Alexander; Rep. Dean Arp; Rep. Marilyn Avila; Rep. Nathan Baskerville; Rep. John Bell; Rep. Larry Bell; Rep. Dan Bishop; Rep. Hugh Blackwell; Rep. John M. Blust; Rep. Jamie Boles, Jr; Rep. John Bradford; Rep. Bill Brawley; Rep. William Brisson; Rep. Cecil Brockman; Rep. Mark Brody; Rep. Rayne Brown; Rep. Gregory Murphy; Rep. Rob Bryan; Rep. Dana Bumgardner; Rep. Justin Burr; Rep. Becky Carney; Rep. Rick Catlin; Rep. George Cleveland; Rep. Jeff Collins; Rep. Debra Conrad; Rep. Tricia Cotham; Rep. Carla Cunningham; Rep. Leo Daughtry; Rep. Ted Davis; Rep. Jimmy Dixon; Rep. Josh Dobson; Rep. Nelson Dollar; Rep. Beverly Earle; Rep. Jeffrey Elmore; Rep. John Faircloth; Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield; Rep. Susan Fisher; Rep. Elmer Floyd; Rep. Carl Ford; Rep. John Fraley; Rep. Rosa Gill; Rep. William Richardson; Rep. Ken Goodman; Rep. Charles Graham; Rep. George Graham; Rep. Mike Hager; Rep. Duane Hall; Rep. Larry Hall; Rep. Susi Hamilton; Rep. Edward Hanes; Rep. Jon Hardister; Rep. Pricey Harrison; Rep. Kelly Hastings; Rep. Yvonne L. Holley; Rep. Kyle Hall; Rep. Craig Horn; Rep. Julia Howard; Rep. Howard Hunter III; Rep. Pat Hurley; Rep. Frank Iler; Rep. Verla Insko; Rep. Darren Jackson; Rep. Charles Jeter; Rep. Linda Johnson; House District 58; Rep. Bert Jones; Rep. Jonathan Jordan; Rep. Donny Lambeth; Rep. J.H. Langdon; Rep. David Lewis; Rep. Marvin Lucas; Rep. Paul Luebke; Rep. Chris Malone; Rep. Grier Martin; Rep. Susan Martin; Rep. Pat McElraft; Rep. Chuck McGrady; Rep. Allen McNeill; Rep. Graig Meyer; Rep. Mickey Michaux, Jr.; Rep. Chris Millis; Rep. Rodney Moore; Rep. Tim Moore; Rep. Gary Pendleton; Rep. Garland Pierce; Rep. Larry Pittman; Rep. Michele Presnell; Rep. Joe Sam Queen; Rep. Robert Reives; Rep. Bobbie Richardson; Rep. Dennis Riddell; Rep. George Robinson; Rep. Stephen Ross; Rep. Jason Saine; Rep. Brad Salmon; Rep. Jacqueline Schaffer; Rep. Mitchell Setzer; Rep. Phil Shepard; Rep. Michael Speciale; Rep. Paul Stam; Rep. Bob Steinburg; Rep. Sarah Stevens; Rep. John Szoka; Rep. Evelyn Terry; Rep. Paul Tine; Rep. John Torbett; Rep. Brian Turner; Rep. Rena Turner; Rep. Ken Waddell; Rep. Harry Warren; Rep. Sam Watford; Rep. Roger West; Rep. Chris Whitmire; Rep. Shelly Willingham; Rep. Michael Wray; Rep. Larry Yarborough; Rep. Lee Zachary
Nikki Strandskov was born in Maine and lived in several U. S. states as well as three German cities before settling in Minnesota, where she lived happily (mostly in Minneapolis) for 32 years. In 2005 she and her husband, Henrik, "retired" to Brunswick, Maine, near her brothers and sister and many other relatives. She and Henrik have one son and two daughters, plus one daughter-in-law and one daughter-outlaw, all of whom live too far away. At home, they have a tricolor English springer spaniel, Rusty, and a calico cat, Heidi.
Besides reading 100 or more mysteries a year, plus other books, Nikki enjoys genealogy, collecting Christmas music and stories, collecting hymnals, watching movies and blogging. Henrik writes hymn and sometimes song lyrics (two so far with North Carolinian George Keck), takes photographs, and also enjoys reading mysteries and books on Polar exploration -- a great interest to have when one lives in the home of the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum. Nikki blogs at http://auntieknickers.blogspot.com/ and at http://queuingup.blogspot.com/ (the latter is all about movies), and also posts book reviews at http://www.goodreads.com/ as Auntie Knickers and on DorothyL as "Nikki in Maine." She is awed to find herself in the illustrious company of Kaye's guest bloggers on http://meanderingsandmuses.blogspot.com/. --
“In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina….” (James Taylor)
…North Carolina, that is.
And, except for two brief drive-throughs (one on a train) when I was 2 or 3, that’s the only way I’ve ever been to North Carolina. Yet, it’s one of my favorite states, and except for the odd politician, I’m predisposed to like anything that comes from there. Why is that?
Well, of course there’s the folklore. As an old folkie (non-performing variety), I’ve been enjoying the music of Earl Scruggs,
Doc and Merle Watson,
and James Taylor
for many years. Appalachian folklore – music, storytelling, handicrafts –
doesn’t take much account of state lines, but I do know that the famous Jack Tales, collected and published by Alabamian Richard Chase, came from the Ward family in western North Carolina. As a native and resident of Far Northeast Appalachia – Maine – the Scotch-Irish basis of much North Carolina culture is part of my culture too.
The land itself is beautiful, as I am reminded nearly every day in Vicki Lane’s blog – her photographs make you want to be there. I’ve been to the Rockies, which are majestic and amazing, but – I’m afraid of heights. The Appalachians are good enough for me – beauty and awe without the paralyzing terror. Kaye, my hostess for today, takes some great photos too, most recently giving us a taste of the Carolina coast on Topsail Island. Every description I’ve read of the Outer Banks has reinforced my belief that I’d like it a lot.
And then, there are the books. You knew I’d get to the books, right? At 10 or 11 it was Inglis Fletcher’s The Scotswoman. I had become a staunch Jacobite from reading Sally Watson’s Highland Rebel and then found Fletcher’s book on my mother’s shelves of historical novels.
A few years later, I discovered Thomas Wolfe – Look Homeward, Angel and You Can’t Go Home Again. Anne Tyler is now best known for writing about Baltimore, but she too is a North Carolinian, and I “knew her when” – having read her first two, North Carolina-set books, A Slipping-Down Life and The Tin Can Tree, shortly after their publication. Reynolds Price is a fine novelist, and his memoir of disability, A Whole New Life, gave my church Faith Exploration group much to discuss, as did Kate Vaiden. Clyde Edgerton, Lee Smith, Charles Frazier, Jan Karon, and Tony Earley are also favorites of mine and all North Carolina authors. I mustn’t forget to mention a publisher – Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill – whose imprint has proven to be a guarantee of good reading.
Now, since I “met” Kaye through the DorothyL list, I need to say a bit about mysteries. What a rich crop of writers have been born in or adopted North Carolina! From Sharyn McCrumb’s Ballad Novels (and I am thrilled to hear that a new one is on the way, featuring Nora Bonesteel), to Margaret Maron’s series featuring Judge Deborah Knott and her large, loving, and sometimes eccentric family, to Kathy Reichs’s books about sometime Tarheel Tempe Brennan – I’d thought maybe that was all there was and then Vicki Lane started publishing her Elizabeth Goodweather books. She not only writes a charming blog and takes great photos, she’s a heck of a mystery writer, and I’m impatiently awaiting her next, The Day of Small Things. Looking back a bit, do search out the stories and novels of Manly Wade Wellman, which are also deeply informed by Appalachian folklore.
But – what is it I really love most about North Carolina? The people. The first Tarheel I recall meeting was Sunnie Strauss, the wife of my 10th-grade social studies teacher. Jack Strauss was one of those stellar teachers who still influences me after 40+ years, and not least because he and Sunnie opened their home to me and my friends with a warmth that seemed natural then. Only as I have grown up, been a teacher’s wife, and had kids of my own in school, have I realized how unusual they were. We had great, deep discussions, a lot of laughs, and enjoyed their unique blend of Jewish and Southern hospitality. Jack is gone now, but – thanks, Sunnie.
In my junior year, I was in a different school, a Defense Department-run high school in Germany. I know I met many North Carolinian students, but what I remember most is my U.S. history teacher, Jerry Pierce. For someone who was taught Union marching songs in my Maine first grade class, his Southern take on the Civil War (oops, I mean The War Between the States) was a salutary lesson in the different ways one can view history. He also was brave enough to be faculty advisor to a weekly “journal of opinion” that I and some other students started. We’re talking about an Army high school in 1964-65 – need I say more?
One summer in college, one of my flatmates was Cathy Haas from North Carolina. It was a pleasure living with her and I still remember that she knew James Taylor and had a great recipe for whipped cream pound cake. A couple of my old friends from various high schools now live in North Carolina at least part time (both being somewhat peripatetic professors) and seem very happy there.
And last but not least, there are the cyberfriends. Kaye Barley in particular. Yes, I know Kaye is originally and always a Marylander, but she does live in and appreciate North Carolina now. She’s the unofficial social secretary and cheerleader for DorothyL, and, I suspect, of any group she’s involved with. I’m glad to know her. I’ve also had some nice email exchanges with Vicki Lane and Margaret Maron. Reporter Allen Breed, who’s writing a book on Malaga Island, Maine, where some of my ancestors lived, has helped me with my research and I, I hope, with his. I’m pretty sure some of my RevGalBlogPals are in North Carolina too. I’m just going to have to go there some day! -- Nikki Strandskov Bayberry Hill Genealogy auntieknickers.blogspot.com nstrands@suscom-maine.net
Sharon Wildwind is a northern writer with roots in the south. Or maybe she's a southern writer with her heart in the north. One way or another, she believes that while the past overtakes everyone, it doesn't have to overwhelm everyone. She spends most days at her computer, trying to get her characters to believe the same thing, while they go merrily about their ways figuring out who done it.
Home is the place you just left
If you live in North Carolina, I have bad news for you. The sky is not Carolina blue.
If you don’t live in North Carolina, or have no connections to the University of North Carolina, you probably don’t care. Unless you’re a professional artist, in which case you might want to know what we’re talking about here is Pantone reference color 278 or 282.
And, if you live in Alberta, as I do, you know that that beautiful, crystalline sky color we get in the fall and winter—shown below surrounding ruins of the old General Hospital in Calgary, with bits of modern Calgary peeking around the side— is Alberta blue.
This is, after all, a matter of perception and geography.
Decades ago, when I lived in North Carolina, I decided to write my first novel. Did I follow in the footsteps of Tarheel authors who choose the Blue Ridge Parkway’s color-drenched fall foliage or Cape Hatteras’s subtle tones of shifting sand, or the cool, gray stonework and lush green lawns of the state capital as the background against which to set my book?
Of course not. I picked a setting in northern Alberta, and for a very good reason. I wanted to do a snow story, something where the weather was part of the plot, where the climax took place in a blizzard, where characters discussed when would it snow, was it snowing, and how much more snow was expected.
There was one tiny problem. I’d never been to northern Alberta. I had no clue what the geography looked like. I had seen snow, first in Kansas, then in Western North Carolina, but how would prairie and Appalachian snows translate to snow in a tiny community an hour north of Fort Vermilion, Alberta?
This was long before the Internet existed, and though libraries cheerfully offered interlibrary loans, I never found a book with photos of the place my imagination wanted to go.
I didn’t care. Imbued with the energy of finally writing a book, I sat in North Carolina and wrote about the imaginary town of Whiskeyjack, Alberta, where bad things were happening, people were dying, and my heroine was the only one with enough insight and courage to save the town … only first, she had to learn to deal with snow.
Eventually I finished the book. And finished it again. And finished it again. And got a degree in creative writing. And immigrated to northern Alberta, where I finally got a look at the place I’d written about for almost a decade.
In case you’re curious, this is what a small town in northern Alberta looks like at sunset on a winter day.
What I found amazing was the surprising number of things I’d gotten right about living in a small community that existed nowhere but in my imagination, and how much people did talk about the weather, and some, but not all of the effects snow had on everyday life.
And I learned that the sky color I had mistakenly, for years, called Carolina blue, was in reality called Alberta blue. At least, around these parts.
Fast forward almost a quarter of a century. I’m living in Alberta, I’m a published writer, and where are my current books set?
North Carolina: Asheville—Madison County—Fayetteville. I’m looking at the snow-covered ground outside my window, trying to recapture what Fort Bragg felt like on a summer evening, just at that point where blistering heat turned into almost bearable temperatures, the sprinklers came on in front of the Officer’s Club, and the odor of barbecued steak drifted through the stucco and red-tile roofs of senior officers’ country.
At least this time I have photos and memories to go by.
What I learned from living in one place and writing about another is to never underestimate a writer’s imagination. Yes, research is important, and eventually—preferably before a book goes looking for a publisher—a good writer must do some. If you don’t believe me, ask Kristy Montee and Kelly Nichols (AKA P. J. Parrish) about loons.
Sometimes knowing too much about a place kills spontaneity. Sometimes we have to trust ourselves as story-tellers and dive head-long into creating a place we know nothing about. The late poet, Richard Hugo, favored what he called triggering towns, places in which some thing—perhaps just the name of the town seen on a map—planted a poem in his head. In many cases these were not places he’d been; in fact, he said that having been to the town often hindered him. If, for his poem to work, he needed a red water tower next to the railroad track, but there was no such thing, he’d be stuck about whether to honor th e reality or just put the darn water tower where it should have been in the first place. So here’s to imaginary red water towers everywhere!
