All in Columns
While reporters and TV talking heads continue to refer to North Carolina as a swing state, they are largely mistaken. We do not “swing” between Republicans and Democrats for president and governor much to the media’s chagrin. Our selection of US Senators, however, would qualify for that designation. The reality is that NC tends to vote for Republican presidents, Democratic governors, and flip flops on US Senators.
Every four years, the period from the end of August until the general election becomes disgusting. Civility and any semblance of real debate vanish. Innuendo, character assassination, fear-mongering, and half-truths flood the media and even invade what is euphemistically called “Social Media.”
At this point in 2020, you might feel like me, and wish for help in figuring out how to take news in. So much conjecture, so much agenda, so much spin… and we are dealing with really big issues: This Spring we’ve had to wrestle with Covid, Racial Questions, and Protests. As the Fall comes we face Presidential Politics. It’s more important than ever that we remind ourselves how to digest the headlines, stories, information, data, and feelings that come at us like so many inter-continental ballistic missiles.
Cold Soup, better known as Gazpacho, has started popping up on many Southern restaurant menus, and while it may take some time for us to “warm up” to the idea of cold soup, we surely have plenty of fresh local ingredients to give them a try. Today’s gazpacho is a cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables.
This past weekend was wonderful for me in every way. It began with the arrival of my beautiful daughter Jessica, and that event in and of itself was enough for me to accurately describe the weekend as wonderful. But it went even further than that. Jessica planned and helped carry out a mini Family Reunion, with our traveling to Elizabeth City to celebrate with various other family members from that area.
This week I picked up beautiful nice sized jalapeno peppers from the Farmers Market, and I cannot wait to use them in some of my favorite recipes. It might surprise you, but jalapeno peppers are not only known for their spicy hot taste, but are also high in nutrients.
The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected everyone in 2020 and will affect us for years to come. I will leave some of the national debate about the economic stress, masks, hydroxychloroquine, or other issues to the pundits. On a local level, the recent potential 18-week decision by the Lenoir County School Board exposed a servant leadership deficit catching parents, teachers and even administrators by surprise.
Economists have debated the merits of a minimum wage and a living wage throughout the years. Advocates call for a $15 an hour minimum wage increase from the current $7.25. The call for an increase in the national minimum wage got louder when the government added $600 a week to state unemployment to stave off an economic recession.
As a way to reintroduce Good-Bodies and other small businesses to area people, Blake Cates, manager of Good-Bodies, and co-owners Ed Smith and Justin Tart, came up with a plan: Good-bodies would host a floating Open House from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 1.
Over the past two weeks, we’ve had some good news. It looks like the second wave of coronavirus infections has peaked and turned back down. Case growth is down significantly from the peak, and the case growth rate has returned to the lows seen in mid-June. In most states, the data indicates that outbreaks are being contained.
In this year that sometimes feels like a decade, North Carolinians have yet to cast a single general-election ballot for president or other offices. But I’m seeing lots of politicos and pundits making confident predictions about the state’s key electoral contests based on data from recent voter surveys.
There is probably only one way the violent rioters in Portland are going to stop their war against the city, and that will be when they are confronted by massive force. That actually might be close to happening.
Senior year is what most kids look forward to their whole lives. The year when you finally feel on top, but it’s also the time you look back and take in everything you've been taught for the past 13 years. It is a bit overwhelming already - now add a global pandemic. I don't know what I was expecting but I am almost positive this was not it.
Friends and fans of local Farmers Markets celebrate this every week when the produce is ripe and abundant, but across the nation, National Farmers Market Week is designated as August.
My son Michael shot us a message on our family chat. He said Will Sutton, one of his former Jones Senior High School students, was going to compete on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s TV competition “The Titan Games.” Since Will was an Eastern Region competitor, the shows featuring his competition would be late in the series. Sandra and I kept careful watch to make sure we did not miss this young man.
Did you know that North Carolina growers produce as many as 70 different varieties, each with its own unique flavor? Although the Sandhills region is known for peach production, consumers can find growers all across the state. Peaches are a warm weather favorite and you will find they taste best June-August in parts of the South.
Discrimination, in addition to being wrong, is foolishly self-destructive. It keeps companies from hiring the best people and serving the most customers. It throttles innovation. It makes our families and communities poorer. When only white men were allowed to become doctors, for example, that artificially restricted the quantity and quality of medical care. One reason we are, on average, much healthier than our grandparents and great-grandparents is that healers of great skill, daring, and determination smashed through that barrier.
Today, I want to talk briefly about the Covid-19 virus and the unrest in various cities in our country. There are definite connections, having to do with control and destruction.
A little more than nine years ago, I said good-bye to my students and my classroom at Farmville Central High School to enter the world of retirement. After sitting out the required six months, I started teaching again – part-time in the English Department at East Carolina. My last class at ECU was May 2018. Since then, I have been fully retired.
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