A real estate company is like a home. The great ones have a strong foundation. There are certain perks that come with carrying the name Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices — one of the most admired names in business. Top among them is offering home buyers and sellers the tools, resources, and support they need during one of the most important transactions of their lifetime. Of course, all of this comes by way of our team of more than 800 skilled professionals and their intimate understanding of the markets we serve. Our strength and integrity are the building blocks for your future.
BHHSYostandLittle.com ©2015 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Lands End Drive One of the most prestigious townhomes in Lands End. Over 3200 square feet of total renovation & custom design work. Open kitchen with Royal Chiantishire oven/
range, glass paned pantry doors, incredible storage & center island. Formal dining
room with Crown chandelier & ceiling detail. Living Room features limestone
fireplace & center accessibility, Library
with coffered ceiling, custom bookcases & pocket doors for privacy. Supreme master suite, walk out terrace with fountain.
Katie L. Redhead GRI, CRS Broker/Owner/REALTOR® 336.430.0219 mobile 336.274.1717 office
3301 Alamance Rd $4,000,000
900 Rockford Rd $3,750,000
3215 N. Rockingham Rd
$2,900,000
415 Sunset Dr $2,300,000
807 Sunset Dr $1,850,000
2800 Lake Forest Dr $1,389,000
3003 Wynnewood Dr $799,999
5900 Stoneleigh Pl $799,000
3309-3311 Gaston Rd
1704 Saint Andrews Rd
4705 Jefferson Wood Ct
$795,000
$765,000
1 Chesterfield Ct $759,000
4215 Brambletye Dr $665,000
7007 Cross Hook Ct $649,000
11 Lands End Dr $649,000
300 W. Cornwallis Dr $625,000
7714 Northern Estates Pl $599,900
201 N. Elm St $584K-$196K
5109 Heddon Way $435,000
29 Creswell Ct $410,000
8 Dunkirk Pl $394,000
5101 Bearberry Pt $389,900
3007 Redford Dr $389,900
101 Country Club $385,000
50 Kinglet Cir $345,500
1722 Sylvan Rd $329,900
4921 Bluff Run $325,000
6 Highgate Ct $309,900
3903 Waldenbrook Rd
$283,500
300 Elmwood Dr $279,000
3230 Cheswick Dr $219,900
906 Pamlico Dr $214,900
1704 Colonial Ave $191,000
1609 Maple Ridge Ct $158,000
4036 Trappers Run Ct $149,900
5309 Amberhill Dr $140,000
1700 N. Elm St #14 $127,950
104 Sunset Cir #103 $125,000
6 Fountain Manor Dr #D
2700 Embers Ct $117,500
4843 Tower Rd #B $110,000
$795,000
$119,000
1907 Lafayette Ave $999,000
707 Sunset Dr $989,000
5579 Anson Rd $949,500
2010 Granville Rd $949,000
4311 Ravenstone Dr $899,000
14 Provincetown Ct $890,000
6 Oak Glen Ct $759,000
340 Air Harbor Rd $719,900
702 Northern Shores Ln
2000 Cleburne St $699,000
25 Old Saybrook Dr $695,000
4426 Johnson St $690,000
1211 Mosley Rd $579,999
3516 Primrose Ave $524,222
7705 Northern Estates Pt
$499,900
5604 Hedgeshire Ct $489,800
300 Parkmont Dr $485,000
2900 Saint Regis Rd $455,000
1000 Oakhurst Ave $385,000
713 Dover Rd $355,000
2205 Baytree Dr $360,000
4001 Henderson Rd $349,900
4 Saint Francis Ct $349,900
2005 Hawthorne St $349,000
19 Indigo Lake Ter $239,900
803 S. Main St $239,000
1000 Hammel Rd $235,000
706 Cypress St $229,900
1821 Colonial Ave $219,000
2514 Sherwood St $220,000
SEE ONE YOU LIKE? To arrange a showing or get more information on one of these charming homes, call one of our agents or visit trmhomes.com today.
trmhomes.com / 336.274.1717
$699,000
Marti Tyler 336.210.7503
Charlotte Davidson-Quinn 336.314.4105
Stacey U. Ofsanko 336.404.6342
Katie Redhead 336.430.0219
Kristen Haynes 336.209.3382
Elizabeth Pell 336.447.5516
Alec McAlister 336.707.0463
Wendi Huffman 336-254-4122
Leslie Stainback 336-508-5634
Karen Bickham Jobe 336.430.6552
Kelli Kupiec 336-541-0832
Preston Young 336.420.1478
Jim Blakeley 336.456.7785
Kathy Nakayama 336.327.7468
Patty Yow 336.255.9369
Frank Slate Brooks 336.708.0479
Jill Oakley 336.456.6077
October 2015 Features
88 Family Affair
The spirit of Carolyn Le Bauer lives on in a restored Fisher Park bungalow and the park that bears her family name By Maria Johnson
73 The Dark Room Poetry by Bill Evans
74 Muralist
98 Cool and Magical Shade Garden
A modern master of the decorative arts and fooling the human eye By Cynthia Adams
A walk through the garden of Greensboro’s most beloved plantsman By Lee Rogers
80 Tale of Two Kitchens
107 October Almanac
A pair of high-performance cooking spaces By Nancy Oakley
84 Chapel of Dreams
Presbyterian minister Bill Hamilton draws on an ancient spiritual tradition with his backyard chapel By Tom Lassiter
The power of love and prophecy, good apples and useful leaf wisdom By Rosetta Fawley
Departments
61 Pappadaddy’s Mindfield
15 Simple Life By Jim Dodson
63 A Novel Year
18 Short Stories 21 Doodad By Ogi Overman 23 O.Harry By Harry Blair
By Clyde Edgerton By Wiley Cash
67
Birdwatch
By Susan Campbell
69 Life of Jane By Jane Borden
27 Omnivorous Reader By Brian Lampkin
1 08 Arts & Entertainment October Calendar 131 Worth the Drive to High Point
31 Scuppernong Bookshelf 35 Vine Wisdom By Robyn James
1 35 GreenScene 143 Accidental Astrologer
37 The Pleasures of Life Dept. By Molly Sentell Haile
144 O.Henry Ending
25 Life’s Funny By Maria Johnson
41 October Fictional Special
By Nancy Oakley
By Astrid Stellanova By Grant Britt
By Paul Crenshaw
51 Autumn Journal By Nan Graham
Cover photograph and Photograph this page by Amy Freeman
6 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Art for Eyes | Eye for Arts Fine Eyewear, Artwork and Jewelry 327 South Elm | Greensboro 336.274.1278 | TheViewOnElm.com Becky Causey, Licensed Optician Find us on Facebook
We’ll get you moving!
9 Clubview Court
8407 Oakchester Court
Greensboro, NC
3 Braswell Court
Oak Ridge, NC
Diane Thompson
Ramilya Siegel
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-215-0402 Diane.Thompson@allentate.com
3112 Saint Regis Road
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro, NC
Segrid Ellis
Oak Ridge 336-215-9856 Ramilya.Siegel@allentate.com
Colleen Long
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-339-3965 Segrid.Ellis@allentate.com
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-317-6155 Colleen.Long@allentate.com
$2,350,000
$829,500
$650,000
$595,000
Signature European style home on a private cul-de-sac lot in the exclusive Starmount Country Club Community. Pool, manicured gardens, inviting courtyards & stunning pergola create an outdoor oasis. Attention to detail and craftsmanship throughout this exceptional residence. The entire 3,000 square foot 2nd floor is devoted to a luxurious master suite. Enjoy formal rooms and an extraordinary office. $40,000 Allowance for elevator installation.
A fabulous home in Oak Ridge’s Linville Oaks community. Features teenage suite and/or in-law quarters with kitchen, private garage and covered terrace. Gourmet kitchen features center Island, breakfast area and stunning keeping room with easy access to deck. Extensive moldings, well-planned functionality throughout, exceptional location, seamlessly blends all the elegance & comfort.
Stunning, neutral and pristine! Nine foot ceilings. Unbelievable closet space. Ideal floor plan for entertaining a crowd. Spacious kitchen with new stainless ovens, dishwasher and granite countertops adjoins family room and sunroom. Front and back staircases. One of the 2nd floor bedrooms could be a bonus room. Third floor could be a media room or home gym. Very large rooms. Over 3/4 of an acre.
For the buyer looking for standout quality and style, this home is for you. From the Flemish bond and herringbone brick details on the exterior, to the Chippendale banister and hand laid moldings and built-ins, this house very proudly calls your name. And beyond the details of design are the huge living spaces and versatile layout. Just for living, or extensive entertaining, 3112 St. Regis is the home for you.
MLS# 750974
MLS# 761056
MLS# 750488
MLS# 770564
6809 Koala Drive
2040 Beeson Road
Oak Ridge, NC
8 Parkmont Court
Oak Ridge, NC
Kim Mathis
Angie Wilkie
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-339-7757 Kim.Mathis@allentate.com
7807 Charles Place
Greensboro, NC
Stokesdale, NC
Sara Tollison
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-451-9519 Angie.Wilkie@allentate.com
Roberta Wall
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-288-1507 Sara.Tollison@allentate.com
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-215-4537 Roberta.Wall@allentate.com
$565,000
$559,000
$500,000
$449,900
Gracious living in popular Bear Creek. Large open spaces, 8 foot doors, wide plank wood floors & extensive moldings. The gourmet kitchen boast 42” cherry cabinets, custom vent hood, 6 burner gas cooktop, butler’s pantry, large island & breakfast bar. 42” gas log fireplace. Coffered ceiling in first floor study, trey ceiling in dining room and master bedroom. Galleria built-in bookcases in 2nd story loft.
Pull into this oasis situated on 8.6 acres with private pond. No restrictions! Beautiful custom all-brick home with main level master suite and 3 bedrooms with bonus up. Open floor plan with custom finishes. New lower level HVAC in 2014, UV lights in ductwork to ensure no mold or bacteria, water softening system, floor finishing system in garage and old barn used for storage.
Beautiful, updated home. Wood floors throughout with heart of pine on most of 1st level. Faux fireplace is a lovely focal point in formal living room. Heated floors in master bath. Main level office. Oversize garage has room for a workshop. Professionally landscaped with sprinkler system and accent lighting. Fenced dog run, large deck. Built-in bar adjacent to kitchen and den. Floorplan is perfect for entertaining!
Stamped concrete and arched brickwork at entry, curved staircase in foyer, open kitchen with granite countertops, tile backsplash, stainless appliances, and custom maple cabinetry. Custom millwork, great room with vaulted ceilings and a landscaped backyard with courtyard and brick columns. Master with new wood floors, spa bath with extensive tilework and 2 walk-in closets. Large bonus room, one bed up can be 2nd master! MLS# 760541
MLS# 764881
MLS# 765931
5723 Oak Tree Road
MLS# 729493
309 Woodbine Court
Greensboro, NC
706 Greyrock Road
Greensboro, NC
Betty Gilmore
Bill Guill
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-549-2811 Betty.Gilmore@allentate.com
8800 Case Ridge Drive
Whitsett, NC
Oak Ridge, NC
Delaina Ellington
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-549-0410 Bill.Guill@allentate.com
Robbin Smith
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-263-1767 Delaina.Ellington@allentate.com
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-451-5885 Robbin.Smith@allentate.com
$399,900
$395,000
$389,000
$349,900
Beautiful stone and wood contemporary with large windows. Hardwood floors. Large living room with stone fireplace, wet bar and a glass door that leads to deck. Formal dining room. Breakfast room also with door to deck. Den with built-in shelves and wood stove. Master suite on the 2nd level with balcony. Large 4th bedroom could also be used as the master. Game room and exercise room. Beautifully landscaped.
This move-in-ready Cape Cod with Tudor and Mission inspirations has it all. A blend of original details and modern updates. Kitchen and bathrooms have been remodeled but still maintain original charm. New interior and exterior paint. 35 tons of expertly stacked Tennessee stone map out an amazing outdoor living space. Basement is a great rec-room or could be turned into a home theater.
Impeccable one story home with bonus room upstairs. Captivating views of the golf course. Luxurious master bath updated in 2015 with tiled shower, floor & jetted tub surround. Upgraded kitchen with stainless dishwasher & double ovens, attic storage, large laundry room, relaxing outdoor living space with veranda. Raised brick patio & paver patio with sitting wall, roof 2013, heat/air (3-6 years old). Beautifully landscaped.
Beautifully remodeled home. Open floor plan includes new kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, slow close drawers and granite counter tops. The great room has built-in shelving and a gas log fireplace leading to a cozy screened porch and deck. Upstairs bedroom has a full bath and a closet that’s been roughed-in for extra space. New architectural roof and gutters, boxed plantation shutters and a water softener.
MLS# 760094
MLS# 769055
MLS# 750504
MLS# 752225
8 O.Henry
October 2015
Official Partner of The Carolina Panthers
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
3904 Brandt Lake Court
2697 Brooke Meadows Drive
Greensboro, NC
907 Winterlochen Drive
Browns Summit, NC
Amy Barakat Cook
Greensboro, NC
Linda Taft
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-202-1277 Amy.Cook@allentate.com
Ashley Fitzsimmons
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-558-5959 Linda.Taft@allentate.com
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-312-4543 Ashley.Fitzsimmons@allentate.com
$324,900
$299,772
$282,000
All the privacy you will ever need with over 2.6 acres. Inviting front porch. Fenced backyard with swimming pool. Close to walking trails and Bur Mil Park. Updated kitchen with granite counters and appliances. Large living room and family room. Front and back staircases. Spacious 2nd level. Updated master bath. Huge bonus room with storage cabinets. Additional land available! Seller is offering a $1500 decorating allowance!
Light-filled open floor plan. Master on main with trey ceiling. Gleaming hardwoods, screened porch. Huge fenced back yard with fenced garden space. Granite counters & stunning backsplash in kitchen, vaulted ceilings, and neutral colors. Sought after 2nd bedroom on main with full bath. Hardwoods with HVAC certification. Community pool & tennis courts. USDA eligible.
Over 3,400 square feet. 4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms. Spacious brick ranch with Pella & Binnings windows, skylights, plantation shutters, hardwoods, built-ins and central vac. Some hardwoods under carpet. Large master suite with access to deck and sunroom. Finished basement room has multi-storage closets plus 2 car garage. Storage building. Multiple decks and superb storage. Well-maintained with owner records.
MLS# 761599
MLS# 760770
MLS# 757215
At home in the Carolinas including seven offices in the Triad region:
Asheboro Burlington Greensboro-Green Valley 5006 Winding Ridge Court
3918 Siena Terrace
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro, NC
Bobbie Maynard
Tina Marsh
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-215-8017 Bobbie.Maynard@allentate.com
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-382-5740 Tina.Marsh@allentate.com
$279,900
$230,000
Exceptional at every level. Large master suite on main floor. Southeast school district. Huge rooms, formal dining, four bedrooms. Loft/bonus for theater or relaxing. Located in an enclave of homes known for exclusive design. Conveniently located to shopping, schools and more!
Don’t miss the opportunity to own this townhome! All appliances remain including chest in garage. Spacious kitchen with eat-in area and separate dining area opens to a living room with vaulted ceiling and skylights. French doors open to a screened porch. Main level master has garden tub, separate shower and dual vanities. Jack and Jill bath separates upper bedrooms and huge loft.
MLS# 768506
MLS# 767257
3402 Cottage Place
910 Meade Drive
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro, NC
Wayne Young
Mitzie Weatherly
Greensboro-N. Elm 336-253-4472 Wayne.Young@allentate.com
Greensboro-Green Valley 336-314-5500 Mitzie.Weatherly@allentate.com
$182,000
$178,000
Located in the convenient Battle Forest subdivision, just a few minutes from parks, shopping, the Greensboro Science Center, and the Greenway, this gorgeous traditional home has all the features you want. Hardwood floors, granite kitchen countertops, solid oak cabinets, and much more. A large shop and storage building is perfect for the woodworker or craft person. Shaded backyard.
Located minutes from Morehead Magnet School and the Hamilton Lakes Swim and Tennis Facility. Renovations include: refinished floors, kitchen countertops, roof, replacement windows, fresh paint, HVAC & water heater. Four bedrooms, large den complete with fireplace. For the garden enthusiast, a fabulous greenhouse with ventilation, irrigation and heating! Separate storage building!
MLS# 763006
MLS# 733286
Greensboro-N. Elm High Point Oak Ridge Winston-Salem
6,000 Enjoyable Acres 1,000s of Programs for All Ages 600 Parks, Gardens and Facilities 98 Tennis Courts 90 Miles of Trails and Greenways 11 Community Recreation Centers 4 Outdoor Swimming Pools 3 Lakes - Higgins, Brandt & Townsend 3 Golf Courses 1 Boxing Club Endless Benefits
Improving health and wellness in our community since 1933.
www.gsoparksandrec.org
Na ture. Come join us!
SWING COLLECTION
Y O U R H O M E S AY S A L O T A B O U T Y O U . W E ’ R E H E R E TO L I S T E N . Your home is a reflection of you. Ferguson’s product experts are here to listen to every detail of your vision, and we’ll work alongside you and your designer, builder or remodeler to bring it to life. Schedule a one-on-one consultation with us today.
GREENSBORO 305 FRIENDSHIP DRIVE (336) 664-6509 ©2015 Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
WINSTON SALEM 7905 NORTH POINT BOULEVARD (336) 759-0253
FERGUSON.COM/SHOWROOMS October 2015 O.Henry 11
Are you a candidate for a partial knee replacement? Not every arthritic knee needs a total knee replacement
M A G A Z I N E Volume 5, No. 10 “I have a fancy that every city has a voice.” 336.617.0090 1848 Banking Street Greensboro, NC 27408 www.ohenrymag.com Jim Dodson, Editor jim@ohenrymag.com Andie Stuart Rose, Art Director andie@ohenrymag.com
Matthew D. Olin, MD
has been certified & master course trained for the BioMet Oxford Partial Knee Replacement since its introduction to the US in 2004. To schedule an appointment with Matthew D. Olin, MD to determine if this surgery is for you. Call: 336.545.5030
Dr. Olin specializes in anterior hip replacement surgery, partial & total knee replacement surgery, in addition to revision hip & knee replacement surgery.
Nancy Oakley, Senior Editor nancy@ohenrymag.com Lauren Shumaker, Graphic Designer Kira Schoenfelder, Graphic Designer Contributing Editors Cynthia Adams, David Bailey, Harry Blair, Maria Johnson Contributing Photographers Lynn Donovan, Amy Freeman, Hannah Sharpe Contributors Jane Borden, Grant Britt, Susan Campbell, Wiley Cash, Paul Crenshaw, Clyde Edgerton, Bill Evans, Rosetta Fawley, John Gessner, Nan Graham, Molly Sentell Haile, Robyn James, Sara King, Brian Lampkin, Tom Lassiter, Sara Jane Mann, Meridith Martens, Ogi Overman, Lee Rogers, Astrid Stellanova
O.H David Woronoff, Publisher
Scan to watch an interactive video of a partial knee replacement.
Advertising Sales Marty Hefner, Sales Director 336.707.6893, mhefner@ohenrymag.com Hattie Aderholdt, 336.601.1188 hattie@ohenrymag.com Lisa Allen, 336.210.6921 lisa@ohenrymag.com Amy Grove, 336.456.0827 amy@ohenrymag.com Circulation Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488 Advertising Graphic Design Dana Martin, 336.617.0090 dana@ohenrymag.com
For more information about Dr. Olin and surgery visit www.GreensboroOrthopaedics.com
12 O.Henry
October 2015
Subscriptions 336.617.0090 ©Copyright 2015. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. O.Henry Magazine is published by The Pilot LLC
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A House to Reflect Your Dreams, An Agent to Make Them Come True. As Luxury Collection specialists, Tom Chitty & Associates are highly trained experts who can turn your vision into reality with this stunning home at 7 Lochside Court in Greensboro. Call or visit tomchitty.com for the details surrounding this spectacular home.
Start reflecting on the home you want today. Visit www.tomchitty.com
Tom Chitty & Associates Direct Line: 336-420-2836 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Email: tomchitty@tomchitty.com Website: www.tomchitty.com
Š2015 An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire HomeServices symbol OctoberHathaway 2015 O.Henry are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.Ž Equal Housing Opportunity.
13
Simple Life
Old Things
By Jim Dodson
Not long ago, I sent out an old club
Illustration by Kira schoenfelder
chair from my office to be recovered.
Some of my colleagues at the magazine were greatly amused by this act, pointing out that the town dump was a more fitting destination than a fine reupholstery shop. For years they’d made high sport of my uncommon devotion to this old chair, you see, though probably not for no good reason. Half its springs were shot and its cushion sagged almost to the floor in places, prompting me to lovingly nickname it “the Chair of No Return,” warning any unwary sitters of injuries that could occur from attempting to rise from it. Our clever art director, Andie Rose, insensitively took to calling it “Chairy” after Pee-wee Herman’s peculiar talking armchair. The CNR and I were both wounded by this. Still, how I loved that old armchair, secretly hoping the upholsterer might return it with a new lease on life. Crusty Mildred Horseman, after all, gave me this chair the summer before my junior year in college, my first piece of actual grown-up furniture. She lived across the street from my parents in Greensboro. Even then the old thing was something of an antique, the chair I mean to say, having belonged to her late husband, Clyde, from his college days in Michigan, evidenced by its original faded green leather worn by decades of service. I carted it off to my first big job in Atlanta, where it received its first reupholstering job, a nice updated green hunter plaid like the one I’d recently seen in a sitting room of the swanky Piedmont Driving Club. I thought it looked terribly sophisticated, even if I wasn’t. Seven years later the CNR accompanied me to a new life and job in a rented U-Haul truck to a solar house by the Green River in Vermont, followed a year later to a cottage in a New Hampshire apple orchard, thence to a weathered bungalow in the salt marsh of Essex, Massachusetts — and finally, to the rugged post and beam house my young bride and I built on a forested hilltop near the coast of Maine. By then the CNR had seen its better days, with a seat cushion woefully The Art & Soul of Greensboro
sagging, soon to be relegated to my upstairs home office in the barn, safely out of view. Still, the old thing was my seat of choice, the place where I preferred to sit when I wrote essays or read books to my small children. I thought that might be the final resting place for us both, to tell the truth. But life had other plans. A decade later, following divorce and remarriage, the old armchair came home with me to the South and wound up in my magazine office, the source of great mirth to my staff. Still, what is it about a few old things that have a way of wrapping their vines around the human heart and are spiritually endowed with a deep personal meaning? Maybe it’s the fact that their bittersweet impermanence mirrors our own and they may well outlive us in the race to the boneyard. Artists and poets seem to understand this intuitively. Not long ago I saw a magnificent iron elk made from rusted auto parts standing beside the highway. What a thing of salvaged beauty it was, a mythic tribute to nature and General Motors. I stopped and snapped a photo, wishing I could somehow cart it home to my front lawn. Such acts are in our national DNA. In the days before every rural family possessed a camera, quilts were made from worn-out clothing and household items for warmth and frugality — but also to record a family’s passage through time, scraps that speak, as my late Grandmother Taylor liked to say of her own humble quilts. They reminded her of people she’d known in her life, and how far she’d journeyed, a story behind each square of cloth. If you love it enough, said George Washington Carver, anything will speak to you. Tony Avent, the nationally known horticultural guru and owner of Plant Delights Nursery, uses old bathroom fixtures and other household items that have outlived their usefulness as stage props along the paths of his magnificent botanical garden built in an old tobacco farm outside of Raleigh, perhaps reminding us how nature will have the last word in a throw-away consumer culture. Somehow, though, those fixtures make the garden look like an enchanted Lost World of treasures both natural and man-made. Though I’m not much of a collector of anything save pocket lint, golf caps and old books, my home office has become a kind of accidental collection center for old things that speak to me and probably nobody else. On my desk stands a handsome Colonial blue-coat soldier, a ceramic lamp from the 1950s, October 2015
O.Henry 15
Simple Life remarkably like the one I had as a little kid but disappeared many years ago. My grandfather’s old squirrel rifle stands over in the corner — unfired for decades — next to a shelf of old books that belonged to my late father, including first editions of Kipling’s Phantom Rickshaw, James Hilton’s Lost Horizons and Markings by Dag Hammarskjöld, three of his favorite books. And now mine. I also have my dad’s old Wilson golf clubs and the green cap he purchased on his last trip to St Andrews, relics only a golfing son could deem priceless. The oldest bed in our house is a handsome pineapple four-poster made from solid cherry hardwood that reportedly belonged to my great grandmother. For a time my daughter had it in her Brooklyn apartment until a side rail split, and I drove all the way to Brooklyn just to haul it home. I fully intend to find a craftsman who can repair it. My wife cherishes several antique china cups and saucers, the only items her immigrant grandmother brought with her on the boat from Ireland a century ago. In her bathroom sits a large glass ginger jar filled with beautiful sea shells she’s collected from every beach she’s visited since girlhood, a spiritual record of her footprints in the sand. The actual oldest object in our possession is a long farm table I gave my second wife on the occasion of our marriage. It came from England with papers certifying it to be more than 200 years old. Oh, the life that simple dented and scarred table has seen, outliving kings and empires, made smooth by unknown hands and time — including two decades of rowdy Dodson family dinners, comprising a mere fraction of its working life. We’re simply its caretakers before its onward journey continues. Not long ago that table accompanied us back to a rambling old house where we previously lived for six years. It’s a relic from the Gilded Age, at least a century old, with foot-thick plaster walls and ancient plumbing, windows that leak cold like a sieve and peculiar half-sized doors and back passageways
16 O.Henry
October 2015
meant for servants that disappeared half a century ago. For what it’s worth, I wrote three books in an upper bedroom of this old place. The room has superb light and a powerful serenity I can feel in my bones. Moving back to it after a year away was like coming home to an old friend, a deep comfort in the wake of an unsettling time. During the move, in an effort to begin downsizing our possessions, we made stacks of clothes for Goodwill and set aside household items we have no further need of, and even went through several dusty boxes containing old kids’ toys and books, scores of dolls and once-beloved stuffed animals, broken train sets, Matchbox cars, photos and other sweet artifacts of a family all grown up, deciding to fill one large foot locker for each of our grown children to go through when they come for the holidays. As for my old friend the Chair of No Return, it eventually returned from a talented Mexican upholsterer with new springs and a firm seat cushion and a voluptuous houndstooth fabric that made it look like a showroom chair. My formerly amused colleagues were all a bit stunned by the transformation, eager to take a turn placing their bottoms in it. Truthfully, they seemed a trifle put out with me for taking the CNR home to the upper bedroom where I do my best work. But I’m no fool. Time is passing quickly, and a good reading chair belongs in a peaceful old room where it can do the most good. That old chair and the table downstairs will likely outlive us all. Ditto my bride’s Irish china and her collection from the sea. But therein lies a powerful message for those of us who choose to love a few old things in a perishable universe. Eternity resides in every moment. Best to take notice and love them well before we all have to go. OH Contact editor Jim Dodson at jim@ohenrymagazinenc.com.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Our picks for what’s happening in Greensboro this month
Punkin Party
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! And great eats at Greensboro Farmers Curb Market’s Pumpkin Pancake Celebration (October 31, from 8–11:30 a.m.) Who wouldn’t flip over flapjacks, swimming in butter and syrup, served up by Chef Alex Amoroso of Cheesecakes by Alex — not to mention fall bounty filling the market stalls? If you’re embarrassed to go back for seconds (or thirds), don’t be: Simply go incognito in full costume and fill up. The only pounds you need worry about are an estimated weight for an actual great pumpkin. End the morning with some of the fun and games for children — because after all, Halloween brings out the kid in all of us. Info: (336) 373-2402 or gsofarmersmarket.org.
Feet Accompli
Calling all speed demons! Make tracks for a good time and a good cause: the Bill Evans 5K on October 25. Formerly called the Mad Hatter Run, the contest celebrates the short but inspiring life of Bill Meyers Evans, beloved UNCG Public Health professor and poet (see an example of his verse on page 73). This year’s event includes a 1-mile Fun Run in addition to the 5K, both of which will be held on a loop through UNCG’s campus. Benefiting the Bill Evans Scholarship Fund, the race’s true winners will be students whom Evans held so dear. Info: (online registration ends October 23) jonesracingcompany. com/bill-evans.
18 O.Henry
October 2015
Call it luck of the draw: From 6–8 p.m. on October 21 you can meet O.Henry’s Harry Blair at the opening reception for You Can’t Be Serious: Making Fun for a Living (through November 14) at the Galleries at Cowan Building on the Greensboro College campus. “People don’t often get to meet cartoonists,” says Blair, noting that his profession is “a solitary pursuit.” In addition to shining a light on “O.Harry,” as he’s affectionately known to readers of these pages, the exhibit includes cartoons, caricatures and humorist sketches by Greensboro College prof and Art Department chair Jim Langer and Asheboro’s Rich Powell, a regular contributor to Mad magazine, and Rick Lynes, a former cartoonist for Disney Animation. Info: www.greensboro.edu/art-galleries.php
Sump’n-ta-eat
Meaning, “something to eat,” the catchall Stephanie L. Tyson’s grandmother used to refer to the lip-smacking fare she whipped up in her kitchen. In Soul Food Odyssey (John F. Blair, 2015, $19.96), Tyson, chef and co-owner of Sweet Potatoes restaurant in Winston-Salem, comes to terms with the sustenance of her childhood — fried chicken, greens, pinto beans — that’s taken a back seat to the more gracious “Southern cuisine” of culinary school curricula and high-end restaurants. The result is an endearing homage to cooks and soul food classics, starting with the “tooter”— chitterlings — as prepared by Tyson’s sous-chef, Mr. Willie. With humor and candor, Tyson takes you on a comfort food tour using recipes for fish and foul, soups and stews, biscuits, cornbread and an array of sinful desserts that are, Tyson asserts, “the soul in soul food.”
photograph by sheri clawson
Short Stories
Grin and Blair It
Sid Vicious
The play’s the thing alright. When successful mystery playwright Sidney Bruhl suffers writer’s block after a series of flops, he and his wife devise a lethal plan to claim a former student’s manuscript as his own. But the student proves to be a master of manipulation and suspense, as well. So goes the twisting plot of Deathtrap, Ira Levin’s clever 1978 play-within-a-play and the longest-running comic thriller on Broadway. Coming to the Pyrle at Triad Stage October 18 through November 8, Deathtrap guarantees nail-biting moments and ultimately proves that the (poison) pen truly is mightier than the sword. Tickets: (336) 2720160 or triadstage.org. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Ateliers on Tour
See artists in their natural habitats: their studios. For the eighteenth year, Artstock presents its self-guided Annual Artist Studio Tour (October 10 and 11) at nine participating sites throughout the Greater Greensboro area. Look for bright red balloons posted outside each studio, where you’ll peruse finely crafted wares from painting, to sculpture to collage to mixed media. In addition to celebrating the ingenuity that fairly sprouts out of the ground here in the Gate City, the point of the tour is to show that artists are business professionals and the engine of the area’s creative economy, as this year’s tagline, “Fine Art Entrepreneurs,” suggests. For a list of the studio sites and more information visit www.artstocktour.com.
Grass Roots Music
“We didn’t know so many people would buy it,” Paul Sharp has joked about Dark Holler Pop, the 2013 debut album of his bluegrass band Mipso. Another album and 300 performances later, the following for the mandolin player and his cohorts — Triad natives Wood Robinson (standup bass), Joseph Terrell (guitar) and Libby Rodenbough (fiddle) — are no laughing matter. Some 900 Mipso fans attended a concert at the Sarah B. Duke gardens in Durham earlier this year. What better entertainment, then, to inaugurate the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden’s concert lawn? “It’s both a fundraiser and a ‘friendraiser,’” says Dan O’Connell, Ciener’s development officer, “and a way to introduce music lovers to the garden. In the future, there will be an amphitheater.” So come to Kernersville on October 15 at 6:30 p.m., fall on grass . . . and fall for Mipso’s brand of bluegrass. Tickets: (336) 996-7888 or www.cienerbotanicalgarden.org.
Scary Mary
October 25 will be a stark and dorm-y night, as UNCG’s Mary Foust Residence Hall hosts its annual haunted house, aka Foust Manor from 7 p.m. to the witching hour. A 1920 graduate of Woman’s College and daughter of its second president Julius I. Foust, Mary Foust Armstrong died in childbirth in 1925. Three years later, with the construction completed on her namesake came rumors of sobbing and strange noises emanating from its second floor. The lore has persisted for decades, acquiring embellishments from the spine-tingling (Mary’s portrait that mysteriously disappeared) to the apocryphal (three nursing students who allegedly hanged themselves from the attic’s rafters). See and hear for yourself whether Mary’s spirit haunts Foust Manor, and support Arc of Greensboro with your $5 admission or $3 and a can of food — a gift that will surely elicit tears of joy from the hall’s ghostly inhabitant. Info: hrl.uncg.edu/mary-foust-presents-foust-manor/
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Ogi Sez Ogi Overman
The frost is on the pumpkin and there’s a nip in the air, but it’s heating up inside the music halls around these parts. So come in out of the brisk October evenings and enjoy some scorching singers and blistering bands. • October 4, High Point Theatre: Saddle up Old Paint, buckaroos, and head over to High Pockets for the best Western swing on the planet. Riders in the Sky will leave you thoroughly entertained, both musically and comically. It’s the cowboy way. • October 9, Carolina Theatre: Those of you who follow New Orleans hot jazz will jump for joy when I tell you that John Rebennack Jr. is coming to town. And the rest of you will, too, when you hear his stage name, Dr. John. He and the Nite Trippers are channeling Satchmo on this tour. • October 9, Blind Tiger: She’s moved to the Triangle and tours the nation constantly, so it’s a rare treat when Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands come back home. Her sound is dubbed “kaleidophrenic cabaret,” which means it has to be experienced to be believed. Believe it. • October 21, Greensboro Coliseum: On the outside chance you can snag a ticket, if anyone is worth scalpers’ prices, it may be Taylor Swift. Just when you think she’s going to cool off a tad, she just keeps getting hotter and hotter. • October 29, Cone Denim Entertainment Center: In the early ’90s, Portland’s Art Alexakis put together a band that set the alternative rock world on its ear. That band was Everclear, and some fourteen years later, they’re still turning heads.
October 2015
O.Henry 19
autumn in
old salem september 8 – october 31, 2o15
Spectacular colors. Harvest-time tastes. Hands-on activities.
Autumn in Old Salem. A season for the senses. October 3 homowo heritage festival, African American food tasting, hands-on activities, and more October 17 harvest day at old salem! Fall foods, hands-on activities for all ages October 24, 25 pumpkin carving, trick or treating, Sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Carolinas Realty October 29, 30 legends and lanterns tours November 14 shops at old salem holiday open house, Food, shopping, and more!
For a full list of events, classes & concerts, visit oldsalem.org or call 336-721-735o
old salem museums & gardens, winston-salem, north carolina October 2015
20 O.Henry
The Art & Soulcelebrating of Greensboro 5o years
Doodad
Music for the Soul
E
A gifted chanteuse rearranges her musical priorities
ach morning vocalist Sarah Strable wakes up and makes herself a smoothie, then decorates it with flowers, herbs, fruit and other bright and beautiful things. “It makes me happy,” she says. “That’s my first creative expression of the day.” Chances are, it won’t be her last. Strable, a professional vocalist since age 16, evokes creativity in everything she does, onstage and off. Sarah began the process early on, starting voice lessons at age 12. By 16 she’d landed a gig with popular show/variety band Timepiece. She majored in music at Greensboro College and, along the way, had her daughter Jade, now 13 and a budding singer in her own right. Strable admits she is at a critical stage of her career. After nine years with the long-running, twelve-piece touring band Black and Blue, she came off the road in February and scaled back her performing a bit and rearranged her priorities. “Music had become a job,” laments the attractive chanteuse. “There were years where if I’m not on stage making money, I’m not singing — and that’s not right. I don’t want music to be tied to money anymore.” Although she has vocal credits on dozens of albums and film scores, Sarah’s widest exposure has come through beach music. She recorded a Phil Stinson– penned tune, “Sweet Talkin’ Daddy,” which rose to No. 8 on the beach charts, and is nominated for a Carolina Beach Music Award in the Female Vocalist category for her rendition of the Johnny Barker–produced “Just One Look.” Many of her creative pursuits happen far away from the stage and studio. She is both a student and practitioner of holistic healing arts such as acupuncture, Reiki, massage therapy and reflexology. Yet, all have the same end result. “I want to do things that are fulfilling to me, that are part of my purpose here on earth, which is to help people,” she asserts. “You can definitely make the world a better place through music, but there are also other ways to do it and make a decent living in the process.” Strable sums up her plan for the future thusly: “Do as much original, creative, fulfilling music; work with super-talented people whom I admire and respect; and see what kind of beauty we can create.” In October, Sarah may be found on the 3rd and 31st at GIA on New Garden Road, on the 15th at O. Henry Hotel’s Thursday Cocktails & Jazz, and on the 16th at J.H. Adams Inn in High Point. — Ogi Overman
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 21
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Harry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
O.Henry 23
Meet
Dean Michaux. He’s
Greensboro
Dean, a non-traditional student who came to Greensboro College to pursue a new career path, graduated in Spring 2015 with a double major in political science and history and a minor in legal administration. Now, he’s headed to law school. For years, Dean served the U.S. Marine Corps as an air traffic controller and served the City of Greensboro as a firefighter. Then he served his family as a stay-at-home dad. With his children growing up, Dean wanted to find other ways to serve, and new career options. His education counselor at the Veterans Administration (VA) recommended Greensboro College as an environment where adult learners like him can thrive. Dean, who already held an A.A.S. in Fire Protection Technology, enrolled at Greensboro College in 2012. He was older than the typical college student with a very different life experience and additional responsibilities, but he quickly gained the confidence to envision himself as an attorney. He enjoyed the small campus setting and access to professors that Greensboro College offers. And, he says, the faculty and staff are second to none, going the extra mile to help students succeed. Dean’s passion is helping veterans navigate the VA system and the hurdles they face in getting benefits and compensation. He says the legal research and administration courses and the writing-intensive and historical research required for his degree at Greensboro College have prepared him well for law school. Dean Michaux. Uniquely Greensboro. Uniquely Prepared to serve.
Greensboro.edu Uniquely Located, Uniquely Greensboro, Uniquely You!
24 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Life’s Funny
Guilty as Charged An important memo on the Great Cell Phone Charger Caper
By Maria Johnson MEMORANDUM TO: TEENAGE SON FROM: YOUR PARENTS RE: CELL PHONE CHARGERS
As you know, from being told roughly
five trillion times, we have a serious problem keeping cell phone chargers in our home.
In fact, we were going to text you about this, but our phones are dead and WE CAN’T FIND A CHARGER. NOT ONE!! NOT EVEN IN OUR CARS!! REALLY??!! YOU TOOK THE CHARGERS FROM OUR CARS? Sorry. We’re getting off track here. Let’s examine the situation in a rational, cool-headed way, OK? If you’ll recall, this pattern of thievery began a few years ago, when you decided that you could not live without YouTube or Reddit or Snapchat or Spotify or ClickHole or texting your friends into the wee hours, keeping each other awake, as if the first person to fall asleep was going to wake up with toothpaste in his hair. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know what that means. We do. Anyway, this problem forced us — and by that we mean your mother — to go to Walgreens and buy six chargers at one time. Do you know how much that cost, even with her Balance Rewards card? Do you know how long that took? Finding six phone chargers with matching cords? Green-to-green, orange-toorange, blue-to-blue? Don’t give us that, “Why do they have to match?” stuff. Don’t be coy. So we bought six phone chargers. We thought, “That’ll fix the problem. They’ll last forever.” Well, LOL. Back to Walgreens we — and by that we mean your mother — went for more chargers and, oh look! A box of moscato for five bucks. This is how people end up like Betty Ford. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know what that means. We do. That time, we tried something different. We duct-taped the chargers to the outlets. Oh, yes we did. Even your father noticed how bad it looked, but your mother said, “That’s OK. We’ll take the tape off when people come over. Meanwhile, we shall live in harmony.” OK, your mother doesn’t really talk like a cult person, but that was the gist of it. Here’s a question for you: What if you had spent as much time on your homework as you did picking duct tape off the walls? THERE WERE, LIKE, THREE STRIPS OF DUCT TAPE ON EVERY OUTLET! BUT THEY WERE PICKED CLEAN. NOT EVEN THE STICKY STUFF WAS LEFT!!! HOW DID YOU DO THAT??
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Excuse us a minute. Breeeeeeathe. Breeeeeathe. Every little thing gonna be all right. OK. We’re back. We’ve always tried to be open with you, but you forced us to be secretive. Dad plugged in a charger behind his chair. Mom plugged one in behind the quilt stand in our bedroom. Behind. The quilt stand. In our bedroom. Gone. We’re not even going to ask the obvious question: WHERE ARE ALL OF THESE CHARGERS GOING? Because you’d say something like, “I dunno. Where are all of your cheapo reading glasses going?” and then we’d throw away eighteen years of hard work in an unfortunate incident that would be summed up with the headline: WOMAN SADDLED WITH CRIMINAL RECORD JUST SHY OF EMPTY NEST Finally, we — and by that we mean your mother — had a vision. It came to her in Big Lots. She was walking past the electronics aisle when something caught her eye. Phone chargers. Pink and purple phone chargers. Sparkly, gaudy, girly-girl phone chargers. “BWAHAHAHA!,” she cackled out loud in Big Lots, for she learned a long time ago that you can say anything you want out loud in a Big Lots, and no one will look at you askance. Back home, she plugged in the chargers in plain view. Two days passed. They were untouched. She said a silent prayer: “Thank you, Lord, for our many blessings including the ability to make sparkly pink and purple phone chargers in China and sell them in this country for just nine dollars.” On the third day, she visited the socket where the pink charger had rested. The socket was empty. She confronted you. You smiled. “But it was sparkly PINK!” she said. “That’s a gender stereotype,” you said, never diverting your eyes from King of the Hill. “Colors belong to everyone.” “I’ll get “Hello, Kitty’ charger next time,” she threatened. “ I got nuthin’ against ‘Hello, Kitty,’” you said. Ooooooooh! She hates it when you use her teachings against her. In conclusion, we are not buying any more phone chargers. From now on, if you want chargers, you’ll have to buy them with your own money. Or find the ones that have mysteriously gone MIA. We feel this is the only way that you will learn to keep up with your things. P.S. If you see any of your mother’s reading glasses along the way, please let her know. OH If you’ve got something to say to Maria Johnson, don’t text her. Email her at maria@ ohenrymag.com. USE LARGE PRINT. October 2015
O.Henry 25
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The Omnivorous Reader
Heavy Reading
A remarkable first novel reveals 70s-era New York City like nothing before it, 900 pages worthy of Gotham itself
By Brian Lampkin
I put Garth Risk Hallberg’s
novel City On Fire (Knopf, 2015, $30), on the bathroom scale: 5lbs, 6 ozs. And that’s the paperback Advance Reader Copy; the hardcover, when it’s launched in mid-October, might top 7 lbs. That’s a heavy book. At more than 900 pages, it’s City On Fire is also an unlikely first novel. First novels are often slim like Saul Bellow’s Dangling Man or Dostoyevsky’s Poor Folk or Samuel Delany’s The Jewels of Aptor (all of which were precursors to massive novels of their own). It takes time to grow into a writer who can carry a novel for nearly 1,000 pages.
But at age 34, Hallberg is older than most first-time novelists. And suddenly wealthier. As reported in The New York Times nearly two years ago, Hallberg received a $2 million advance for City On Fire. (I expect a number of you who immediately are, at this moment, putting down this review to get busy on your own tomes.) Thar’s gold in them thar words. Relax, prospectors, Hallberg’s contract was news because it was so unheard of. Nobody gets $2 million for a first book. Except Hallberg. It’s entirely unfair to saddle Hallberg with the expectations such a windfall demands, but do you want to know why this book? Why this writer? What is it about City On Fire that had the rights sold to sixteen different countries a year before publication? And who is going to star in the inevitable film or eight-episode miniseries? Only a sour, failed writer would begrudge Hallberg his money, so let’s not fall into that pit of despair. Let’s try to judge this book on its own without the bags of money hanging from it. First, it’s a giant realist novel of the kind once thought dead in America. It’s set, mostly, in 1970s New York City at the height of the perceived failure of the great city. Default, crime, heroin, blackouts. Going through customs in New York City Gotham recently, I was holding City On Fire (because it wouldn’t fit in my carry-on), and the customs officer asked me about the book. It was an unlikely bit of curiosity, but I told him the rough outline of ’70s-era NYC. “Ah, it’s going that way again,” he said, “With all that’s going on and the police feeling disrespected and not doing their job. It’s the same.” I shrugged like an outsider should and he let me move on with my life, but I think his cultural The Art & Soul of Greensboro
analysis was more nuanced than one might first think, and Hallberg’s novel of the 1970s does resonate with 2015 America. Hallberg’s novel is certainly nuanced and complicated in ways that readers of great books find satisfying. He holds together a story that finds of the unlikely intermingling of characters from the Tompkins Square squats, the Long Island suburbs, and the Central Park penthouses. The burgeoning punk movement and the exploding heroin scene affect the high-end real estate speculators, and vice-versa. It’s a novel that wants to capture the entire range of New York life, but even 1,000 pages is not nearly enough. Still, Hallberg does an admirable job with characters destitute and absurdly wealthy; gay and straight; hip and uptight; black and white. In the three-page Prologue — which, along with the short Postscript, is the only first-person narrative, and the only clue as to who has put together this long story — Hallberg writes, “For if the evidence points to anything, it’s that there is no one, unitary City. Or if there is, it’s the sum of thousands of variations. . .” He has spelled out the impossibility of the task ahead of him, but he closes the Prologue with this call to spiritual arms: “Who among us — if it means letting go of the insanity, the mystery, the total useless beauty of the million once-possible New Yorks — is ready even now to abandon hope?” Perhaps 1970s New York is an inferno and Hell’s Kitchen is aptly named, but this is the great achievement of City On Fire: Hallberg exposes the setting’s torment and tortures while simultaneously giving the reader the various loves that refuse to give in to the hopeless surrounding. Roughly, four separate worlds circle in and out of each other’s orbit, casting shadows and threatening collisions until Hallberg brings them all together in cataclysm by the novel’s end. The novel begins with Mercer Goodman and William Hamilton-Sweeney III trying to fall in love despite Mercer’s small-town naiveté and William’s secretive nature compounded by a heroin problem. William is scion to the Hamilton-Sweeney empire, but he’s run from it and lives the ’70s artist life on the Lower East Side. William becomes, an underground sensation through his band Ex Post Facto. In evoking this milieu, Hallberg displays a great feel for the nascent punk movement and its music. Which leads us to Samantha and Charlie, suburban Long Island teenagers just venturing out into the city. For me, their story is the heart of the book (Hallberg’s most virtuosic performance is his recreation of Sam’s punk ‘zine “Land of 1,000 Dances.” It’s an amazing twenty-four pages of punk fandom, political perspective, teen angst, and brilliant personal and cultural critique all through the eyes of a 17-year-old girl in 1976 NYC.) Sam and Charlie have large teenage souls and their suffering is the most powerfully wrenching writing in the October 2015
O.Henry 27
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October 2015
The Omnivorous Reader
novel. They fall in with a bad crowd — a homicidal crowd, it turns out — -and Hallberg lets the dangers of an underground movement play out like the actualized nightmares of parents everywhere. The super wealthy are represented by the Hamilton-Sweeney family, and for the most part the family members are treated as real people trying to love their children despite all the compromises of their decisions and behaviors. Only the stepfamily is given the role of hideous beyond redemption and through its characters, Hallberg demonstrates how well he knows his NYC history; the real estate speculators in 1970s New York intentionally and inhumanely burned out a chunk of the city to create uninhabitable zones that could then be scooped up for a song and redeveloped. The people living in these blighted zones were of no consequence, and Hallberg lets Amory Gould, “the Demon Brother,” stand in for the irredeemable greed and treachery of the times. The fourth intersecting world belongs to the servants of the city: the police and the journalists. The crippled detective (have I forgotten to mention that City On Fire is also a crime novel and its narrative is propelled by an unsolved act of violence?) and the down-on-his-luck investigative reporter are both compelling in their own sorrows. Hallberg uses the 1977 citywide blackout like a set piece in the closing of a Hitchcock film to bring most these people together. It’s remarkable to watch a novelist let all the pieces of a 900-page puzzle fall into the city and to then put them together in the complete dark of the NYC streets. A question for any book of this size is: Did it really need to be this long? Maybe; maybe not, but the time and investment required of the reader also creates a special place for the novel. It becomes part of your psyche in a way shorter books cannot. I lived with City On Fire through planes and hotels and customs and back to my home in Greensboro. I was never not invested in these characters and kept up a constant chatter about the book with my traveling companions. The novel is ambitious, and Hallberg brings heart and intelligence and a proprioceptive feel for the physical body of a city. Yes, it’s long, but outside the arm-draining weariness of holding it, City of Fire remained an unflaggingly engaging, and sometimes exhilarating, throughout read. Hallberg’s father William Hallberg, who died in 2014, wrote the novel The Rub of the Green and was a longtime professor in the English Department at East Carolina University. He must have read Dante to his son in the crib. Garth Hallberg was ready from an early age to take on this literary epic. It is available October 13 in fine bookstores everywhere. OH Brian Lampkin is one of the owners of Scuppernong Books in Greensboro. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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October 2015
O.Henry 29
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Scuppernong Bookshelf
The Marrying Kind October Books
In 2000, Alabama held a statewide referen-
dum on marriage. If you think that seems surprisingly early for Alabama to even bother with a same-sex marriage vote, you’d be right. The 2000 vote was a precursor to the state’s anticipated repeal of its constitutional ban on interracial marriage (even then 40.5 percent of the population voted to uphold the ban). In July of 2015, seventeen Alabama probate judges refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court’s insistence they do so.
But why single out Alabama for its unkindness toward legalized love? In 1875 North Carolina altered the state charter to read: “All marriages between a white person and a Negro or between a white person and a person of Negro descent to the third generation inclusive are, hereby, forever prohibited.” Forever lasted until 1971 — four years after the Loving v. Virginia case supposedly ended antimiscegenation laws nationwide. One response to this history is to celebrate change and growth. So let’s! Forcing the Spring: Inside the Fight for Marriage Equality by Jo Becker (Penguin, 2015. $18) outlines the behind-the-scenes legal battle that led to the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act and to the Gay Spring in America. Despite the legal details, this book reads like a courtroom thriller and includes compelling emotional stories of the plaintiffs and their longing for the rights of love granted the rest of us. People are crazy about marriage — some people love matrimony so much they attempt it over and over — and there are thousands of books on the subject by experts into their seventh marriage and by those who’ve never given it a whirl. We hang with Kurt Vonnegut — a terrible husband according to a recent account. Vonnegut argued for a passionate kindness as the best predictor of a relationship’s success. Some people find it hard to follow their own advice. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
And some people are married at the hip. In Joseph Andrew Orser’s The Lives of Chang & Eng: Siam’s Twins in Nineteenth Century America (UNC Press, 2014, $28), North Carolina’s own Chang and Eng are wed at the chest by a band of flesh. They each married separate women. (We can only imagine how their marital bed must have horrified some protectors of the institution.) Orser’s sensitive but detailed account of their lives — much of it spent in North Carolina where they died two hours apart in 1874 near Mt. Airy — is a cultural mirror on 19th-century attitudes towards race and difference. Literature loves an unhappy marriage. Sorry, but we’re not even vaguely tempted to review the marital madness of Gone Girl. Rather we turn our sights on This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (Harper Perennial, 2014. $15.99). Not because the author is a fellow independent bookstore owner (yay!), but because this book of autobiographical essays gives insight into the real woman behind fictional works like Bel Canto, The Patron Saint of Liars and State of Wonder. And happiness is so rare. But if the schadenfreude of an unhappy marriage is just what you need to feel better about your own situation — be it lonely and single or lonely and married — then Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain (Scribner, 2005. $9.95) will work. Secrets and shame are devastating, and the sooner we can all openly explore the erotic and emotional loves of our lives the better. Proulx gives us an undefined love between two men that cannot overcome the social and economic weight of conformity. As tender and heartbreaking a story that allows no clichés about the relationship. Just Kids (Ecco Press, 2010. $16) by Patti Smith restores hope. It describes her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. It’s a poetic and raw depiction of the artist’s life in Brooklyn during the 1970s. Her prose made us intensely nostalgic for a time some of us may be too young to remember. Although Smith and Mapplethorpe’s companionship was the furthest thing from conventional (much less a legal marriage), their intense devotion to and support of one another was extraordinary. Like her theater-oriented characters, Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies (Riverhead, 2015. $27.95) brings to mind the tragic marriage of Othello and Desdemona. Divided into the two protagonists’ perspectives, the novel plays and rewinds through a seemingly slapdash marriage. Ultimately a triumph of October 2015
O.Henry 31
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Bookshelf
the virtue of ignorance, Fates and Furies captivates by showing how little we know about those who are closest to us. The Year of Magical Thinking (Vintage, 2007. $15) is one of the most fragile, crystalline, heartbreaking books we’ve ever read. It’s like a delicate glass sculpture you’re afraid to touch, for fear it will dissolve into dust, but at its core, though light, clear and precise, it is well wrought, piercingly honest, and true. The night before New Year’s Eve 2003, Joan Didion’s lover/husband of nearly forty years died before her eyes at the dining room table. What follows in this achingly true memoir of the aftermath is her struggle with trivia, absence and grief. Didion has always been a bracingly clear observer of our culture and our myths, but here she turns her gaze more fully upon herself and, in the gaze, upon the hopes, delusions and stories we all employ to construct our lives. Her husband’s death is devastating, forcing her to confront the delicate nature of life and “the shallowness of sanity.” Her prose is concise and unromantic, refusing to accept, as is her trademark, the easy answer or the culturally accepted redemption. There’s a starkness to the death and grief present here. And an absolute and unshakeable beauty. Jon Fosse’s Aliss at the Fire (Dalkey Archive. $12.95) features a different kind of wife losing a different kind of husband. Fosse is a contemporary Norwegian author/playwright with a bit of the feel for stillness and existential simplicity of Samuel Beckett. In this slim novel, Aliss appears to be dying in the house at the edge of the fjord she shared with her husband Asle, who disappeared years before into the deep, dark waters beyond the shore. She remembers their life together, their early marriage, the days before his disappearance, the years of his absence. Somehow she remembers his family’s history, contained by the house. The life of his mother and grandmother and the tragedies of their lives. She remembers, on a bench by the fire, until every event is contemporaneous, until history is a woven fabric surrounding and comforting her or, if it’s not comfort, it’s at least a sense of persistence, of continuity. Fosse accomplishes this movement between moment and history without an artifice of style, rendering it seamless and inescapable. Now that you’ve looked into the abyss of loss and still find yourself ready to tie the knot, how about tossing aside the grand spending spree of so many weddings? As an alternative, we recommend Barn Weddings by Maggie Lord (Gibbs Smith, 2013, $30). Embrace the DIY aesthetic, because there’s no other way to make it work in the long run. And if at first you don’t succeed, marry, marry again. OH This month’s Scuppernong Bookshelf was written by Brian Etling, Shannon Jones, Brian Lampkin, Steve Mitchell, Jonas Procton, Dave White, Deb White, Catherine Wright and Rachel York. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 33
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Vine Wisdom
Blended Down Under
The Australian blends are worth your time and money — and not to be missed this autumn
By Robyn James
GSM? Great,
Photograph by JOhn Gessner
Smokin’ Magic? Close, but it’s actually a wine industry abbreviation for a wine blended with three grapes: grenache, syrah and mourvèdre.
There are thirteen different grapes you can legally grow in the Southern Rhône region of France, but grenache, syrah and mourvèdre are the primary grapes that create Châteauneuf du Pape and all the Côte du Rhône reds. However, France is not the subject today. I want to venture across the globe to talk and taste the GSMs of Australia. These wines are big, bold and fruity with a little less “pretense” and a little more humor than their European counterparts. The dichotomy of Australia is that it is a magnificent wine growing region that had no native grapes whatsoever. Grape varieties were introduced to the country in the 18th century by European and South African travelers. Almost all varietals flourish there now. Everyone knows, of course, that syrah is Australia’s flagship grape that they have affectionately renamed shiraz; they plant more of it than anyone and have fun with it, often making it bubbly. Shiraz is very full-bodied with notes of pepper, smoked meat and black fruits. Grenache is one of the most widely planted grapes in the world. It can be high in alcohol, spicy, soft and round with pretty raspberry and blueberry flavors. Grenache is typically lacking in tannin, therefore a perfect introductory grape for a new imbiber. I am a tremendous fan of mourvèdre, often called mataro in Australia. It contributes gamey notes, with earthiness, acidity and structure. The color is nearly black, and the nose has hints of tobacco and tannin. These three grapes blended together are nothing short of magic. Each bringing different nuances to the table, they create layers of flavor that can’t be duplicated by a single varietal. U.S. consumers are all raving about the “new” trend of blended wines. Please! Australia and Europe have spent centuries blending, and in many regions of France, blending is required by law. And, Australia presents such a value in these blends. My favorites come from three wineries that boast fourth- and fifth-generation winemakers who The Art & Soul of Greensboro
have perfected their craft. Yalumba, the oldest family-owned winery in Australia, has created a Barossa wine called The Strapper. They claim their wine is “not the showy type, rather the wine that the winemakers drink. Authentic Barossa shiraz is sandwiched between the understated fragrant perfume of Grenache and the earthy, rustic tannins of mataro, a wellbred, strapping and savory wine.” At about $19 a bottle, I would blind taste this against a Châteauneuf at four times the price. Barossa Valley Estate Winery specializes in making red wines. Their GSM is put through malolactic fermentation, giving it a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. Then it is aged in French oak barrels for twelve months. They claim, “Our philosophy is to capture the distinctive elegance, finesse and vibrant fruit flavors of the Barossa Valley.” Their GSM is described as “fragrant violet with a burst of red berry fruits lingering softly on a velvety texture.” All this for about $17, an amazing value. d’Arenberg, owned by fourth-generation winemaking Osborn family, makes wines that creep up in the price range of $50-$200, some of Australia’s true gems. However, they have fun with their little $11 GSM called The Stump Jump, named after an Australian plow that could jump over roots and stumps in the field. This little McLaren Vale offering was chosen as one of the Top 100 Best Buys by The Wine Enthusiast. “A terrific value for current consumption, the Stump Jump GSM blends 46-percent grenache, 39-percent shiraz and 15-percent mourvèdre into a plump, yet firm wine that combines black cherry fruit with savory notes of chocolate, herbs and roasted meat. There’s even a touch of mocha on the long finish.” The winemaker, who bears a striking resemblance to SNL’s Chris Farley with long hair, decided to put an optometrist’s eye chart on the wine label. “If you can hold the bottle at arm’s length and you can still read the bottom line, you can have another glass.” OH Robyn James is proprietor of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room in Southern Pines. Contact her at robynajames@gmail.com.
October 2015
O.Henry 35
36 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Pleasures of Life Dept.
The Art of Healing The works of cancer survivor, Jack Stratton are celebrated by the Hirsch Wellness Network’s annual auction
By Molly Sentell Haile
Photograph by Sara Jane Mann
Louise Grape recalls early
childhood memories: lying on the floor coloring, while her mother, seated in an aluminum lawn chair, painted with oils and mixed her own color palettes. “My life as a kid was all about being around her oil paints and the linseed oil,” Grape says.
Her world was shattered, though, at age 8 when her mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Despite chemotherapy treatments and extended hospital stays, Myrna Hirsch Grape kept painting — until her untimely death at 33. Louise remembers, “My mom had these people in her life who — here she was super sick— would come by the house and bring a box of chocolate covered insects, crazy wacky artists things.” Those moments would prove helpful decades later when Grape, and later her sister Klara, received their own diagnoses of cancer. Working as a seamstress and fiber artist at the time, Grape remembers, “how therapeutic it was The Art & Soul of Greensboro
to get in the zone and make things” as a respite from the grueling treatments for her illness. The healing power of her creative expression prompted her to do more for cancer patients and their caregivers; the first seeds of the Hirsch Wellness Network were planted. Grape took the next step by collecting books about art and healing with the thought of establishing a traveling book cart for people with cancer. Like a lot of good ideas, Grape’s vision of a healing art community grew. In 2008 Hirsch Wellness (named in memory of Grape’s mother) offered its first class — journal-writing — in the conference room of Gallery 115 on Pomona Drive. Fast-forward seven years and Hirsch has offered more than 300 free photography, writing, hand-crafts and visual arts classes in its permanent classroom in the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant near UNCG and at Scuppernong Books, in addition to yoga classes at Triad Yoga. “That’s really what it’s about,” Grape explains, “viewing art, making art, being among a community.” In support of its programs, Hirsch Wellness Network hosts an annual Art Lives Here fundraiser auction, and this year Revolution Mill has offered gallery space for the event (October 9), which will include work by Fritz Janschka, Adele and Jeff Wayman, Ron Royals, Leanne Pizio and other local artists, plus music by Neill Clegg and the David Fox Jazz Duo. The auction highlights the work of a local artist who is also a cancer survivor. October 2015
O.Henry 37
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This year, Hirsch Wellness selected oil and watercolor painter Jack Stratton. After a ten-year stint as a bookbinder in the UNCG library, Stratton had planned a move to Montreal in the early 1990s to pursue his art career. Just prior to his departure, he happened to meet Weatherspoon Art Museum Director Ruth Beesch and decided to apply for the museum’s art preparator position. For the next twenty years, Stratton was the caretaker of more than 6,000 works, framing, matting, hanging and lighting installations as well as transporting art to other museums. He says almost every one of those pieces and the artists who created them has influenced his own art: “I had a dialogue with a lot of people I might not have met, people I might have only read about.” One of Grape’s favorites by Stratton is a playful portrait of Greensboro photographer Clara Kelley because it’s “almost like a candid photograph. She’s in motion. All this stuff is happening behind her. It tells a story like a photographic novel.” Stratton’s broad strokes and bright, abstract figures have both an urgent energy and a sense of the mythological. About his art, Stratton says he’s “not trying to destroy conventions or anything but if I can lay bare a nerve that needs to be laid bare, I’ll do it.” In another painting, an air guitarist rises above the floor and knocks over beer bottles in a playful interpretation of baroque ascension paintings. During his radiation treatments for cancer, Stratton decided to use the tunnel as his “meditation machine.” Those meditations inspired several new pieces, including a painting of St. Michael casting out the demons and a few drawings of “the ladies who saw me with my pants off every day.” Stratton says he may never make those pieces public, but they helped him get through cancer to his new “life on the other side.” Since retiring from the Weatherspoon in 2010, Stratton has taught watercolor classes at Greensboro’s Art Alliance. Recently, when the former chaplain at Moses Cone Cancer Center showed up to take Stratton’s watercolor class, he hugged her and said, “I still consider you part of my wellness team and now you’re one of my students!” A testament to art’s ability to heal not only the body, but perhaps more importantly, the soul. OH For more information about Hirsch Wellness Network or the October 9 Art Lives Here auction, visit www.hirschwellness.org. Greensboro writer Molly Sentell Haile is a graduate of UNCG’s MFA in creative writing program. She has taught creative writing classes at Hirsch Wellness Network and recently joined its board of advisors. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 39
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Fictional Special
Storm Warnings
By Paul Crenshaw
When your daughter goes
missing, you drive east, toward the rising sun. First you call her cell phone and listen to it ring, then you call the police and hear a disinterested man tell you about twenty-four hour grace periods and offer you consolation that “most” runaways return home within a few days. Your wife, who has taken two Valium since you found your daughter gone, turns to stare at the wall.
When you calm your wife down, you go stand in your daughter’s room, looking for clues, and it is for this reason you are now driving east. It will be a long journey, you think, even though you only vaguely know where you are going. You remember what you told your daughter when she first brought the snake-kid here. He had hair dyed black, and black lipstick and black finThe Art & Soul of Greensboro
gernails and a spiked dog collar and fangs. He was 22. Your daughter is 17. Even your wife, who is traditionally diplomatic, couldn’t believe the fangs. When the kid stuck his hand out to shake with you, it looked cold and dead. Perhaps your choice of words wasn’t the best. Your wife put her hand on your arm and said, “What your father means, Dear, is —” but your daughter was beyond listening. The kid stood there smiling, like he’d seen this before. Your daughter turned on her heel and started for the door, and when you tried to stop her she threw your own words back at you. But then, she’s always been quick, and, since she met the boy, mean. When the storm comes, take cover. Storms like this can last for days or weeks or years. You won’t be able to see because of the blowing snow, and then where are you? Lost in the storm, that’s where, and when it finally ends in a decade or two, someone will find you frozen under a chinaberry bush. So take cover. The best place is a small cottage in the woods. You want a small cottage because it will be easier to heat than a ranch-style split-level in the L.A. hills. Lay in enough wood to last fifty years. You won’t be able to cut more during the storm. For water you can always melt snow — there’ll be plenty of it piling up outside your door. You’ll also need blankets and warm clothes. Even in your small cottage October 2015
O.Henry 41
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“A Walk Into Greensboro’s Past” Warnersville: 1865 to the Present Speaker Dr. Arwin D. Smallwood Museum Auditorium 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Sat. October 24
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October Fictional Special in the woods or your split-level ranch style house in L.A., even with your fifty years of wood, you might still be cold. (We don’t know how cold this storm will need to be.) Dress in layers — you can always take a layer off. For the rest: You’ll need books, or paper to draw on, or a lute to play. Anything to while away the time. The nights are long in winter, and even longer with the wind howling down from the north and whistling through the cracks in the window sills. You could whittle, but then that might cut into your wood supply, no pun intended. It happened like this: You were lying in bed with the TV on, the blue glow bathing your wife’s sleeping face. You never heard the window opening, nor the car idling down the street. Your daughter must have been dressed when you turned out her lights and kissed her on the forehead, thinking the fight was over. You didn’t hear her climbing out. You didn’t hear the car door open and close, or the engine start. By the time you found the curtains lifting in the breeze, it was morning, and she had been gone ten hours. The room was cold, as if the storm you had predicted was already on its way. As you drive, you practice what you will say to your daughter when you find her. You are not normally a violent person, but you imagine several different scenarios in which you confront the kid — did he really call himself Viper? — and which all end up with you in handcuffs. You are out of the city now. In the rearview mirror you see it getting smaller. The air is clearer here. It helps you think. In the distance you can see the mountains. Not snow-capped, but you think again of your promise, and hers right back at you, twisting your own words. Then you keep driving because there is nothing else to do. If you are caught in the mountains during the storm, find a cave. You might be able to find a spot halfway between the surface and the interior that will stay warm enough for survival. Don’t go too far down. If the storm is as bad as predicted, then too far down is the last place you want to be. The screams of tortured souls might make it difficult to sleep. But if the storm has come, sleeping is the least of your concerns. Same with tortured souls. Also, leave a trail. And don’t look back — never look back. If the ground is frozen you can build a snow cave, although we don’t know how long you will last in one. Certainly not as long as this storm. If you are on water when the storm comes, we suggest raising sails and trying to run before the storm. At least you might have a chance then, if the oceans don’t freeze. You drive along under the stars, headlights stabbing into the darkness as you cross the desert. In the flat land around you there is nothing. The heat of the day lingers in the desert floor. When you grow tired of driving, you pull over and stand feeling the heat through the floors of your shoes and the cold night air on your face and think of contrasts. For example: Contrast the way your daughter was before she met the snake guy, and the way she is now. When you see the lights of Vegas to the east you think it is dawn. But it is only the glow from the strip, the bright neon coloring the distant horizon. When dawn does come you see the desert wavering around you. Already the heat is fierce. Just past dawn you hit the city and drive between the shimmering buildings. You are operating on instinct now, taking turns at random. In stories, there is always a seer, but all you see are homeless people, tourists, what might be a prostitute. Let it be known that you don’t hate the kid because of his hair. Or his dog collar. Or his fangs. Or even that he’s 22 and your daughter is 17 and he smells like pot. It’s because . . . well, you think he really is a vampire. Maybe not the The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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October 2015
O.Henry 43
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44 O.Henry
Ernie Ohlson October 2015
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro 9/9/15 7:28 PM
October Fictional Special undead type, but some kind of leech anyway. And you don’t like him because you’re at that point where everything in your life seems like a metaphor for something else. The thing to do here, you think, would be to drive to the police station and ask — What? Where a coven of vampires lives, leader named Viper or Snake or Asp? Tell the police Viper has fangs? That your daughter is under his spell, and magical spells come in all shapes and forms, even disguised as love? When she was little, your daughter was scared of storms. You would wake in the night to hear her crying down the hall, and you would go get her and carry her back to bed with you. You never got back to sleep on those nights for fear you would roll over on her in your sleep. Sometimes you would recite “Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day.” But this storm won’t be rain. And it won’t go away. I am only assuming there will be a storm. It could happen some other way. But storms are dramatic. Especially one this big. Driving randomly through the streets of Vegas, you begin to see signs. Slivers of broken mirror. A guitar neck sticking from a pile of trash. It is hotter than Hades. You know which house it is as soon as you see it. It’s not his hair, or his tattoos, or his spiked dog collar, you told your daughter after the big fight, when you were trying to make things right again. It’s not even the fangs. What is it, then? she said. How do you explain that there really are vampires in the world, only it’s not blood they drink? That the old myths and legends apply, that you really can go into the underworld, cross the dark rivers of forgetfulness, and never find your way back? You can’t, you realize now, walking across the seared lawn, weaving in and out of dozens of cars parked in the yard. When you knock on the door, there is nothing. You realize they are probably asleep and so kick open the door. It makes an awful noise, but no one seems to care. Inside it is gloomy and dark and a nasty smell comes out. There are blankets over all the windows. There is a dog sleeping near the door, and you creak past carefully, eyes adjusting to the darkness. There is no furniture in the front room except one lawn chair and a table covered with crystal meth. The room smells of unwashed bodies and stale cigarette smoke and harsh chemicals. The dog is big enough to make three dogs, or one dog with three heads. You go down the hall opening doors and peering into the rooms. None of the sleeping people is your daughter. In the bathroom someone is passed out with a needle in his arm. Standing in the hallway with your hand on a doorknob, you wonder what would happen if someone woke now. If they would call out and all of them — you keep thinking the word “coven” — would come after you. In the darkness of the house it seems late. You did not sleep the night before. Your wife worried away the carpet and when you could not stand it any longer, you got in your car and drove east, following some faint trail like breadcrumbs or the unraveled words of stories, some path only you could see. Which is why, when you open the next door and see Viper (Cobra?) sleeping with the dark form beside him, you grab him and lift him bodily from the bed. “What the hell, Man?” ViperRattler says. With his shirt off, he looks pale. His tattoos are of snakes and blood. The fangs are real. But if the stories hold true, he is weaker during the day. You have your hand raised to hit him when the girl rolls over and even in the darkness you can see she is The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 45
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46 O.Henry
October 2015
not your daughter. “Where is she?” You sling him across the room, where he crashes into a mirror and lands in the shards. Viper looks at you with his head cocked to the side, the smile and sneer both occupying his face. He wipes blood from his mouth and then licks it. “She’s in the desert. She wouldn’t come.” “And you left her?” When Viper shrugs like it meant nothing, you come close to hitting him. Then you think what might happen to a girl alone in the desert. “If I ever see you near my daughter again,” you begin, but you can’t finish the sentence. “Whatever, Man,” the vampire tells you as you go down the hallway that smells of blood. You step over the sleeping dog. You do not look back. You are thinking of your daughter’s words, and how soon the storm will come. While you drive back, you place blame. Mostly on yourself. You were preoccupied with work, and missed the signs of your daughter drifting away, seeking some solace in the shadowed places. Now you have to find her. She is lost, wandering the desert, hoping for someone to come for her. So you drive, and you worry. This is what fathers do. This is why they go to such great lengths, why they cross mountains and deserts. In stories it might be the wife or the lover our hero goes after, but you’ve always imagined the daughter as needing rescue. As the lights of Vegas fall away behind you, night creeps across the desert. The peaks of mountains burn like signal fires. You wonder where in all that vast space she could be. An hour outside Vegas you stop for gas. You show a picture to the woman behind the counter, who shakes her head. At a truck stop a man tells you he’s seen a hundred girls like that. You call the police from the car and they tell you she’s not missing if you have confirmation of where she last was. You scream into the phone that knowing she is in the desert is not “having confirmation of where she last was,” that she’s just a child, mixed up, angry, trying to find boundaries, worried, like the rest of us, about our place here on Earth, and it takes you a long time to realize you are talking to yourself. At some point you pull over and call her name while the stars spin slowly overhead. You hear coyotes calling from somewhere far away and see stars falling toward earth, but there is no response other than the sound of your own voice. With the snow and the wind, you won’t be able to find your way. You won’t be able to see, which makes searching that much worse. You can see images that aren’t there, and you can chase them for as long as the story goes on without ever finding them. This is the danger of storms like these, storms that have never been seen before. This is why you must have everything resolved before the storm hits. You can wander for years in such snow, you can wander for a lifetime, calling out and hearing nothing but the wind. The wind wisps away sound, distorts distance. You can hear what sounds like cries, calls for help, but you can’t find anyone with the wind and the blinding snow. If someone is with you though, you might have a chance. Maybe. We don’t know. But there are things stronger than cold, warmer than fire. It is possible, if someone is with you, that together you can find your way. Trust me, you don’t want to be alone at a time like this. It is almost dawn when you see a winking light in the distance. You have not called your wife or answered when she has called because you cannot bear to tell her you have failed. So you sit up when you see the winking light. It is very faint, irregular, coming from the brush and rocks off the side of the road. You stop where someone has thrown a cup of ice out of the car window, and you step over The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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8/31/2015 9:09:18 AM The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Fictional Special
the small stream of water soaking into the desert. The light is not a light, you realize, but something reflected, and you begin to run. When you find her she is holding the sliver of mirror in both hands, turning it to catch the rays of the moon. When she sees you, she calmly slides the sliver into her pocket and stands, straightening her dress. “It’s cold out here,” she says, and you take her by the shoulders and pull her to you. She only resists for a second. She mumbles something into your shoulder that you take for, “I knew you’d come.” She takes your hand as you walk back to the car. You think she said “I’m sorry” or “You were right” or “He was a freak,” but you don’t remember now, and it doesn’t matter. Outside, it is getting colder. You have boarded up the windows and laid in wood, enough to last fifty years. You sit in front of the fire with your wife and your daughter and listen to the wind rise. Your daughter smiles at you, and you remember the long drive back after you found her. You told her not to look back, and she didn’t. Neither did you. Instead, you drove, thinking of words, promises. You remember her standing in the front room with the snake kid, Asp. And your rising anger, pointing at him, telling her “Hell will freeze over before you end up with a freak like him.” And your daughter, mean as a snakebite when she wanted to be, had thrown your words right back at you. “Then I’ll come home when hell freezes over.” Here’s what we know: The storm will come from the Arctic Circle, or possibly Antarctica. Legend says Thrace, but we don’t always believe legends. We know the temperature will be colder than the Snow Queen’s heart, colder than slivers of mirror. It will be colder than the north wind’s breath, colder than his wife’s voice, colder than his daughter’s wrath. There is a winter storm warning for tonight, and it covers the entire Earth. It will snow in the Sahara. It will snow in the Kalahari. It will snow in Death Valley and Mohave, in Las Vegas and L.A. The warning has no end yet. You are advised to seek shelter. Do not be on the roads. Do not be in the mountains or the desert. Do not be on the water, whether lake, stream or ocean. And whatever you do, do not be inside the Earth, for meteorologists predict the heaviest snowfall there. OH
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Greensboro resident and Elon prof Paul Crenshaw got his M.F.A. at UNCG. In addition to O.Henry he has written for Best American Essays, Best American Nonrequired Reading, Glimmer Train, Ecotone, North American Review and Brevity. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Autumn Journal
Counting Crows
Highly intelligent and remarkably social, crows and ravens have fascinated us across the ages
By Nan Gr aham
The crow: rascal, pest, scavenger, omen of
death, noisemaker, literary inspiration, prankster, user of tools, loudmouth, clown, nuisance, messenger, Halloween ornament. Often associated with the underworld and witchcraft, the crow’s image and behavior makes it the rock star of pop culture and history.
They are found everywhere. Every country has its own crows, but all belong to the genus Corvus (ravens, too). It’s a bird that is many things to many people. In Japan, if you catch a crow’s eye, misfortune will come. In India, the caw of a crow heralds the arrival of a guest. In Sweden, crows are known as departed spirits of murder victims. Several cultures, including Native Americans and early Greeks, believed that the crow was originally white. Apollo is said to have sent the white crow The Art & Soul of Greensboro
as a private investigator to spy on his lover. When the poor feathered spy returned with bad news about the lover’s unfaithfulness, Apollo went ballistic and turned his fiery anger on the messenger, scorching the bird’s feathers until they were dark as night. Many of our everyday expressions and words reflect this ubiquitous bird. Tools, yoga poses, laws, even miracle creams. That crowbar, tool of the wrecking crew, the underworld and specifically, the burglar, does have one end that vaguely resembles a flattened crow’s foot. “As the crow flies” means the most direct way; that annoying cartoon bird duo Heckle and Jeckle, but both con men and professional pranksters; the crow’s nest on a tall mast ship; Counting Crows, the California rock band. One of the first poses you learn in yoga is the Bakasana, which means crow in Sanskrit. The contortion does look somewhat like a crow in profile, if you can picture standing on your hands, your body pulled up in a full tuck dive position with derrière aimed at the sky, elevated knees pulled tight against the upper arms. You will have to try this in front of a mirror to get the full effect. Frankly I can’t tell which end represents October 2015
O.Henry 51
Autumn Journal the beak and which end is the tail. The ancients of almost every culture have assigned mystical characteristics to the black bird. The Sumerian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered the first serious work of literature (2,500 B.C.), pre-dates the Iliad and the Bible and tells of the Great Flood centuries before the text on Noah’s Ark. In Gilgamesh, after the flood, the raven is sent to scout the waters and successfully returns with a branch indicating dry land. The Bible, on the other hand, demotes the importance of the bird and says that the raven wandered and found no place to land. Genesis translated the successful messenger into a dove, considered a symbol of purity, while the raven, known as a carrion scavenger (declared unclean in Leviticus), is portrayed as a failure. Why from the Reconstruction days in the South are laws for blacks called Jim Crow laws? Who was Jim Crow? Turns out that there was a real performer long before the Civil War named Thomas “Daddy” Rice. He was a white minstrel show performer who blackened his face with burnt cork, and danced a frantic gyration he called “Jump Jim Crow” to music. Weel about and turn around and do jis so Eb’ry time I weel about I jump Jim Crow. “Daddy” was not the first to perform this minstrel show, but he was by far the most popular of the minstrels of his time. This brand of musical comedy flourished from the 1850s into the 1870s and beyond, long after “Daddy” died penniless in 1860. No one seems to know how or why the term was hijacked to label the restrictive laws toward African-Americans from the time of Appomattox extending to the era of the civil rights movement.
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52 O.Henry
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Autumn Journal
A Step in the
Right Direction
The crow flies in a different direction. Our aging faces sport those fine “laugh lines” at the outer edges of our eyes. No escape for this crow . . . crow’s feet are as ubiquitous, of course, as the bird itself. Crows have been the superstars of literature for thousands of years: In Aesop’s Fables the crow often got the lead role. “The Crow and the Pitcher” is one of the best known. The fable tells of a thirsty crow who sees a pitcher half full of water. He tries but cannot reach the water with his beak. He flies off and returns with a large pebble and drops it in the pitcher. He continues to add one stone at a time until the water reaches drinking level. A recent experiment proved that Aesop knew cognitive behavior even though he couldn’t spell it. Using four crows named Cook, Connelly, Fry and Monroe, a scientist put out a cylindrical beaker of water, a tantalizing worm floating on top just out of reach for the crow’s beak. Alongside was a pile of stones. The scientist recorded each crow’s response. Connelly proved the smartest and quickest of the quartet. He quickly put pebble after pebble into the beaker until it rose to just the exact height to retrieve the hors d’oeuvre. Cook and Monroe were good, with one figuring that larger stones meant a quicker return on his efforts and fewer trips to the beaker. Fry opted out. He had complaints about the delectability of the worm offering and issues about the stones. He retreated to the farthest corner of his cage to calm his nerves and was removed from further experiments. The Greeks recognized the crow’s reasoning ability and use of tools to solve a problem a good two millennia before this recent experiment. We now know that crows have one of the smallest brains in the bird world, but have the greatest intelligence of any of their kind, comparable with the IQ of the ape family. In 1993, scientists recorded crows using tools in Auckland, Caledonia, solving three-step problems that apes have yet to figure out. In Japan, crows have been recorded putting nuts on the highway, retreating to the safety of the road shoulder, waiting for a car to pass and, when all is clear, scurrying to the road to get the meat from the shells. In downtown Kyoto, the more sophisticated Corvus brothers wait for the traffic light to stop the cars before racing out to put the nuts under The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Autumn Journal the stopped wheel. Then they hustle back to the curb and wait. After the traffic has gone again and the light has changed back to red, the crows quickstep to the opened nuts to retrieve the food. Mission accomplished, they hotfoot it back before the light changes back to green. The popularity of the crow and the raven became something of a cult in 19th century England. Eccentrics owned them; authors wrote about them. Lord Byron, always given to excess, traveled “with ten horses, eight enormous dogs, five cats, an eagle, a crow and a falcon.” My first reading experience was Johnny Crow’s Garden, which I really didn’t read but memorized. It was a lovely turn-of-the-century book with line illustrations reminiscent of John Tenniel’s for Alice in Wonderland. I bonded with that feathered fictional hero and have had a thing for the clever crows and ravens ever since. Charles Dickens was also a fan of the family Corvidae. He kept a pet
We now know that crows have one of the smallest brains in the bird world, but have the greatest intelligence of any of their kind, comparable with the IQ of the ape family. raven named Grip. The raven is the supersized edition of our common crow. He has a literary claim few birds can match, starring in both novel and poem. Dickens’ bird was a talkative trickster with an extensive vocabulary and a favorite member of the family menagerie. Grip was a lively one. He popped champagne corks, loudly harangued passing horses and had an extensive vocabulary complete with expletives. But in the spring of 1841 Grip unwisely drank white paint and became ill. According to the author — though he was writing to a friend and it is difficult to tell when he is joking — the raven was prescribed castor oil by the family physician and rallied for a day or so before the end. Dickens reported that at one point the bird recovered sufficiently to bite the unfortunate groom who tended the family pets. Dickens wrote that Grip rambled on for a bit about the disposition of his personal property, including some prized shiny keys and the location of a halfpence buried in the yard. At last the bird barked, staggered and cried “Halloa old girl” — his frequent and favorite expression — then keeled over dead. Dickens suspected fowl play. Possibly his raven had been poisoned, he wrote, mentioning a few likely suspects among his friends and neighbors who had found his bird less than charming. Grip’s body was sent to Mr. Herring’s school of anatomy for an autopsy. There is no doubting Dickens’ affection for the rascally raven. He The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Autumn Journal had a taxidermist preserve his pet with arsenic and mount it in a shadow box. Dickens kept the bird in his study for the rest of his life. The Dickens children persuaded their father to include the late lamented Grip in the novel Barnaby Rudge, which he was writing at the time. Years later, when Dickens’ possessions were auctioned after his death, Colonel Richard A. Gimbel of the department store family recognized Grip’s contribution to literature and put in the winning bid for the arsenic-embalmed raven. In 1971 the Philadelphia Library was given the literary curiosity, which has since been declared a Literary Landmark by the American Library Association. Almost penniless, dealing with his wife’s failing health, struggling as a literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe reviewed Dickens’ latest book, Barnaby Rudge. He criticized Dickens for the novelist’s failure to maximize the use of the raven character in this new book. Poe couldn’t shake the image of Dickens’ raven, nor his grief over the loss of his young wife. He created a poem in which a distraught poet, startled by the arrival of a raven at the study window, asks the bird to reveal his name: The bird only speaks a single word, “Nevermore.” The speaker questions the bird about the possibility of seeing his lost love again and about recovery from his loss. Every question is answered with same word, “Nevermore.” Will I ever find peace, the poet asks (naturally in more poetic words)? “Nevermore.” Will I ever forget the lost Lenore: “Nevermore.” Leave me alone, the poet cries: “Nevermore.” Poe received the handsome sum of nine dollars for the publication of “The Raven,” which became one of the most popular poems in literature.
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Autumn Journal Poe, and, by association, Dickens’ Grip, lead us to the sports world. Since 1998, the mascot of the Baltimore Ravens football team is, of course, a raven named Poe, for the author who died in that city. So will Grip, the outrageous bird who inspired both Dickens and Poe 170-plus years ago, be forgotten? I think . . . Nevermore. Crossing back over the Atlantic, perhaps even as the crow flies, to the United Kingdom, where six ravens must always be present at the Tower of London. Legend has it that the kingdom and the White Tower will fall if the ravens leave. It is said that Charles II insisted that the ravens be protected when the monarchy was restored after Cromwell. During WWII the ravens all died from the stress of the blitzkrieg, but were quickly replaced. More recently, security had to be beefed up at the Tower of London after a fox snatched Grip and Jubilee, named respectively for Dickens’ Barnaby Rudge character and in honor of the Queen’s lengthy reign. The fox swooped down as they were being put in their cage for the night, ran off and devoured them by the tower wall. Fortunately, the splendidly named Raven Master keeps two benchwarmer crows on standby for just such an emergency. They have been named Grip and Jubilee after the two dearly departed avian icons. The Brits do not cotton to change. Besides, the English throne must never be in jeopardy. The ravens will live out their lives like a few other birdbrained members of the royal family. The fashion scene has not taken much note of the common crow. While other bird feathers rode high on modish hats at the turn of the century, to the extent that certain species became endangered, the crow flew well under the vogue radar. But there was a scene in the film Gigi, where Louis Jourdan introduces Leslie Caron (as Gigi) to Parisian high society as his future mistress. She wears a spectacular white satin ball gown designed by Cecil Beaton. You only have to see it once to recall it. His fashion sketch featured black ribbons on each shoulder of the ball gown, but the dressmaker mistook the ribbons for black birds and made up the muslin model with the birds on the shoulders. Beaton was so taken with the idea that he translated it into the finished dress. The black bird dress was partly responsible for Beaton winning the 1958 Oscar for Costume Design and is considered one of the most memorable costumes in film. Over the years, some brides have copied the dress for their wedding gowns, birds and all. In 20th century politics, the crow was part of a tremendous upset victory over a Republican candidate in the 1948 presidential The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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58 O.Henry
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Autumn Journal elections. The press, including The New York Times, didn’t give Democrat Harry S. Truman a prayer to win the presidency against popular Republican opponent Thomas E. Dewey. Morning headlines screamed the results of the race. “Dewey: The Next President of the United States!” Chicago Times ran the headline. Life magazine ran the headline. The Washington Post ran the headline. Votes came in and were counted. Democrat Truman won over Republican Dewey. The Washington Post, showed gracious good humor in sending a message to the newly elected President Truman: He was invited to a dinner in which the entire newspaper staff would wear sackcloth and ashes to “eat crow.” The president, in white tie, would be served turkey. Truman declined
with equal grace. “We should all get together now and make a country in which everybody can eat turkey whenever they please.” Remember the terrifying scene in Hitchcock’s The Birds, when a murder of crows (yes, that is their collective noun), swooped down on the terrified schoolchildren who were racing to escape? Of course you do. Just put yourself in that scenario the next time you hear the unmistakable sound of crows that can count. And while you’re at it, maybe reach for a bottle of your grandfather’s favorite bourbon — a calming shot of Old Crow, of course. OH Nan Graham is the author of In a Magnolia Minute and Turn South at the Next Magnolia. She lives in Wilmington and is a regular contributor to Salt magazine.
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October 2015
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Pappadaddy’s Mindfield
Time to Really Learn And, just maybe, rethink traditional End of Grade student assessments
By Clyde Edgerton
Up front: School teachers and
administrators are, along with other public servants, like public safety officers, under-appreciated because of many complex factors. In this essay I dip into one important aspect of public education.
Illustration by harry Blair
At the end of school last year I served as a monitor in a public school classroom where an EOG (End of Grade) assessment was taking place. During the three hours of testing, while the room was so quiet you could hear a charger cord land on a feather pillow, I decided to silence my iPhone so that the vibration noise, in case of a call, wouldn’t be disturbing. In the process, just to make sure all was quiet, I touched the ringer volume indicator in order to silence it. I didn’t know that my touch would set it off. It’s a motorcycle sound on my phone — and I managed to cover it up with rapid-fire, fake coughs, though a few students turned and stared at me. But then, in the process of trying to shut the whole phone down, I held my home screen button down too long and came up with Siri, my iPhone voice. Into the very serious quiet of the classroom, with no prompting from me, she shouted, “WHAT CAN I HELP YOU WITH?” The teacher stepped to the door, talked to someone, and in about five minutes the principal peeped in and asked me for my cellphone. I handed it over, visibly shaken. Throughout the time of testing, after my “visibly shaken” episode, I felt like I was in a kind of make-believe world, and I’m confident that many students (and teachers) feel that their EOG testing time is somehow very disconnected from their everyday lives. Yet everyday life and problems, and being inspired to learn, is what we tend to hope education is all about. These EOGs happen at the end of the year all across North Carolina and the United States. If you have children in public schools, you know a good bit about EOGs and probably have an opinion about them. If you don’t have children or grandchildren in public schools, the term “EOGs” may be new to you. The administration of these tests costs about $15 billion a year in the U.S., six to seven hundred million dollars in North Carolina. That would average out to six or seven million dollars per year per North Carolina county. If I were a college student today — looking for a money-making career — I might consider the exciting test-making profession rather than, say, law or medicine. Some of you reading this essay learned math in such a way that made you dislike the study of it and then, as soon as possible, avoid the study of it. What if we spent half of that EOG money on finding out how to better organize schools and classrooms so that students are more likely to enjoy learning? Individual public schools get a public grade (A, B, C, D, F) on their EOG performance. This information goes in newspapers and brings great comfort to people connected to high-scoring schools. It’s bad news for lowThe Art & Soul of Greensboro
scorers. It’s kind of like basketball. High scores win, low scores lose. Low scores can bring punishment to teachers and administrators. What students know about what’s on those tests becomes all-important. Mandates to use EOG testing (and how to use it) come from our lawmakers. Some educators and lawmakers don’t like EOGs, some do, and some are inbetween. Teachers aren’t allowed to make decisions about whether or not, or how, EOGs could be useful in their classrooms. During EOG preparation, students learn strategies about how to take a multiple-choice test (first, mark the answers that are clearly wrong; if you haven’t marked a “b” lately, and you don’t know the answer to a question, then “b” might be your best choice; etc.). That way you are likely to make a higher grade than if you don’t learn how to take those tests. Think of the number of times you have taken a multiple-choice test in the last year: a) 4 b) 3 c) 2 d) 0 If the answer is d, do you sense a possible problem in our preparation of students for adulthood? I’m suggesting that in our changing world, students no longer get knowledge from teachers as they did in the old days. Knowledge is now available to students and anybody else through the digital world — YouTube, video, streaming, music, iPods, podcasts, TV. The role of the teacher is transitioning into something like this: designer and organizer of student work — so that students want to learn the important stuff on their own. As a culture, we show, through our emphasis on testing, that we believe what students know and don’t know that is on certain written tests comes first. I’m suggesting that creating student work that leads to life-long learning habits be seriously considered as an alternative. Tedious and boring testing that is unrelated to students’ interests and needs leaves an unquenched thirst for knowledge. Teachers are guides. Schools are organized in ways that help and/or get in the way of teacher guidance. Rather than my continuing to harp (sorry) on these things, I will send you (if you are interested) to a source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=15rs4y4PvKE. This link comes from the Schlechty Center website. I highly recommend it if you are interested in how students learn and how schools, classrooms, parents, peers, community citizens, school boards, administrators, politicians, legislators, community leaders and teachers influence how students feel about what happens to them everyday in schools. Maybe some classrooms need more cellphone noises rather than none. OH Clyde Edgerton is the author of ten novels, a memoir and a new work, Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers. He is the Thomas S. Kenan III Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UNCW. October 2015
O.Henry 61
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62 O.Henry
October 2015
www.fbcgso.org | 274-3286 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A Novel Year
Have You Read (insert name here)? When readers ask, one question stands out
By Wiley Cash
Writers get asked a lot of tough
questions, especially from readers. Here are a few questions that come to mind: Why haven’t you turned your book into a movie yet? How many books have you sold? How much money do you make? Have you contacted Oprah about putting your book on her book club list? And, my personal favorite: Are you ever going to work, or are you just going to keep writing?
While these questions can be interesting, funny, humiliating and/or painful to address, there is one question that rankles my nerves and stops me in my tracks like no other: Have you read [insert book title]? Before the questioner even finishes asking the question — meaning, before the questioner has a chance to mention the title of the book he or she is asking me about — I am already formulating a response as my brain cycles through a tiered system of its own questions. What if you’ve read the book and hated it, but they loved it? What if you’ve read the book and loved it, but they hated it? What if you’ve read some of the book, but you never finished it? What if you’ve never read the book, and you’re embarrassed? And, the most terrifying: What The Art & Soul of Greensboro
if you’ve never even heard of the book? I have a Ph.D. in literature, and I’ve spent roughly a billion years either sitting in a classroom or standing in front of one. I’ve traveled the country and met hundreds of booksellers that have recommended thousands of great books to me. But even with all of this experience I can almost guarantee you that I won’t have read the book you’re preparing to ask me about. This is because there are so many books and so many tastes that rarely do we find ourselves on similar footing when bandying about titles to books we have and have not read. This isn’t to say that I haven’t tried my hardest to read the books you probably think I should’ve read. A few summers ago I made a list of ten such titles, but I only read Death Comes for the Archbishop and Winesburg, Ohio before I lost the list. I gave Moby-Dick a shot later that summer, but on a beach vacation with friends I realized that I wasn’t going to get all the way through it. In the mornings I’d take Melville’s novel and a cup of coffee and sit on the deck for a few hours of reading before others in the house began to stir. Our rental was about 300 yards from the beach, but I could see and hear the waves breaking on the shore. It was peaceful and beautiful until my brother-in-law, hung over and ornery, would stumble from the house and make his way to the ocean for the morning swim he hoped would revive him. I’d say hello and go back to Moby-Dick, looking up from time to time to see that my brother-in-law still had a ways to go before reaching the ocean. After about ten minutes I’d look up as he finally made it to the water, and I’d look back down at Moby-Dick and realOctober 2015
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A Novel Year 226 S. ELM STREET GREENSBORO, NC 336 333 2993 OscarOglethorpe.com No Tricks. Just Treats.
ize I was still on the same page. I was never going to finish this book. I’ll be honest: I still haven’t finished it, and that trip was four years ago. But, oh Lord, I’ve lied about what I’ve read. I’ve looked you square in the face and answered yes when you asked me about Invisible Man, The House of Mirth, Infinite Jest, and Walden. That’s right, I said Walden. I had a professor in college who said he hated Henry David Thoreau as an undergraduate, but once he became a professor he discovered that Thoreau had become a much better writer. I’m still waiting for that to happen. I find him a little too self-righteous for my taste. Maybe he’ll be less so by the time I retire. Perhaps I haven’t read everything, but the things I’ve read I’ve read closely and wholly and meaningfully. I’ve never read Gone with the Wind or seen the movie, but I got a pretty good idea of the South’s collapse when I read Cold Mountain (and when I saw the movie). As I said, I’ve never read Ulysses, but I know that Thomas Wolfe was deeply affected by it and modeled much of Look Homeward, Angel after it. I’ve read Angel dozens of times, and I feel comfortable saying that I know it and it’s literary/ historical/cultural implications as well as any Joyce scholar could know the literary/historical/cultural implications of Ulysses. I can claim an emotional attachment to Angel as well. I read it over and over in the ten long years I lived outside of North Carolina because it gave me a way to feel like I was back inside a place I loved and missed. Another confession: I’ve never read Toni Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye, even though I consider myself a huge fan of her work. On the other hand, I’ve read Beloved (and seen the movie!) several times, and I’ve probably read and taught Song of Solomon more than I’ve read and taught anything else. More than any other book, it’s the one that made me want to be a writer in the first place. One of my clearest memories of a reading experience is coming to the end of Song of Solomon in the summer of 1997. I was home after my first year of college, in the middle of a break-up, and seemingly adrift in the world. While reading Morrison’s novel about a young man searching for a role in his own life, I was offered a reprieve from mine. When I finished the book I was sitting in a lawn chair in my parents’ backyard. I closed the novel, looked at the cover, sighed, and started reading it all over again. From now on I’ll do my best to be honest with you about what I have and have not read. Besides, I think we need to focus less on what we’ve read and more on how we’ve read it: what we’ve learned, what we’ve enjoyed, what we’ve embraced, and, perhaps most importantly, what we’ve remembered. OH Wiley Cash is a New York Times best-selling author whose second novel, This Dark Road to Mercy, was released last year. He lives in Wilmington.
64 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
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66 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Birdwatch
Baltimore Oriole
October is World Series month – a fine time to spot a true Baltimore Oriole
By Susan Campbell
“Where are they?” Northern-
ers who relocate to the North Carolina Piedmont are always asking me about birds they were used to seeing back where they came from. Time and again I get asked, “Where are the Baltimore orioles?” And why not? This handsome bird’s striking plumage and affinity for bird feeders make it a real favorite among backyard bird lovers.
The male Baltimore oriole is stunning with its bright orange plumage, distinctive black head and back, and those two sporty white wing bars. Although the females and immature birds are less striking with yellow-to-light-orange coloration, the white wing bars still catch the eye. Look for a large, pointed bill, perfect for foraging. And the male’s melodic song, made up of several clear, whistled notes, brightens even the rainiest of days. As it turns out, Baltimore orioles actually do nest in North Carolina — but mainly in the west. In our mountains you can find their elaborate, woven nests, dangling from the highest branches of trees, often over water. Incubation is two long weeks. Following that, the young will spend another couple of weeks hanging around the nest before they fledge. By midsummer, you’ll see adults in the treetops, looking for caterpillars and small insects to feed their growing families. That’s not to say you won’t ever get a glimpse of a Baltimore oriole in the Piedmont. Since these birds winter in Florida and down into Central America, a few might pass through your backyard in the spring or fall, depending on their flight path. And there’s even a chance one or two might stay over the winter in your neighborhood if you have the kind of habitat they seek out in the cooler months.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Should your yard be to their liking, they might return year after year, bringing others (presumably family members) with them. I know several people hosting winter orioles in the eastern half of our state who count a dozen or more birds frequenting their feeders from October through March every year. Baltimore orioles prefer mature evergreen trees. They also like shrubs, especially if they’re fruit-bearing. Since orioles are are relatively large and colorful, they require thick cover for protection from predators — especially fast-flying bird eaters such as Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks. Without cover, they won’t linger long, even if food is plentiful. But should they feel safe, the odds are they will settle in and become a regular backyard attraction. Although Baltimore orioles will gobble up any insects they happen upon, they’ll gladly switch to a diet of berries, fruit or sweet treats waiting for them at bird feeders. They enjoy not only suet mixes with peanut butter but also orange halves, grape jelly and even marshmallows. Also, you can see them sipping sugar water from hummingbird feeders if they’re left out after hummingbirds have flown south. You can purchase larger sugar water feeders made just for orioles, with partitions for other solid treats as well. Baltimore orioles relish fat mealworms as well, if you want to pull out all the stops. Interestingly, a few very lucky individuals have sighted out-of-place Scott’s orioles as well as Bullock’s orioles here in North Carolina. These megararities have even turned up at sites without any other orioles present. Keep in mind that sometimes Western tanagers visit our feeders in winter. The females and immature birds of this species look very similar to female or immature Baltimore orioles, differing only in the shape of their bills and the color of their wing bars. Many people do not realize that orchard orioles can be found here in place of Baltimores during the summer months. Their plumage is less striking, and their nests are not quite as interesting, but their songs are almost as sweet. But that is a story for another day . . . OH Susan would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by email at susan@ncaves.com, or by calling (910) 585-0574. October 2015
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Irving Park 68 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Life of Jane
Born to Really Run Isn’t it time to turn down the music in public places?
By Jane Borden
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a run-
Illustration by Meridith Martens
away American dream.
At night we ride through the mansions of glory in suicide machines. By the time those lyrics cut through the climate-controlled, Glade-sanitized air, I had already dropped my plastic shopping basket and was halfway to the automatic sliding doors. I had to get away — as quickly as Bruce Springsteen’s narrator does in the 1975 hit “Born to Run.” His words tumble through the meter, spilling beyond it and anticipating it, as free from constraint as he imagines he is on the motorcycle. The music itself is a bike ride, willing listeners to climb onto chrome and steel, gain speed, and merge onto Highway 9. From there, the gears shift up until, by the end, we’re cut loose at top speed. The song yearns, evoking the restlessness of adolescence, the belief that the strength of one’s desire to be free is enough to make freedom achievable, and, ultimately, the recognition that this belief is false. Everybody’s out on the run tonight but there’s no place left to hide. The song suggests, with cruel irony, that, in fact, there is no escape. We weren’t born to run, but only to pretend we could. So we scream and shout through life, hammering guitars, banging drums, revving engines. When I hear “Born to Run,” I’m overwhelmed by its beauty and sadness, its hope in spite of fate. The last chorus is the warrior’s final cry — his suicide mission into battle when he knows he’s bested — and it’s set against an ecstatic guitar riff and a sparkling wall of sound. I feel the preceding crescendo build inside me, forcing my arms skyward, my feet to stamp, and my fists to shake at the shackles of death. This is an embarrassing display in the check-out line at CVS. “Is this your shopping cart, ma’am?” “Pardon? I couldn’t hear you just now because I was rocking out so hard.” It’s impossible to give the song the attention it demands while conducting a credit-card transaction. So I wouldn’t. Instead I would stand idly, pretending The Art & Soul of Greensboro
this masterpiece wasn’t pulsing its heart through tinny ceiling-corner speakers, after which it will be ignored by a dozen or so people wearing sensible shoes. As a result, the listening would be wasted. That is why I chose to leave the pharmacy. Because we’re allotted only so many listenings before we tire of a song, before the emotions it evokes dilute completely. Music depreciates. I want to put “Born to Run” on a shelf, and pull it down only once a year, ensuring that my enjoyment of it will last a lifetime. Even if that’s not possible, I can at least endeavor to avoid hearing one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking pieces of music in the American canon while procuring an ointment for athlete’s foot. I have also asked taxi drivers to change the radio station. And I have excused myself from social gatherings, either to walk around the block or dance in the bathroom, depending on my mood. These precautions are necessary lest the song become the musical version of Van Gogh’s Irises — no longer a masterwork of art to me, but a crumpled-corner poster on a dorm-room wall. I’ll admit that I also avoid “Born to Run” for a more selfish reason, one unrelated to the sanctity of its merit. Hearing it recalls a happy memory. Years ago, a couple of my friends ran a DIY comedy night on Thursdays in a lightly-trafficked bar under an elevated train line in South Brooklyn. It was less a show than a place for us to have a few beers and make each other laugh. We were young and careless, and after almost every show, we played “Born to Run” on the jukebox, dancing wildly in the empty bar while trains rumbled above. Although adulthood has robbed me of the ability to summon those feelings anymore on my own, the song brings them rushing back. Each recollection, however, is a little less clear. The association evaporates more every time the song is uncapped. It may be a coincidence that our brains’ medial prefrontal cortexes are instrumental in the processing of both music and personal memory. Or it may have been an evolutionary leg up in our survival. Either way, the connection between the two is strong enough that doctors now use music to help Alzheimer’s patients combat memory loss. October 2015
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October 2015
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Find more of Jane Borden in her book, I Totally Meant to Do That, at JaneBorden. com or via twitter.com/JaneBorden The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Fleetwood Mac’s album Tusk is scary and cold, like the weekend I spent listening to it on repeat while reading a murder mystery, trapped in my dorm at boarding school during a record-breaking snowstorm. Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” is solitude and repetition, a temp job in New York that locked me in a copy room for a week creating duplicates of financial records. The Commodores Greatest Hits is windy and fresh, driving through the Hillsboro countryside on spring days in my college roommate’s convertible. Scientists have also proven that such neural associations weaken with the overplaying of music, which only strengthens my paranoid urge to silence the songs most precious to me. Several have already been lost. I’m still in mourning for “Crazy on You” by Heart. The sailing summer camp I attended on the North Carolina coast must have been visited by the writers of the film Meatballs, because seeing that movie was like flipping through my photo albums. Among the counselors’ shenanigans was the commandeering of an emergency PA system for the purposes of blaring rock ’n’ roll over the water. Someone on staff, one summer in the ’80s, was fond of the song “Crazy on You” and for many years after, whenever I heard it, I could also hear the accompanying sound of unfurled sail lines whapping against masts. Then, in the early aughts, “Crazy on You” became my go-to karaoke song. So now it reminds me of several dozen random nights, which is to say it reminds me of nothing — except, of course, that Ann and Nancy Wilson are badasses. But those were giant nights in the aughts, back when karaoke was cool, and I wouldn’t trade them. Anyway I can summon those Meatballs-camp summers another way — and I’m certain I’ll never hear “Rock Lobster” in a CVS. But part of me still wishes I’d held “Crazy on You” sacred. Instead I bought the present at the expense of the past. Music is time travel. It’s not the listener who moves backward, though, but the memories that are pulled forward. Except, then their sudden appearance affects the present and future, constrains them, binds them to the past. Perhaps this explains our love of novelty: Newness has the taste of freedom. But it’s just another of freedom’s mirages because, of course, memory is intrinsic to the enjoyment of music. We like songs better upon second and third hearing. The anticipation of beat changes enhances the release of tension they provide. Successful songs are sticky, catchy, grabbing onto us and traveling into our homes after playing in the car and into tomorrow when they’re stuck in our heads. Maybe I’m not holding “Born to Run” as much as it’s holding me, engaging my nostalgia to manipulate my emotions, thereby ensuring its survival. You’ve heard that evolutionary biologists wonder if we did not domesticate dogs — or for that matter, wheat — but rather that they domesticated us. If this is true about songs, they do gain a kind of immortality in the exchange. But it is cheap, like prescription drugs beyond their expiration dates. They may never spoil, but they’ll slowly descend into inefficacy. Eventually, when we know too well where songs are headed, the repetition is annoying, not challenging enough for our fickle tastes, and we discard them. Besides, everything ages. Even if its classic instrumentation ensures “Born to Run” a longer shelf life than I imagine the current electronic-dance-music craze will enjoy, there’s still a chance that in another thirty years, it will sound hopelessly dated, stodgy and humorous for the evolutions in music it couldn’t predict. If so, shouldn’t I listen to my entire allotment now, choosing to maximize the enjoyment of the song rather than try to extend it? It must be dangerous to choose music for what it represents, rather than what it is. I ask it to provide something it can’t and shouldn’t be expected to: the staving off of death. Pretending I can control how music affects me is as misguided as the Springsteen narrator’s notion that he can ride away. By trying to hold memories and the past, I only chain myself to the past. I’m not free at all. I’ve gone out on the run tonight, but realize now that there’s no place left to hide. What other option is there, though? It’s what I was born to do. OH
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October 2015 The Dark Room When I enter And there is no light I shut my eyes For I can somehow see better. Don’t ask me why Just listen to what I tell you. Your eyes see distractions Especially in the dark Causing you to guess where the switch might be. Close your eyes in the dark room You will find you can navigate better Than with your lids open For closing your lids Can open your eyes To finding your way In the darkest of rooms As we navigate these trying days In the darkest of times Dare I say That you might call it prayer That we might find hope With our eyes closed Our minds open To all the possibilities That can occur when we Allow ourselves to become vulnerable To stumble around Giving ourselves permission Finding the freedom to make mistakes Realizing in the end You will always find the switch on the wall The lights will come back on It’s just how you choose To journey through the darkness. — Bill Evans
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
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The
Muralist How artist Dana Holliday brilliantly deceives the eye and mastered the art of self-reinvention By Cynthia Adams • Photographs by Amy Freeman
D
ana Holliday is witty and likes occasional tomfoolery — but the Thomasville artist is not fooling around when it comes to houses and the decorative arts. Trompel’œil (French for “deceive the eye”) is something painter and muralist Holliday has mastered; along the way, she is also mastering the art of self-reinvention. “Dana is just so incredibly talented,” says Peter Freeman, of Freeman Kennett Architecture in High Point, who worked with the artist professionally on Hillbrook, one of High Point’s most ambitious residential restorations. The affable Holliday herself is a bit of trompel’oeil, in that she appears to be perpetually laid-back. In truth, the international traveler and sought-after artist lives a revved-up, highly caffeinated life, pedaling in high gear. (Literally and figuratively; she is an avid cyclist.) Holliday is not even still when painting. On a sunny day in downtown High Point, Holliday swings into Starbucks at the wheel of a British red Mini Cooper, wearing a breezy tunic top splashed with color like an artist’s palette. She orders iced coffee, fully leaded, and while stirring it with a straw, discusses a pending cycling trip in Italy. In two days she and a close friend will pedal their way from Verona to Venice — which is more than 120 kilometers in the June heat. Her laughter peals as Holliday admits she hasn’t yet packed. Given she
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sometimes lives out of suitcase between out-of-state mural clients and global trekking to far-flung destinations, Holliday also has holiday packing down to a science. The artist — who has developed quite a following for her murals, historicallycorrect restoration work, decorative furniture painting and faux finishes — is checking off items on her bucket list, having just closed out an exhibition of photographic works a week earlier of images she shot last year while in Nepal. The scenes were starkly beautiful in muted tones. All of her photos were arresting; all sold well, but none was created for commercial appeal alone. These were works of the heart, whose sales were earmarked to benefit Nepalese quake victims. There is, she admits with a giggle, a lot of hippie in her. The North Carolina native travels widely, both for work and pleasure. Travel, Holliday says, is how she renews her creativity. Her work as a muralist has netted commissions around the country, where she creates convincing, artistic scenes in the homes of the well-heeled, even out West. Close to home, she recently won a competition to create a mural on a building in downtown Thomasville. The mural’s scale is sufficiently large to require a cherry picker to hoist the petite artist into the air. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
On her personal time, Holliday leads art events to teach disadvantaged women to execute some of the faux finishes she has perfected. As jovial as Holliday is, given her quick smile and ready laugh, there is another, more serious aspect that she says was underscored by life events. Life looked deceptively good from the artist’s perspective. Then, two years ago, her marriage began unraveling, and things took a disastrous turn two weeks after her 50th birthday. While working on a massive project, 13 feet by 26, Holliday took a step back to reflect for a moment and fell, severely breaking her right wrist. “It was August 26, 2013.” The date is one she won’t forget — the artist is righthanded. Holliday’s response to the disaster? “I got up the next day and started painting with my left hand. I had roughed the project in before I fell.” Had she ever painted with her left hand? “Uh, no.” Yet she did, and finished the project on time. She opens a notebook and points to a furniture showroom with walls filled to replicate a quaint cityscape. This was the work she completed using her nondominant hand while her right wrist was encased in a cast. “I got tougher,” she says. Holliday started doing pushups and yoga to strengthen her broken wrist. October 2015
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The finished scenes appear convincingly perfect — a sunny downtown fiction of her own design, with incredible detail. The work didn’t suffer a whit. “I think it (the physical struggle) released something in me,” she admits. “I love what I do, and I had a job to finish and had to do it. I feel like the guy in True Grit,” she says laughing merrily, evoking the tough character Rooster Cogburn. “Anyway, I can now paint with my left hand. I got my cast off right before furniture market in October.” Recently, Holliday undertook a project with the nonprofit group Caring Services, teaching people to paint. She marvels at one coincidence — among them is one ambidextrous student she met through the organization, who is also able to paint with either hand. “I told her, ‘Honey, that’s OK!’” Frequent commissions for home and corporate projects mean that Holliday has murals sprinkled throughout the Triad and out-of state. Of course, furniture market is a mainstay client, but so are Triad businesses. Her portfolio is full of colorful examples. Many are residential, but she gets her share of corporate commissions. “I did a mural on crusty concrete at the old Adams Millis headquarters. I did a Japanese landscape, a mural in 3-D at the Pavilion at the International Furnishings Center.” Holliday also painted a “huge mural” for Deuterman Law.
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And then, there is the extensive work that Holliday undertook at Hillbrook, an Emerywood house in the historic neighborhood. Actually, it is a mansion. Currently owned by Stephen Ponds, Hillbrook is a 1930s Norman Tudor designed by Luther Lashmit for textile baron Comer Covington. (Lashmit was a Winston-Salem architect who is better known for designing the Graylyn manor house for tbacco baron Bowman Gray.) Hillbrook was a long-term project that included extensive mural work, faux painting in numerous rooms and wallpaper restoration during a full, jaw-dropping renovation. “I did the Ponds’ house, murals and wood graining,” says Holliday. The Emerywood mansion is a four- story standout among her most ambitious works. It is also a showcase of the artist’s skills. Holliday helped achieve Freeman’s vision for a newly designed downstairs bar. With Freeman’s concept and Holliday’s painterly talents, it became a trompe-l’œil signature within the elegant house. In a once gloomy service room, a clock was created to disguise pipes — and the effect is delightfully, convincingly Art Deco. “She hand-painted the Art Deco “circus tent” in the bar and helped with retouching. Dana is and has been an invaluable resource for us whether the project The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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involves a mural, a faux finish or a creative texture,” says Freeman. Freeman oversaw the exhaustive restoration of Hillbrook, including the gardens. He worked closely with the artist and credits her with exceeding the high standards that Ponds had for the project. “Dana did a wonderful job capturing the spirit of a Norman Tudor Revival landscape in the Hunt Room mural,” says Freeman. “The landscape and the manor house depicted in the scene are reminiscent of the original wallpaper in the room.” Holliday’s next commission is for the Davidson County Historical Museum and then she will commence work for a boutique in Apex. But she wants to design her own line of original wallpaper and has plans to pursue that interest this year. She also wants to move more toward abstraction. Mural work is usually literal; the artist in her is craving to stretch more. “My sister-in-law compares me to O’Keefe or the Impressionists,” Holliday says. And now, mindful of her bucket list, she also wishes to return to serious painting, which for Holliday means working in oils. Her artistic career was launched after completing a fine arts degree at UNCG while still in her 30s, following the births of two sons. Initially Holliday plied her skills as a decorative painter for the home furnishings company As You Like It. “I was doing a lot of furniture painting for an Italian furniture company.” She says she finessed her skills there, learning the intricacies and technique of her craft. Not content to rest on her laurels, Holliday, with a bulging portfolio, made contact with a renowned British artist who is a muralist and faux painter, and sought him out. “I took a weeklong mural class in England with Graham Rust . . . it was on my bucket list,” Holliday says. When she showed him her finished works from back in the States, Rust seemed incredulous that she wanted to study under him. She laughs, saying she still enjoyed it, and appreciated the affirmation of a fellow muralist. Also on Holliday’s bucket list: “To go see James Taylor. And, I want to travel more. Also, I want to do more canvas time.” (In artist’s speak, this means she intends to do more private painting on canvas versus massive walls.) She comes from a globe-trotting family. After Holliday went to Costa Rica to an Omega Institute yoga event, her mother, not to be outdone, hiked the Camino Real alone. Then her brother went to Ecuador. The high-spirited family lives on a sprawling compound dotted with their individual homes on a 62-acre farm in Lexington, in a place first settled by their Bavarian ancestors. When she isn’t jetting off on a goodwill trek or adventure, Holliday is plotting her next creative or spiritual escape. “I seek inspiration when I travel,” she says. Last year, she took the trip to Nepal prompted by her experiences in Costa Rica. In Nepal, Holliday shed a vestige of her old life as well. “I took my old wedding band and left it there,” Holliday chuckles, as if the band of gold were alms paid to a nation for a gift. “It (Nepal) inspired my painting. “ She turns pensive, discussing the aftermath of a devastated Nepal, a place that deeply influenced her. Holliday had planned to return this year, but given the devastation, will instead place that energy into doing works that might be of benefit to the victims. The tragedy inspired her to have a summer art show in June at The 512 Collective art gallery in High Point, with proceeds going to Nepal relief. Again, this was her way of paying forward a place that enriched her creative spirit and emboldened her to keep ticking experiences off her bucket list. Her life isn’t only about the art she creates, but about the art of living itself. “When I die, I want them to say, ‘She cared. She inspired.’” OH To see more of Dana Holliday’s works go to www.danaholliday.com. Cynthia Adams is O.Henry’s contributing editor. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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A Tale of Two Kitchens How and why two local residents took the plunge to remodel By Nancy Oakley • Photographs by John Gessner
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kitchen is to Diane Compton as a Ferrari is to a race-car driver. “I do a lot of cooking, and I use it hard,” she says. A cooking instructor for Williams-Sonoma at Friendly Center who trained at America’s Test Kitchen, Compton often tries out and tweaks recipes before introducing them to her classes. When discussing the renovation with interior designer Susan Wilson, owner of Sublimelime in 2013 and 2014, Compton had one working principle: “It’s gotta be a working kitchen.” Wilson had assisted Compton and her husband, Chip, with a redo of the foyer, living room and sunroom of their Georgian empty nest in New Irving Park, which they’d moved into in 2012. She knew firsthand that the lady of the house was a serious gastronome. “Diane’s kitchen in full-cook mode is messy; there’s stuff all over the place.
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It’s always in use,” Wilson says. Collaborating with contractor Patrick Bunn of Innovative Kitchens & Baths, Wilson came up with a design that’s superefficient. Out came the oversized island in favor of a slightly smaller one with space for a prep station, replete with red sink (an homage to Compton’s grandfather, who had a red sink in his Missouri farmhouse). The island is still wide enough to accommodate multiple sous-chefs. “We have a big family get-together at Thanksgiving, and I can put people to work on pies, somebody to work on meats,” Compton says. Yet the hub isn’t so wide that it limits traffic between it and the counter that runs along the periphery of the room. Compton chose brown quartz countertops from Schneider Stone (the company also installed the Comptons’ master bath entirely in the same material). “It’s pretty impervious to how I use it,” she explains, adding that quartz not only cleans The Art & Soul of Greensboro
easily but also contains antibacterial qualities, “which is great if you’re working with raw meat.” The only marble surface in the kitchen is in a compartment directly behind the prep station that formerly housed a desk. Now cleverly hidden with sliding and folding pocket doors, the space allows Compton to roll out dough — and conceal her embarrassment of mixers, blenders and processors. “I love gadgets!” she says. “Chip’s like, ‘Can’t we just hide some of them?’” Her latest splurge: a Wolff convection steam oven that, among other things, cans vegetables — in as little as 20 minutes. “I made all these from my tomatoes last year,” Compton says, producing jars of tomato sauce. Her tomato garden, just visible from the window over the sink, is a clue to the origins of Compton’s passion for cooking. “My father was raised on a farm. My mother was raised on a farm,” she says, explaining that their do-it-yourself philosophy so integral to agrarian life, rubbed off on her. Compton’s efficiency is evident in other ways, namely how she organizes her kitchen: Her most commonly used tools are stored in a drawer near the prep station near another for her tea towels (“I don’t use paper towels,” she says); bake ware goes down below, pots and pans across from the stove. She credits Wilson and Bunn, especially, for helping her map things out during the planning stage, “and prevent me from making expensive mistakes.” Bunn, for example, suggested raising the height of the hood and the cabinetry over it — so that her husband could avoid bumping his head on it. “I would never have thought of this,” Compton says. She wanted the cabinetry and style of the room to echo the Georgian exterior The Art & Soul of Greensboro
of the house and opted for a look that had “an English country feel to it,” hence, the neutral brick tones in the backsplash and the soft gray walls. But to avoid the effect as being “too country-country,” says Wilson, off-white, inset cabinets — popular during the Victorian and Georgian periods — from Plain & Fancy in Pennsylvania did the trick. Wilson also found the “fire back” to the stove — actually a piece of glass she chanced upon at Champion Tile. It, too, suits Compton’s aggressive culinary style: “I do a lot of high-heat cooking or frying,” she says, “and I needed this to be easy to clean. Just wipe down the glass.” Compton also needed something to accommodate the accouterments of all that high-heat cooking: eleven fry pans in various sizes, which, prior to the remodel she had hung on hooks on the wall where the refrigerator now stands. “It was funny,” recalls Wilson, “because they were all hanging there, and I said, ‘Which of these do you have to have access to?’ And she said, ‘All. Of. Them.’” The solution? A custom-designed hutch that also houses yet more appliances for making coffee, tea and mocha, as well as copper molds and red ceramics to add some pop. “China is kind of our art,” Compton explains, pointing to a locally handcrafted platter mounted over the hood and stove. Its bird motif echoes the Carolina wrens and goldfinches fluttering outside the feeder by the kitchen window. “I’ve never lived any place with the variety of birds as I have since we moved here,” says Compton. But given the mouthwatering delicacies coming from inside, who wouldn’t want to flock to her window? Empty nest no more. October 2015
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“S
ee you in the Spring!” “See you in the Fall!” “See you in the Spring!” Such was the typical salutation between Diana Liinangi and Carol Van Zile, who for several years saw each other at brief intervals during the semiannual High Point Market. When she isn’t moonlighting twice a year at the furniture show’s information booth, Liinangi works as a Montessori teacher’s assistant for the Guilford County Schools. Imagine coming home after a busy day in the classroom to relax with an afternoon snack or a cuppa something — in a kitchen that you hated. “It was ugly!” Liinangi said of the room, which was original to her house in Summerfield. When she and her husband, Marty, first moved into it about twenty years ago, they found the brown oak cabinets, dark stained floor and painted tile “so beautiful.” By spring of this year, not so much. Especially when the stove quit working. “I thought, ‘Well, if I need a new stove, I need to get a new countertop. Well, if I need a new countertop, I might as well get new cabinets,” Liinangi says. Van Zile, a designer for Marsh Kitchens, was just the person to help. “I went to Carol, and I don’t even think I knew what I wanted,” Liinangi remembers. “All I knew is, I wanted something lighter.” Van Zile recalls her client requesting white. “And I said, ‘white is so harsh. Let’s do light gray.’” But before she started implementing a design, Van Zile coordinated with contractor Jim Martin, owner of Martin Construction. He and his crew would need to remove the old cabinets and appliances, take out an entire section of damaged drywall behind the old backsplash, replace the wiring underneath, and refinish the floors — in the living room and foyer, as well as the kitchen. (“Because,” says Liinangi, “if you’re going to have these floors done, you might as well get new carpet [for the living room].”) Liinangi says that Martin also brought something unheard-of to the equation — a familial atmosphere among subcontractors and client that resulted in a convivial renovation. “I work based on relationships,” he explains. “To be the contractor and try to create a positive experience?” he posits, “That’s where Carol and I work really well.” The two recreated Liinangi’s kitchen into a harmonious flow of of varying gray shades with playful bursts of color. For a while Liinangi considered installing a bright red island. “I was all for it,” Van Zile says. “But at the eleventh hour Diana chickened out. You can have pops of color with the stuff that we’ve done,” The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Van Zile notes referring to the red glass globes that Butler Lighting provided, the red tea kettle and the retro red platter (a gift from Liinangi’s in-laws) hanging over the stove. “But a red island is still a red island. You’d have to paint over it.” Instead, she chose a charcoal hue called Greystone. “It’s all maple, so you can actually see the wood grain on the cabinet come through.” Martin points to an unusual feature in Van Zile’s design, a cubbyhole for the microwave at knee level. “I didn’t want it to be the focal point,” she explains. “We have a nice hood, we wanted people to look at the hood. They don’t use their microwave all the time, but it’s still convenient.” Van Zile thinks of the kitchen in theatrical terms: The island and hood are the “stars” of this show and therefore more noticeable in the darker Greystone. Similarly, Marble Granite World’s mottled countertop in leathered granite catches the eye before the “supporting cast,” the darker shiny granite around the kitchen’s periphery, topped off with Marsh’s line of light gray, Shaker-style, full overlay cabinets with center panels. These are set off by just a touch of white: oversized subway tiles (4 x 16, as opposed to the usual 3 x 6), “a modern spin,” Van Zile notes. The entire kitchen is a blend of Marsh’s offerings, built in its High Point factory, and Van Zile’s designs specific to the space — the corner compartment for the coffeemaker, the end shelves with cookbooks and nickknacks facing the back door, the shelf and wine rack at the end of the island — built in Greensboro. “It’s a nice custom look, but still keeps things at an affordable price point,” the designer offers. She was fortunate to have a willing client — though Liinangi balked at having glass doors on the cabinets. “I didn’t want people to come in and see my dishes,” she says. She did agree to just one cabinet with a hammered glass door that only suggests what lies behind it. “Sometimes,” says Van Zile, “You just need to, visually, break things up.” And by the time the construction party broke up — a mere month after the project started — Liinangi started feeling wistful. “The electrician stopped by, and we’re like, ‘We’re gonna miss you guys!’” But before the good-byes an inauguration of the kitchen was in order: At press time, a celebratory twelve-pack appeared on the matte-finish granite countertop. “Everybody on this project became friends,” Martin says. “We were even thinking about forming a bowling league!” OH Nancy Oakley’s galley-sized kitchen is barely efficient but always convivial. October 2015
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Chapel of
Dreams
Veteran professor and Presbyterian preacher Bill Hamilton drew on ancient spiritual traditions to build his beautiful backyard chapel — rebuilding himself in the process Story and Photographs by Tom Lassiter
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he wooden structure, near perfect in its symmetry, stands catty-cornered in Bill and Cathy Hamilton’s back yard. The wide steps and wraparound deck are perfect for surveying the raised beds where Cathy’s tomatoes, banana peppers, field peas, basil and thornless blackberries take turns flourishing. The steps also provide the best vantage point to wait, glass in hand, for the evening sun to burnish the crepe myrtle in gold. Admiring the glowing, sinewy tree trunks, Hamilton (who prefers to be called by his surname) says, “God’s body is light, according to the Zoroastrians. I think they must have seen things like that.” The rays splash the last of the ripe summer produce. “We took an organic gardening class a few years ago with Charlie Headington,” Greensboro’s permaculture guru, says Hamilton. “Best class I ever took. It was fun.” Cathy loves raising their own organic produce, but it’s also a mission. She directs UNCG’s Office of Leadership & Service-Learning, where one focus is on creating strategies to relieve the area’s top national ranking in food insecurity. Hamilton, retired from UNCG but still teaching Latin American history at Guilford College, knows something about learning and fun. He has a big appetite for both and delights in shattering stereotypes about dour Scotsmen and rigid Presbyterian ministers. He honors his heritage by wearing a kilt (made of the Hamilton clan tartan, of course) each year on his birthday. Hamilton is to strait-laced Presbyterianism as Wynton Marsalis is to classical music. He mastered it and can still perform it, but personally has moved on. Hamilton’s last birthday fell on a Sunday during his yearlong stint as interim pastor at New Garden Friends Meeting. His attire mostly generated broad smiles, though Cathy blanched when she realized the kilted Scotsman would spend most of the worship service seated on a bench facing the congregation. Hamilton’s homemade 12-by-12 retreat took shape over nearly two years, ultimately soaring taller than any suburban garden shed. There’s not a stick of wood in it that he hasn’t shaped or touched or nailed in place. A cupola tops its pagoda-like roof. The reach to the heavens is no accident.
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“I had been wanting to do this well over twenty years,” Hamilton says. “In the south of Chile, I saw these little, private, wooden chapels. The ranching families would get together, and one would donate a little parcel of land to put this on. They would hold community meetings. Sometimes, if they were big enough, dances. Every now and then, the priest would come by to say Mass.” The Hamiltons lived in South America on three separate occasions. At times they were young academics, still pursuing advanced degrees. (His is in Latin American social and political conflict; hers is in human resource educational development.) On occasion they were journalists, working for an English-language liberation-theology newspaper. And at times they carried out the work of the church, he as a pastor, she as religious education director. At each post — in Peru, Argentina and Chile — they immersed themselves in Latin American culture while wrangling three kids. In Lima, they were resident caretakers for a Roman Catholic convent under renovation. “Cathy and I stayed in one cell that had twin beds. Our son, who was 6 months old, slept in a suitcase between our beds. Our daughters were in the next cell in twin beds.” “No washer, no dryer; two babies in diapers. No refrigerator,” Cathy recalls. But, on one occasion, plenty of tanks and machine guns, whether to to dissuade Shining Path rebels from mayhem or to remind voters who held the keys to the armory. The next stop was Montana, a destination that inspired Hamilton after he read Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It and Other Stories. It was the first location of eleven interim pastorates on two continents. Sometimes Hamilton cleans up messes; sometimes he facilitates transition. He loves being a professional short-timer and the variety it brings. In addition to Greensboro Quakers, he’s served all sorts of Presbyterian congregations, including Chinese Presbyterians and black Presbyterians, both in New Orleans. So began a pattern of being at home in either North or South America. Pursuing their degrees, conducting peace work and pastoring churches led the Hamiltons on a circuit around the nation and across the equator numerous times. Years of living abroad meant that the Hamilton kids occasionally led lives of deprivation. Once, during a Miami layover while flying home, the Hamiltons’ young October 2015
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son returned from the restroom with a joyous announcement. “Mom!” he exclaimed to all within earshot, “The toilet paper here is so soft.” Step inside Hamilton’s backyard retreat and inhale. One deep breath is as soul-calming as an hour of yoga. The bookshelves are made of unsealed Northwestern cedar, their smell reminiscent of the long-gone George Y. Brown Co., the cedar processor that stood near the Greensboro Coliseum. Underfoot are floorboards of sapele, an African hardwood. Hamilton drove his pickup to Texas to pick up the lumber, which spent decades as the floor of a railroad boxcar before being reclaimed. The low point of the construction occurred when the crew hired to sand and polyurethane the floor also carefully filled every scratch, dent and ding with wood putty. After reflection, Hamilton had them just as carefully dig out the putty, restoring the timber’s beauty marks and imperfections. Overhead, gazing down from the base of the cupola, is an angelic, if somewhat androgynous, face. Hamilton commissioned the portrait of the Angel Gabriel, which was painted by James Jordan, one of his former graduate students at UNCG. Hamilton is partial to Gabriel, “the only angel who appears in the scriptures of all three Abrahamic religions.” Christians, Jews and Muslims all thought enough of Gabriel to include him in their holiest books, making him the universal angel. Universal themes captivate Hamilton, who began studying the work of the psychotherapist Carl G. Jung in a discussion group four decades ago; he’s not done yet. Jung’s books fill the cedar shelves, along with the 30 years of dream journals they prompted. Hamilton sees universal themes in the architecture of Shinto and Buddhist shrines, the onion domes of Russian Orthodox churches and the simple ranch chapels of Chile. The universality of the human experience speaks to him in myriad ways, regardless of culture, nationality or era. But as often happens, the path to the ethereal starts in the physical realm. A couple of years ago, Hamilton and Cathy were taking an evening stroll, crossing a street in Memphis, Tennessee, when a car ran a red light. They had just stepped off the curb and never saw what hit them. Both suffered head injuries; Hamilton had three fractured vertebrae. Recovery was arduous and slow. He stopped recording his dreams in journals. “I started this project shortly thereafter, just digging holes for the foundation,” Hamilton recalls, explaining his initial plan to create a backyard stage for neighborhood concerts. “Then it grew into a chapel,” he says. A friend and former home designer turned Hamilton’s sketches into working drawings. A retired physician neighbor became his carpenter’s helper. “We had a great time doing it,” Hamilton says of the chapel’s construction. “Little by little it just took shape. In the process, I thought, ‘Well, I’m rebuilding myself.’ “It emerged as my kind of personal chapel — my therapy, basically — where I could put my books and do some reading and writing.” Redolent of cedar, under Gabriel’s serene gaze, it’s not just a chapel. It’s the stuff of dreams. OH Greensboro writer/photographer Tom Lassiter met Bill Hamilton at New Garden Friends Meeting, where he never once fell asleep during one of Hamilton’s prepared messages (aka sermons).
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Family Affair
The living legacy of Carolyn LeBauer is a restored Fisher Park bungalow with a world of charm — and a downtown park that will open in May By Maria Johnson • Photographs by Amy Freeman
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Story of a House
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ne day in the not too distant future, it’s quite possible that John and Kim Martin, who are expecting their first child in January, will walk with their daughter to a small park in downtown Greensboro and explain to her that the park was born the same year she was: 2016. They might show her the sign: Carolyn & Maurice LeBauer Park. Then they might tell her where Carolyn LeBauer grew up: in their house in Fisher Park. The girl — just watch her be adorable with her father’s paprikared hair — probably won’t give two Gummi Bears about Carolyn LeBauer. She almost certainly will be more interested in exploring the children’s garden than in hearing about some lady who occupied the bedroom next to hers almost a hundred years ago. But that would be OK because one day, the girl will learn that it’s a small world and also that stories have a way of repeating themselves. When John Martin and his wife Kim were looking at a bungalow for sale on Isabel Street six years ago, they couldn’t help but notice a poster plastered with pictures of the home’s previous inhabitants. The then-owners had found the poster in the attic and displayed it for prospective buyers to see. “They were using the history of the house as a selling feature,” says John Martin. “I was like, who are these people on the poster?” Martin, then in his mid-20s, looked more closely and recognized one of the names under a child’s picture: Buddy Weill, a longtime Greensboro insurance and real estate man, then in his 80s. “I’d seen him at real estate luncheons and industry events,” says Martin, a business developer for Landmark Properties of the Triad. The Martins were intrigued by the connection to Weill. After they bought the Craftsman bungalow and settled in, they invited Weill to come over and see his childhood home. He hadn’t been inside since he was 15, when his family moved out and up to Irving Park. “He walked around downstairs and told some stories,” says Martin. “He said it really hadn’t changed much, that it felt like the same house.”
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Buddy Weill mentioned that he had a sister, Carolyn. But it wasn’t until a few years later, after Carolyn died, that the Martins made the connection: Weill’s sister was Carolyn LeBauer, who had grown up as Carolyn Weill and married Dr. Maurice LeBauer. Maurice LeBauer and his brother Sidney were the first in their family to become doctors, the beginning of a Greensboro medical dynasty that eventually encompassed several locations and specialties. Maurice died in 1996 at age 96. When Carolyn died in 2012, also at age 96, she left $10 million for a park. The 3.5-acre space, set to open in May, is now under construction on city-owned land that’s hugged on three sides by Greensboro’s main library, cultural center and historical museum. The future Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts will stand directly across Davie Street from LeBauer Park, which will boast an outdoor stage, water plaza, children’s garden, dog park, market space and other leafy vignettes. Long ago, Carolyn LeBauer, who enjoyed gardening and the outdoors, told her brother about her plans. “She devised this idea for a park about twenty years ago,” 91-year-old Buddy Weill says. “She told me that was what she was going to do with what she had left.” Built in 1911, the house on Isabel Street was 7 years old
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when Carolyn and Buddy’s parents, C.L. and Beatrice Weill, bought it. Before that, they lived on South Spring Street and on Battleground Avenue in downtown Greensboro. Weill believes the house on Isabel Street was the first dwelling his parents owned. Then, as now, the two-story bungalow wore cedar shingles as siding. That includes the front-porch columns. While not common, shingled bungalows were not rare in the early 1900s, says Benjamin Briggs, executive director of Preservation Greensboro Inc. There are a couple of similar homes in Fisher Park, and the practice was very much in line with the Craftsman ethos of the day — an appreciation of beautiful, useful things made by hand. “It was a contrast to the more elaborate Victorian and Queen Anne houses a generation ahead of them,” says Briggs. “This was a period where people were rebelling in favor of the common man, against the J.P. Morgans of the day. . . . It was sort of associated with the underdogs, the workers, and not putting on airs.” Briggs says Isabel Street is an iconic street in Fisher Park and in Greensboro. “You know how people are using the hashtag #sogreensboro? That street is so Greensboro. Most of the houses on that street were built during one of Greensboro’s most prosperous times,” he says. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Insurance, tobacco and textile money paid for Fisher Park houses in the early years. Today, Briggs says, it’s the post-industrial creative class — well-educated entrepreneurs, artists, techies and others — who buy the bungalows and four-squares with the fruits of their imaginations. “The creative class is synonymous with our industries today,” Briggs says. “They value these types of neighborhoods.” Like an attractive society matron who has had “some work” done, Fisher Park’s biggest assets are good bones, an interesting story and lots of quirks. Example: The houses on the Martins’ section of Isabel Street sit catawampus to the road. Briggs explains why: The lot sidelines run northsouth as if the street runs east-west. But Isabel Street, along with a few others in the area, cuts an angle that’s parallel to the Fisher Park green space. Because the lots are so narrow, the builders had no choice but to make the houses square with the sidelines. “It’s Isabel Street that’s crooked, not the houses,” says Briggs.
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rooked or not, Isabel Street was a great place to grow up, says Weill. “There were kids all around. I remember when they paved Magnolia Street, the 900 block of Magnolia. It was pretty smooth, and we played street hockey,” he says. “Nothing was on Magnolia beyond Hendrix Street. Wendover Avenue was there, but it was a two-lane street.” Eighty years later, Weill maintains an office at the multilane intersection of Wendover Avenue and Cridland Road, not far from his boyhood home. He long ago sold the insurance and real estate businesses that he both inherited and bought from his father, but he dresses in a coat and tie and goes to his office daily to tend to family business with the help of his longtime assistant Maxine Fisher. “I come in here every day and let Maxine beat up on me,” he says with a grin. “As long as she wears hose, I have to wear a tie.” Weill was the executor of his sister’s estate — she and her husband had no children, and neither did Weill — which he recently settled. Carolyn LeBauer left $10 million for the park, with instructions for the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro to oversee construction then give the park to the city. Weill says the estate kicked in another $4.7 million after Carolyn’s death for unforeseen needs that might arise in the park. “The city can’t do everything,” Weill says. Carolyn LeBauer, just as independent in adulthood as she was in childhood, also left money to UNCG and the hospice Beacon Place, where she volunteered. After her husband died, she endowed a chair in surgery, in his honor, at the University of Virginia’s medical school. Weill and his sister had regular contact as adults, but Weill doesn’t remember much about their childhood The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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years together. Carolyn was nine years older. “She matured early, and I matured late, so there was almost a generation between us,” he says. “She acknowledged that.” That’s a gentleman’s way of saying his older sister was bossy, as older sisters are wont to be. By the time Buddy’s family left Fisher Park for a home in Irving Park, Carolyn had graduated from UNCG, then Woman’s College and married Maurice LeBauer. Buddy’s earliest memories of Carolyn are prompted by a scrapbook that his mother kept on his young life. He opens it and points to a black-and-white photograph taken in front of the house on Isabel Street. Carolyn, who wears her dark hair in bangs, stands behind a carriage holding Buddy, a baby with curly blond hair. “Just a plaything for his sister,” their mother wrote in her distinctive upright hand. Once, Weill says, his sister and a friend carted Buddy to a neighborhood gathering in Fisher Park. They brought back an award. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
They’d entered Buddy in a Prettiest Baby contest, which he won. No other babies were entered. Weill says his headstrong sister almost burned the house down a few years later. “Maybe she was 14. Something like that,” says Weill. “She threw a cigarette butt on the shingled roof, and the house caught on fire.” It was about 11 at night. Weill was asleep in the room next to his sister’s. Weill’s father waked him, grabbed him by the hand and hauled him outside. “I remember the fire trucks were there to put the fire out,” Weill says. “Mr. Bischel, who lived in the next block, came and repaired the damage.” The Weill women could be hard on their home. Buddy remembers his mother clipping the stairs of the screened porch as she backed a Buick, their only car, out of the driveway. He supposes Mr. Bischel got more business. October 2015
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“He fixed everything,” Weill says. He recalls other things about the house: A candlestick telephone on a table in a coat closet; a third-floor attic where adults stored steamer trunks and kids played on rainy days; a basement coal bin and furnace. “We started a fire every October 15 and let it die on April 15,” he says. “We took the cinders out of the lower part of the furnace, and we dumped them in the driveway.” Weill and his father made the basement bigger, digging it out by hand. There they built a moth boat, or small racing sailboat, and named it Ranger, after the yacht that won the 1937 America’s Cup. “It turned out to be too big to get out of the basement,” Weill remembers. “We had to take the gunnels off.” They stored the boat in the garage and sailed it at High Rock Lake. In the backyard of their home, the Weills had a large garden, a sandbox and a turtle pen. C.L. Weill had a habit of stopping and picking up turtles he saw on the road. He brought them home and kept them as curiosities. “We picked them up, and they withdrew into their shells,” says Buddy Weill. Being outside and walking everywhere was a big part of his childhood, Weill says. He walked over a bridge spanning the Church Street railroad tracks to get to Aycock School, then an elementary school. “I went to kindergarten for the entire school year of 1929–30,” Weill wrote in an autobiography that his mother saved. “It is with much chagrin that I admit I took a spanking every day from the teacher. So went the first year.” The family walked downtown for shopping and entertainment. Weill’s father worked at the corner of Market and Elm Streets in the American Exchange National Bank Building, later known as the Southeastern Building, a nine-story tower that recently experienced a head-to-toe renovation. C.L. Weill trekked home for lunch every day. Sometimes, the family walked to his office. “We’d sit in the windows and watch the Christmas parade,” says Weill. The family was Jewish — they attended Temple Emanuel in Fisher Park — but they still enjoyed the spectacle of the parade. “I remember the World War I veterans would march through,” Weill says. “The floats were beautiful.”
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he Martins, both 32, wear out the streets and sidewalks around Fisher Park. “We’re those geeky, walk-if-you-can people,” John says. They try to walk for exercise, but their jaunts aren’t great workouts, because they stop to chat with their neighbors. “There’s a front porch culture,” says John. “It makes it a more social environment.” When they do escape the neighborhood’s gravity on foot, their favorite destinations including Fishers Grille, Iron Hen, Gibb’s Hundred Brewing Co., 1618 Wine Bar, Cafe Europa, Scuppernong Books, Preyer Brewing Co., and Crafted: The Art of Street Food. “We have so many amenities, “ says Kim. “In another city — I just don’t know if we could have done it. If we were in Charlotte, we couldn’t be in a neighborhood next to downtown in the type
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
of house we wanted.” “We wanted historic,” John says. Although he works for a commercial construction company, Martin has a passion for saving historic properties. He is finishing his second term as a board member for Preservation Greensboro Inc. Kim Martin, an account director at Pace Communications, shares her husband’s zeal for old buildings. “We love historic architecture and all of the character that goes with it,” says John Martin. He might have said characters, too. “There are a lot of unique and interesting people in Fisher Park,” he says. “I think they’re attracted to the houses. They go hand in hand.” As if to prove his point, John says one of the features that attracted him to the home on Isabel Street was a second-floor balcony off the room that he uses as an office. “That was one of John’s must-haves — an upstairs balcony,” says Kim. Because . . . ? John shrugs. “Just because.” The Martins, who moved from a small two-bedroom home in Latham Park, also were charmed by the home’s deep front porch and its high ceilings. They’re tall people — he’s 6-foot-5, and she’s 5-11. “We walked in this house, and I thought, “Oh! We can stand up straight!” she says. They also warmed to details like pocket doors and the open staircase that zigzags to the third-floor attic. At closing, the sellers, the Kings, gave them a card signed by every family member. “It said something to the effect that, ‘This house has meant a lot to us. We hope it means a lot to you,’” she says. It does, and the Martins are putting their own stamp on the home. They’ve installed a chicken coop with four hens in the backyard. They’ve put on a new asphalt-shingle roof. They’ve repainted the entire interior — which sported deep colors when they bought it — in lighter tones that echo the sage green exterior. They also redid a full bath upstairs, keeping the claw-foot tub as a classic fixture. This summer, they finished overhauling the kitchen with help from some of John’s handy friends. Out went the old oak cabinets. In came Shaker-style white cabinets with a farmhouse sink, along with a black, leathered granite countertop and marble tile backsplash. The Martins also knocked out a wall to connect the kitchen to an adjoining room. Before it was enclosed, the room was a screened porch. The same one with steps mowed down by Buddy Weill’s mom. The same one where the family ate on hot summer days. Now, an unvarnished farmhouse-style dining table anchors the room. The chairs are from Restoration Hardware. The wood floors were reclaimed from a Cone textile mill. The Martins are renovating as most people do — as time and money allow. Most rooms are furnished with recent acquisitions — some pieces from online stores, some from yard sales, some from consignment stores — or passed down from family members. The couple benefits greatly from Kim’s mother, Ann Atkinson Conrad, an artist and Greensboro native now living in Charlotte, where Kim grew up. Conrad has contributed several pieces to the Martins, including several of her paintings: October 2015
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landscapes, still lifes and beach scenes. “It’s not a show house,” says Kim. “It’s a comfortable house. People who come over say that. It’s very comfortable and livable.” Next focus of attention: the upstairs room that will be the nursery. It will be in Buddy Weill’s old room. John Martin is still getting used to it: thinking of downtown destinations as places to walk with a child rather than with visitors from out of town. Yeah, he says, considering the idea for the first time, I guess we would walk to LeBauer Park with her. He collects his thoughts. “I suspect that in some form or fashion our daughter will know of the history of her home through the concept of a park.” The wheels are turning. “That’ll be a different angle on what the park means.” Buddy Weill smiles and looks out over 91 years when he hears this. “I think Carolyn would like that very much. That’s who she designed it for. She said it was to be for children and families.” Like the family at 211 Isabel Street. OH
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A Walk through a
Cool & Magical Shade Garden
Dr. Graham Ray is a gifted plantsman — his Guilford College garden, the perfect retreat for a summer day By Lee Rogers • Photographs by Hannah Sharpe
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find Dr. Graham Ray watering plants on his back patio, dressed in Bermuda shorts and polo shirt, sensible clothes for another long morning of work in his 2-acre creation. At age 81, this retired dentist is fit and trim. When he leads me on a garden tour in a calm, soft-spoken manner, it’s at a steady pace. By the back door, I notice an artfully arranged collection of potted Rex begonias and vow to copy this idea at home. Turning to look across the patio toward the swimming pool, I find a collection of desert plants and an elevated rock garden. Here’s a plant collector and one of Greensboro’s best known gardeners who’s turned his yard and garden into a lush tapestry of plants of varying hues and textures, including one of my favorites — sun-loving Arborvitae ferns. “That particular one I’m getting concerned about because it’s hopping around in the garden and I never had ’em to do that before,” Ray says. “I can visualize it becoming invasive. I begin to see it popping up in places where I didn’t put it.”
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Wherever I look is another unusual plant cultivar. And what’s that . . . an asparagus fern hybrid? Yes indeed! It is a hardy and compact variety that has survived for three decades in his rock garden and has since been introduced to the trade by Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh. “It just evolved here, let’s say. They called it ‘Graham’s Cracker,’” he says with a trace of a grin. Near the house, a green-leaved Colocasia “BikiniTini” with blackish-maroon stems looms behind the silvery jagged foliage of a perennial begonia, with a little dash of Helleborus niger in the foreground for some winter fun. Following a gray kitty along the mossy brick path leading to the greenhouse, I am enchanted by a mass planting of native Southern maidenhair fern next to a large blue-leaved hosta. Springing up behind it is the largest Jack in the Pulpit I have ever seen! “Arisaema ringens,” Ray says offhandedly. I continue wandering through this feast for the senses, trying to remember to take notes. In 1969, Ray purchased one acre on Rustic Road near Guilford College. Lots were large to accommodate wells and septic systems, and that turned out to be a lucky thing for this plantsman whose spread kept spreading. He bought two flanking half-acre lots and added a separate garage and rear driveway as well as a greenhouse, along with a potting shed, small nursery area, swimming pool and pergolacovered deck. A landscape architect friend, Hugh Harris, drew up the original site plan, but the garden is pretty much Ray’s creation. He has extended meandering paths of granite or old brick as he needed more room to grow his plant collection. “I just added as I went. Things evolve over the years.” I wonder how he can remember all the details. Many avid gardeners meticulously label their plants or group them by scientific genera and species. “Some people with smaller gardens might do that,” he says. “That’s just too much trouble.” Ray has committed the names and provenance of his The Art & Soul of Greensboro
enormous plant collection to memory. But he admits as his collection grows and as he grows older, it can get tricky: “Even things that you commonly know sometimes and you’ve known all your life — all of a sudden you just can’t come up with them. It’s just old age,” he admits with a chuckle. Although he had thirty-eight trees removed when he bought the property, most of the garden is still in dense shade. Dry shade gardening is always tricky, and it is a tribute to Ray that the woodland beds are flourishing. Soil prep is the key. He has built up the beds with loads of soil and compost mix hauled in by wheelbarrow over the years. Besides making his own leaf compost, he gets truckloads from the city of High Point. “Or Winston-Salem’s got it. You get it free over there,” he says. He uses the stuff liberally for preparing new beds but not for growing food. “I won’t use it in my vegetable garden at all,” Ray says. “I feel all right using it anywhere else, but not in my vegetables. You don’t know what else might be thrown into it.” He shares his extra organic vegetable produce with a local chef at Salvino Cucino Italiano on Battleground Avenue. You won’t find much floral color in the shade borders, except in spring when the rhododendrons are blooming. Instead it is the different combinations of foliage, color, texture, size and shape that are so very striking. I wonder if his interest in horticulture grew from early childhood in Jamestown, where his father served as stationmaster for the railroad. “No. He was not into horticulture. He grew vegetables because he had to,” he says. Ray started gardening seriously in 1962 with his first home on Stratford Drive behind the Battleground Avenue Lowe’s. “In that area they had garden of the week and they’d put a sign in your yard. They got tired of giving it to me,” Ray says. “I just wanted it to look good.” So maybe he has a competitive streak? “Oh yes. October 2015
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I had a football scholarship to VMI and stayed just long enough to realize I could get back to Carolina in time for fall semester.” Although he says he missed freshman orientation, “they let me in anyway. I was homesick.” He ended up swimming on the varsity team for UNC and completed both undergraduate and dental schools there. As a kid Ray was accustomed to hard work from mowing lawns for 50 cents with a reel mower. Did he grow to hate it, I wonder. “I didn’t like it then. I’ll say that. But I don’t mind mowing here.” If mowing is no longer the bane of his existence, I wonder what is. “Dragging hoses is the worst chore,” he says. No automatic irrigation system here. He sets up particular watering arrangements for each area. Some of them are sort of Rube Goldberg creations, like the oscillator sprinkler attached to the top of a stepladder with a wood clamp. But they get the job done. Fortunately he doesn’t have to pay city prices for his water. “All my outside faucets on the house are on a well,” he says. “This was a dirt road when we moved here in 1969. Everybody was on a well. And thankfully I was wise enough to keep it.” The landscape’s immaculate condition suggests that Ray has help, but he maintains the property by himself. He works outside four to five hours a day. “Nothing’s ever done in gardening. As gardens get older, you do a lot more pruning, and you have a whole lot more shade to contend with.” He has served in various horticultural organizations over the years but is now cutting back to focus on Greensboro Beautiful, the nonprofit organization that developed and helps maintain Greensboro’s four public gardens: the Bog Garden, the Greensboro Arboretum, Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden and Gateway Garden. He contributes regularly to the maintenance of the Arboretum where he is curator of both the Hosta and Conifer collections. He also serves as a docent in both the Arboretum and the Bicentennial Garden. Group guided tours are available on request through the Greensboro Beautiful organization. Did his wife, Helen, ever begrudge the time and energy devoted to his passion? “Maybe in the beginning there was a little bit of complaining, but she’s adjusted to it.” Ray is generous with his time and knowledge, and with cuttings or extra seedlings. He often supplies nurseries with starts of the rare and unusual plants. His generosity also extends to visitors. I leave in a happy daze, clutching a Colocasia “Bikini-Tini” seedling, gift of this gentle gardener. OH Lee Rogers lives, writes and runs her business, Lee Rogers Landscape Design, in Greensboro. She can be reached at lee@leerogersdesign.com.
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
By Rosetta Fawley
Love and Prophecy
Traditionally, October has two birthstones: opal and tourmaline. Some say that the tradition of birthstones originates in the Breastplate of Aaron described in Exodus, the twelve stones corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel and so to the months of the year. Our modern lists don’t accord all that closely with the ancient descriptions, but that’s OK — according to astrologers, the color of the gem is the important thing. Like autumn leaves, tourmaline comes in a wide variety of shades, and many individual stones are multicolored. They can even change color depending on whether they are viewed in natural or artificial light. Egyptian legend denotes that tourmaline passed through a rainbow as it came up through the Earth, and that was how it came to be so many-hued. Wear tourmaline for enduring love and friendship. Your birthday doesn’t have to be in October. Opals are also kaleidoscopic, but their colors hide in their depths. Bedouins believed that the stones fell from the sky in flashes of lightning. The ancient Greeks thought that one wearing opals would have the gift of prophecy and that the stones warded away disease. The Romans considered them symbolic of purity and hope. Blondes, regardless of what month you were born, invest in some opal hair ornaments — it is said that opals maintain the color of golden locks.
Apple Time is Here It’s the last month of apple harvest in western North Carolina. Make the most of it. Look out for apples at the farmers market, or stop by an orchard if you’re going to the mountains. American varieties being harvested this month include the Arkansas Black, Stayman and North Carolina’s own King Luscious. Arkansas Black and Stayman are thought to have developed in the mid-19th century from the Eastern states’ Winesap apple. The Arkansas Black apple is a sumptuous dark red color. Crisp and delicious when first picked, it can be stored for months. Its flavor mellows with keeping and its skin darkens to black, hence the name. Eat it fresh, cook it or juice it for cider. The Stayman is a dual-purpose variety, popular for eating and baking. Word is it makes superb apple butter. King Luscious is the newcomer to the party, having been discovered near Hendersonville in 1935. It is an eating apple that keeps well into the winter. It’s also enormous. Share it with someone. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The falling leaves Drift by the window The autumn leaves Of red and gold I see your lips The summer kisses The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away The days grow long And soon I’ll hear Old winter’s song But I miss you most of all My darling When autumn leaves Start to fall “Autumn Leaves,” Prévert/Kosma/Mercer
Hug a Farmer, Save Your Leaves
If you’re struggling with your fall cover crop or coming up with ways to put off raking the leaves, give a thought to our farmers on October 12, which is National Farmers Day. No procrastinating with the mowing for them. Shop at a farm stall or visit your local farmers market to celebrate the people who bring us our food and drink, fabrics and furniture. Speaking of raking leaves, when you’ve gotten around to it don’t throw them away. Not only would you be unnecessarily clogging up landfill, but you would be throwing away nature’s fertilizer. Fallen leaves are a treasure. Use them as mulch — shredded if possible — for flower beds and vegetable gardens, trees and shrubs. Remember not to “volcano mulch” around trees — stacking the mulch high can cause damp and disease at the base of the trunk. Up to six inches around the base is deep enough for trees and shrubs. Thick layers of mulch between rows of plants in vegetable gardens will not only improve your yield but also give you a path to work from during wet, muddy winter weather. Leaves can also be tilled into vegetable and flower beds. If you have sandy soil this will help with maintaining water and nutrient levels. Clay soils will have improved drainage and air supply. Work in a leaf layer of six to eight inches during the fall so that soil can maintain its natural rhythm and make the most of the decomposition process before spring planting begins. Anne reveled in the world of color about her. “Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill — several thrills?” — From Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery. October 2015
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October 2015 La Vie En Rose
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FIRST ROUND ON O.HENRY MAGAZINE. 5–6 p.m. Join the O.Henry gang for wine, beer and nibbles. 1618 Wine Lounge, 1724 Battleground Avenue. Greensboro. Info: (336) 285-9410 or 1618winelounge.com LIGHTEN UP. 5:30–8:30 p.m. Alight at Tyler • White illuminates the Alight Foundation, which
supports breast cancer patients and their families. Buy a raffle ticket for prizes, such as an original painting by Lauren Worth, whose work will be on view through 11/13. Tyler White O’Brien Gallery, 307 State Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 2791124 or tylerwhitegallery.com.
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LA VIE EN ROSE. 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Honor those affected by breast cancer by adding to or admiring a ribbon wall at Pink in the Park. City Center Park, 200 North Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: www.pinkinithepark.com.
HERB-AN LIVING. 6–7 p.m. Learn how to • grow herbs indoors and out, and taste some herb treats, courtesy of the Herb Society of America.
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For a $5 donation take a tour of the Fall Garden. Caldcleugh Multicultural Arts Center, 1700 Orchard Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 373-5881 or greensboro-nc.gov.
Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
October 1–6
R &BEEHIVE. Laugh at the triumph of • HUMAN WRIGHT. 7:30 p.m. The Bryan • Baltimore teenager Tracy Turblad in UNCG Series presents journalist Robin Wright, who gives her take on activists challenging the status quo in the Middle East. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
Theatre’s Hairspray. Performance times vary. Taylor Theatre, 450 Tate Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 334-4392 or performingarts.uncg. edu.
October 1–4
October 1–11
an artist’s studio made of cardboard, black paint and hot glue. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
Responding to Racial Tension in America. Cowan Humanities Building, College Place, Greensboro College, Greensboro. Info: artanddialoguegso. wordpress.com.
MACKEY FROM CACKALACKY. Winding • up its run is McDonald Bane: 2 Parts Art, 1 Part
October 1–17
HALT! WHO GOES THERE? You do, to • see Tom Burckhardt’s Full Stop, a simulation of
Science. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
TALK THE TALK. See how art can be an in• termediary at the remaining days of Art + Dialogue:
WIT AND RUN. As in, the stage run of • Wit, Margaret Edson’s play about a terminally ill
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
•
Sports
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Arts Calendar
Space Cadet
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English prof. Triad Stage, Hanesbrands Theatre, 209 North Spruce Street, Winston-Salem. Tickets: (336) 272-1060 or triadstage.org.
October 1–18
OBJETS D’ART. Things both natural and • manmade steal the spotlight in The Stilled Lives
of Objects. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
Richard Artschwager, Pregunta 1, 1983.
LeAnn Rimes
Bless The Beasts
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October 1–November 10
SCIENCE PROJECTS. Art and science meet • in Microcosm, which reveals the beauty of life at
the molecular level. Greenhill, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-7460 or greenhillnc.org.
October 1–November 29
•POST MAUD-ERN. See the paintings of • • • Key:
Art
Music/Concerts
Performing arts
UNCG alumna Maud Gatewood at Remembering Maud: A Selection of Her Paintings. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu. CAMERA READY. Video and new media • are the, er, focus of Peter Campus: Shiva – Falk
Visiting Artist. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
•
Sports
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October 2015
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October Arts Calendar October 2
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SPEED READING. 6 p.m. A Walk in the Woods? More like A Race in the Woods at a marathon four-hour reading of the One City One Book tome. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
ROCKIN’ ROGUES. 6 p.m. Or as they call • themselves, the Raving Knaves. Hear the home-
town band at First Friday. Cash bar. Greenhill, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-7460 or greenhillnc.org.
BRET SET. 7 p.m. From Poison front man to • Apprentice winner, Bret Michaels rocks the house. Cone Denim Entertainment Center, 117 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: cdecgreensboro. com.
October 3
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GREENS FOR GREENBACKS. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Buy trees, shrubs, perennials and more at the Fall Plant Sale. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. Info: (336) 996-7888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org.
KEN FOLK. 8 p.m. Nashville rising star ART DART. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Stroll to the • • Michael Ken rocks the Crown. Carolina Theatre, alfresco gallery, the Westerwood Art & Sole show featuring all manner of genres by artists living in the Westerwood neighborhood. Fairmont and North Mendenhall Streets, Greensboro. Info: facebook.com/westerwoodartandsole.
ROCKIN’ THE AGES. Noon–4 p.m. Support • the High Point Historical Society at the History
Rocks! Featuring food trucks, local bands, good eats, activities and demonstrations, including — yeah, baby! — the Blacksmith! High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 8851859 or highpointmuseum.org.
MANCAKES. 6–9 p.m. And man-wiches, all • kinds of man-made eats are the focus of Men Can
Cook, in which local fellas show off their culinary skills to raise money for the Women’s Resource Center. Special Events Center, Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 275-6090 or womenscentergso.org.
310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 3–December 13
SPACE CADET. Using industrial materials, • such as Formica and rubber, and natural ones, too, Richard Artschwager produced works that are a hybrid of pop, minimalist and conceptual movements. Have a peek at Punctuating Space: The Prints and Multiples of Richard Artschwager. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
October 3–January 3, 2016
HOW DO THEIR GARDENS GROW? • With oils and canvas, of course. See The Artist’s
Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887–1920. Reynolda House Museum of American Art, 5800 Reynolda Road, WinstonSalem. Info: (888) 663-1149 or reynoldahouse.org.
Key:
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Art Music/Concerts Performing arts Film Literature/Speakers Fun History Sports
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O.Henry 111
October Arts Calendar October 4
BLESS THE BEASTS. 3:30 p.m. It’s the laying • of hands on paws at the Blessing of the Animals,
with food trucks, folks from the Humane Society and more. St. Francis Episcopal Church, 3506 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 288-4721 or stfrancisgreensboro.org.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 3 p.m. Meet novelist • J. Edward Gray, author of Trouble at Mono Pass.
Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
HOWDY, PARTNER! 3 p.m. Cowboy songs • and humor inform the performances of Riders in
the Sky. High Point Theatre, 220 East Commerce Avenue, High Point. Tickets: (336) 887-3001 or highpointtheatre.com.
October 4–30
PEN-ULTIMATE. The pull between the • traditional and the contemporary is evident in
thirty-one texts interpreted by calligraphers in the traveling exhibition, Scribes of Hope II. First Baptist Church, 1000 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-3286, ext. 239 or fbcgso.org.
October 5
BUCKET LIST. 7 p.m. Biology profs Janne • Cannon (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Rob Cannon
(UNCG) lead a discussion of Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal: What Matters at the End of Life. Jackson Library, UNCG, Greensboro. To register: library.uncg.edu/giving/friends_of_the_libraries/ Register.aspx.
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AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet novelist Gwyn Rubio, author of Love and Ordinary Creatures. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 6
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AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet novelist Jonathan Evison, author of This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 6 & 7
THE CHANGE. 7:30 p.m. Help out the • Susan G. Komen Northwest N.C. and local Komen Affiliate with a ticket purchase to Menopause the Musical: The Survivor Tour. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street,
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October 2015
Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 7
BLAZE RUNNERS. 10 a.m. High Point Fire • Department Historian Training Chief Damon
Tobin talks about the 125 years of the HPFD. High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet chil• dren’s author Lisa Graff, who penned Lost in the
Sun. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
WINE, WOMEN AND SONG. 7–10 p.m. • Before there’s too much chill in the air, chill on the
Jazz Man
patio with half-price wine and Rob Massengale’s music. Village Tavern, 1903 Westridge Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 282-3063 or villagetavern. com.
October 8
BECK TALK. 6 p.m. Garden writer and • photographer Pam Beck presents, “Nothing Could Be Finer,” the first in the Chip Calloway lecture series. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. To register by October 5th: (336) 996-7888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org.
WHAT SHEL BE SHELBY. 4 p.m. Hear • North Carolina poet laureate Shelby Stephenson.
Jackson Library, UNCG, Greensboro. Info: uncgfol.blogspot.com.
PLAYER’S PLIGHT. 7 p.m. Former NFL • player Keith O’Neil addresses his struggle with
bipolar disorder at “Tackling the Stigma.” Aycock Auditorium, 408 Tate Street, Greensboro. Event is free, but please register at: (336) 373-1402 or mhag.org.
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PARAMOUNTAIN PICTURES. 7 p.m. Mountaineering, environmentalists, artists and poets star in flicks at Telluride Mountainfilm Festival on Tour. High Point Theatre, 220 East Commerce Avenue, High Point. Tickets: (336) 8873001 or highpointtheatre.com.
IN TUNE WITH THE RIMES. 8 p.m. • Grammy Award–winner LeAnn Rimes belts
her brand of country pop. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
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October 9
GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE . . . 6–8:30 • p.m. Bid for some eye candy at the seventh Annual Silent Auction, Art Lives Here, supporting Hirsch Wellness, which provides art programs for cancer patients and their caregivers. Revolution Mill Gallery, 1150 Revolution Mill Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 549-8367 or hirschwellnessnetwork. org.
A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE. 8 p.m. Dr. • John, New Orleans jazz man, performs with
the Nite Trippers. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 3332605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 10
MUSIC MEN. 7:30 p.m. The Greensboro • Tarheel Men’s Chorus sings a cappella at a Music Center Opus concert. Christ United Methodist Church, 410 North Holden Road, Greensboro. Info: greensboro-nc.gov.
ALT-ITUDE. 8 p.m. Alternative band • Collective Soul brings it to the stage. Cone Denim Entertainment Center, 117 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: cdecgreensboro.com.
October 9–10
AND THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS . . . • Don’t be a tortoise, be a hare and hop to Aesop’s (Oh The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 113
October Arts Calendar So Slightly Updated) Fables a production of Drama Center Children’s Theatre. Greensboro Cultural Center, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 373-2728 or greensboro-nc.gov.
October 10
UNSHELLFISH ACT. 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Claw • your way to the top with fresh Maine lobstah,
or lobster roll. Order by October 6th to pick up your crustacean dinner on the 10th, and benefit the Servant Center, which provides disabled veterans with food, housing and health care. All Saints Episcopal Church, 4211 Wayne Road, Greensboro. To order: (336) 852-0293 or allsaintslobstersale.wordpress.com.
CHAOS THEORY. 7 p.m. Kim Getty travels FACULTY FREEBIE. 4–6 p.m. Pedagogues • • 400 years from the future to modern-day Brooklyn are admitted gratis at the Fall Teacher Reception. to build a new life in Movement + Location. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 14
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CLINT STINT. 7 p.m. Put yourself in his shoes — or cowboy boots. Country superstar Clint Black brings it to the stage. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
from the heart, courtesy of Writers Group of the Triad. Roe Library, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 607 North Greene Street, Greensboro. To reserve: wgot. news@gmail.com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Joe Ingle, • author of Slouching Toward Tyranny. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
galleries participating in the Artstock Studio Tour. Greensboro. Info: artstocktour.com.
TOWNIES. 7:30 p.m. With hits such as • “Day Drinkin’” and “Girl Crush,” country faves
October 11
HOLY MOSES! 11 a.m.–5 p.m. And • Noah, and Abraham are just a few of the cos-
Jewish Festival
tumed characters you’ll see at Temple Emanuel’s Jewish Festival. Clap your hands to the Klezmer tunes of the Sinai Mountain Ramblers, chow down on some pastrami on rye and buy a raffle ticket. Temple Emanuel, 1129 Jefferson Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 292-7899 or gsojfest.org.
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AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Poet Ricky Garni, author of Pinky Embrace. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
114 O.Henry
October 2015
WHO YA GONNA CALL? 8 p.m. Ghost • Hunters Jason Hawes and Steven Gonsalves share
Band takes the stage. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 3332605 or carolinatheatre.com.
GALLERY A GO-GO. 10 a.m.; 1 p.m. • Let the red balloons be your guide to nine
October 13
door concert. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. Tickets: (336) 996-7888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org.
BECCA’S BACK! 8 p.m. Appalachian folk • meets indie pop as homegrown Becca Stevens
October 10 &11
Fashion Demonstration,” from People to People Liaison. The nonprofit funds children’s education, vocational training and gives micro loans for women entrepreneurs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Glenn McNairy Branch Library, 4840 Lake Jeanette Road, Greensboro. Info: peopletopeopleliaison.org.
STRING FLING. 6:30 p.m. The killer • Appalachian sounds of Mipso fill the air at an out-
their tales from “the other side.” Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
ROWE AND TELL. 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Local • scribe Jeri Rowe leads a workshop on writing
THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY. 3–5 p.m. Get • some style at “Looking Smart in the Congo: A
Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com.
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Little Big Town light up the stage. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com. THE NORTH WIND DOTH BLOW. 10 • a.m.–4 p.m. Learn the art of winterizing — colonial-style. Historical Park, High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
October 16
•GALLEYS HUMOR. 7 p.m. Sisters in Crime •SISTER ACT. 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6 hosts a manuscript critique for beginning and p.m.). The harmonies of six — count ’em six — sisveteran mystery writers. Barnes & Noble, 3102 Northline Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 8544200 or barnesandnoble.com.
October 15
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STRUNG UP. 7:30–10:30 p.m. Join the Piedmont Old Time Society for some pickin’ and grinnin’. Gibbs Hundred Brewing Company, 117 West Lewis Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 7637087 or gibbshundred.com.
ters characterize the sound of Cimorelli. The Blind Tiger, 1819 Spring Garden Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-9888 or theblindtiger.com.
EARTH-SHATTERING. 8–11 p.m. The • Piedmont Conservancy’s Land Jam 2015 shakes
things up with David Grisman Bluegrass Experience and Sierra Hull. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Arts Calendar AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Chapel • Hill photographer John Rosenthal, who will
discuss his new book, After: The Silence of the Lower Ninth Ward. An exhibition of Rosenthal’s photographs will be on view through 11/30. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 18–November 8 October 18
FEED THE SOULS. 1:30 p.m. With your • soles. It’s the 35th Annual Greater Greensboro
CROP Hunger Walk, benefiting the Urban Ministry’s Potter’s House Community Kitchen. NewBridge Bank Park, 408 Bellemeade Street, Greensboro. To register: (336) 553-2641 or greatergreensborocropwalk.org.
October 17
TIME WARNERSVILLE. 3 p.m. Hear Arwin • AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet historian Smallwood, chair of the Department of History at • E.A. Haag, author of Charlie Soon: North Carolina’s NC A&T State present “A Walk into Greensboro’s Link to the Fall of the Last Emperor of China. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
Past: Warnersville.” Greensboro Historical Museum, 130 Summit Avenue, Greensboro. Due to limited seating, please reserve by calling: (336) 373-2982.
October 17–January 3
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PROFS’ PALLETTES. What good is teaching art if you don’t make it? Hence, the 2015 UNCG Department of Art Faculty Biennial. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
AUTHORS, AUTHORS. 3 p.m. Meet Michael Parker and Holly Goddard Jones, contributors to Carolina Writers at Home. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
Food & Dining
HIT MAN. A playwright goes to deadly • lengths for success on the stage in Triad Stage’s
production of Deathtrap. Performance times vary. 232 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-0160 or triadstage.org.
October 19
CASTING STONES. 10 a.m. Learn about • “Andrew Schlosser’s Legacy of Stone” — from his
great-grandson and O. Henry alum, Jim Schlosser. Greensboro Historical Museum, 130 Summit Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 373-2043 or greensborohistory.org.
FEMME-ISHED. Noon (doors open at 11:30 • a.m.). Headlining the Community Foundation
of Greater Greensboro’s Women to Women’s Luncheon is Lee Woodruff, author, philanthropist and wife of ABC war correspondent Bob Woodruff, who sustained a head injury on assignment in Iraq. Koury Convention Center, 3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: cfgg.org.
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October 2015
O.Henry 115
October Arts Calendar October 20
WHAT’S UP DOC? 7:30 p.m. The Bryan • Series continues with physician and best-selling Greensboro’s Best Tex-Mex Cuisine! Los Gordos serves only the finest mexican food.
author Atul Gawande, who will discuss the future of health care. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
Catering for every event.
Food & Dining
October 21
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet mystery • writer Jennie Spallone, who will host a book
discussion about Sue Grafton’s “T” Is for Trespass. Barnes & Noble, 3102 Northline Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-4200 or barnesandnoble.com.
SWIFT GLOATING. 7:30 p.m. Pop diva • Taylor Swift is shakin’ it off with her “1989 World
Lunch and Dinner- Battleground Sunday-Thursday 11:00am- 9:00pm Friday-Saturday 11:00am-10:00pm
2505 Battleground Ave Greensboro NC • (336) 617-4155
Tour.” Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 7453000 or ticketmaster.com.
October 22
PARK PLACE. 2 p.m. Steve Windham of • New Garden Nursery will speak on Greensboro’s
parks, with a special focus on trees. Would he like to refer to the cover story of September’s O. Henry, by chance? Greensboro Council of Garden Clubs, 4301 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro. Info: www. thegreensborocouncilofgardenclubs.com.
MYSTÉRIEUSE. 7 p.m. Margaret Maron • presents Woman of Mystery Charlaine Harris. Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House, UNCG, Greensboro. Info: uncgfol.blogspot.com.
October 22–25
MURDER, SHE WROTE. That would be • playwright Sophie Treadwell whose Machinal, based You’ve depended on Libby Hill for delicious seafood for 60 years. Now, with more Healthy options on the menu, it’s time to Re-discover this Greensboro treasure. We’re also offering locally prepared items in select locations, such as desserts from The Sweet Shop & Pound Cakes by Margaret Elaine. Also, get a cup of locally roasted organic coffee from Carolina Coffee Roasting Company!
Greensboro’s oldest independent restaurant. 3920 Cotswold Ave • 3011 Randleman Rd • 3930 High Point Rd Mayberry Mall, Mt. Airy • 1629 Freeway Dr., Reidsville
116 O.Henry
October 2015
on true crime killer Ruth Snyder, is part of UNCG Theatre’s season. Performance times vary. Taylor Theatre, 450 Tate Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 334-4392 or performingarts.uncg.edu.
October 23
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AUTHORS, AUTHORS. 7 p.m. It’s a literary bonanza: The North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Reading and Reception features poet laureate Shelby Stephenson, Kim Church, Lee Zacharias, Julie Funderburk, Alina Ramirez, Drew Perry and Laura DeBar. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 7631919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
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Key: Art Music/Concerts Literature/Speakers Fun
Performing arts Film History Sports
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Arts Calendar October 23, 25 & 27
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CLOWN (C)ARIA. A curse hangs over a womanizing duke and his jester in Verdi’s tragic opera, Rigoletto, performed by Piedmont Opera. The Stevens Center, 405 West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem. Tickets: (336) 725-7101 or piedmontopera.org.
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October 23–November 21
by you
BATTY. Don’t leave the house without some garlic and a silver crucifix. • Community Theatre Greensboro presents Dracula. Performance times vary.
Starr Theatre, 520 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-7469 or ctgso.org.
October 24
GHOSTIES. 2–6 p.m. You do believe in spooks, you do believe in • spooks . . . or will after Ghoulash, billed as “spooktacular fun” from the
Greensboro Youth Council. Greensboro Historical Museum, 130 Summit Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 373-2043 or greensborohistory.org.
PAINTERLY. 4–7 p.m. A reception launches the ongoing exhibit • Apotheosis, featuring illustrative watercolors by artist-in-residence Liz
McKinnon. La Vida Pour Tea, 412 State Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 6094207 or vidapourtea.com.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT. 6–8 p.m. Go for chills and thrills listening • to ghost stories spun by a storyteller. Historical Park, High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
’TOONS’ TUNES. 8 p.m. C’mon, admit it: You’d love to hear “Let It Go,” • just one more time. The Greensboro Symphony plays favorites from the Magic Kingdom at the Tanger Outlets Pop Concert, Tale As Old As Time Disney in Concert. Westover Church, 505 Muirs Chapel Road, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 335-5654, ext. 224 or greensborosymphony.org.
NOSTALGIA TRIP. 10 p.m. Don’t you forget about them . . .’80s cover • band The Breakfast Club recalls the era of New Wave, big hair and shoulder
pads. Blind Tiger, 1819 Spring Garden Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 2729888 or theblindtiger.com.
At The Village at Brookwood, we know one size does not fit all. Here you can craft and refine your unique retirement, enjoying the freedom and flexibility to spend time with inspiring activities and creative people. That’s a lifestyle that should be music to your ears.
October 25
MAD DASH. 7:30 a.m. Step to it at the Bill Evans 5K and Fun Run, • (formerly the Mad Hatter Run) benefiting the Bill Evans Scholarship Fund —
so named for the late UNCG Public Health professor Bill Evans. UNCG. To register: jonesracingcompany.com/bill-evans.
WHO’S YOUR DADDY? 3–4:30 p.m. Scientist and genealogist Deborah • Holden explains autosomal DNA testing and how results should be interpreted for ancestral research. Morgan Room, High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High Point. Info: ncroom@highpointnc.gov.
STIFF (C)UPPA LIP. 4 p.m. Pinkies up, no slurping and don’t slice that • scone! Enjoy a Downton Abbey–Style Edwardian Tea. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. To reserve: (336) 996-7888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org. Key: The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Art Music/Concerts Performing arts Film Literature/Speakers Fun History Sports
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VillageAtBrookwood.org October 2015
O.Henry 117
October Arts Calendar October 29
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AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet novelist J.S. Riddle, author of Of Darkness and Light. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 29–30
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CHILLING BILLING. 8 p.m. Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre and other scary selections form A Night of Mystery at the Greensboro Symphony Tanger Outlets Masterworks concert. Dana Auditorium, Guilford College, 5800 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 335-5654, ext. 224 or greensborosymphony.org.
Creepy and Kooky
29- 1 11/
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PRAISE BE! 6 p.m. Listen to the joyful sounds of Fred Hammond Donnie McClurkin and more as the Festival of Praise Tour comes to NC A&T State’s Homecoming. Special Events Center, Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 7453000 or ticketmaster.com.
October 26
VEINIACS. 2:30 – 7 p.m. Extend a helping • arm to the Paul J. Ciener Blood Drive. Paul J.
Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. For an appointment: (336) 996-7888 or redcrossblood.org. Please use the code, Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden. Vampires prohibited.
October 28
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AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet novelist James Tate Hill, author of Academy Gothic. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 28–31
LOVE, VICTORIAN-STYLE. Victorian mo• res take center stage in UNCG Theatre’s produc-
tion of Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill. Performance times vary. UpStage Cabaret, Triad Stage, 232 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336)3344392 or performingarts.uncg.edu.
118 O.Henry
October 2015
October 29–31
MORTAL COMBAT. Euripides’ Iphigenia gets • a modern twist in UNCG Theatre’s production
of Charles Mees’ Iphigenia 2.0, which uses World War I poetry, blog posts and hip hop. UpStage Cabaret, Triad Stage, 232 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 334-4392 or performingarts.uncg.edu.
October 29–November 1
CREEPY AND KOOKY. Not to mention mys• terious and spooky. See High Point Community
Theatre’s production of The Addams Family — A New Musical Comedy! High Point Theatre, 220 East Commerce Avenue, High Point. Tickets: (336) 887-3001 or highpointtheatre.com.
October 31
MAGIC FINGERS. 8 p.m. Pianist Cathal • Breslin delivers some Poulenc, Ravel and more at
Sitkovetsky & Friends Chamber Series. UNCG School of Music, 100 McIver Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 335-5654, ext. 224 or greensborosymphony.org.
October 31–January 31
POP GOES THE EASEL. Warhol, • Lichtenstein, Ruscha . . . see how the commer-
cial and the everyday inspired these artists at Pop Art: 20th Century Popular Culture as Muse. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
engage in a Busy Bees preschool program focusing on music, movement, garden exploration and fun in the kitchen, at the Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Preregistration: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com. TALK IS CHEAP. Noon. Apprenez l’art de • la conversation française. Pardon our French
and join French Table, a conversation group. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
Tuesdays
READ ALL ABOUT IT. Treat your little ones • to storytimes: BookWorms (ages 12–24 months) meets at 10 a.m.; Time for Twos meets at 11 a.m. Storyroom; Family Storytime for all ages meets at 6:30 p.m. High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointpubliclibrary.com.
FARMERS IN THE DELL. 11 a.m. Or Edible • Schoolyard. Its classes for tykes ages 3–5 years includes: Rowdy Roots (10/6), Friendly Flowers (10/13), Strong Stems (10/20), Fantastic Fruits (10/27), Super Seeds (11/3) and Lovely Leaves (11/10). Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. To register: (336) 574-2898 or gsoedibleschoolyard.wordpress. com/classes/.
STORY CORPS. 11 a.m. Book a slot in your • sked for Children’s Storytime. Scuppernong
Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
PICKIN’ AND GRINNIN’. 6– 9 p.m. Y’all • come for Songs from a Southern Kitchen, live
music by Laurelyn Dossett and Scott Manring (10/6); Martha Bassett and friends (10/13); Molly McGinn and Wurlitzer Prize (10/20); and Laurelyn Dossett and Scott Manring (10/27) — at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, 1421 Westover Terrace, Greensboro. Info: (336) 370-0707 or lucky32.com/greensboro_music.htm.
Wednesdays
TO MARKET, TO MARKET. 8 a.m.–1 p.m. • Get fresh with locally grown produce, cakes, pies
and cut fleurs for a pretty table at the Mid Week Market. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
WEEKLY HAPPENINGS Mondays
•BUZZING. 10 a.m. Your busy little bees
Key:
•• •
•• •
••
Art Music/Concerts Performing arts Film Literature/Speakers Fun History Sports The Art & Soul of Greensboro
•
MUSSELS, WINE & MUSIC. 7–10 p.m. Mussels with house-cut fries for $15, wines from $10–15 a bottle and live music by Evan Olson and Jessica Mashburn — at Print Works Bistro, 702 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 379-0699 or printworksbistro.com/live_music.htm.
ONCE UPON A TIME. 2 p.m. Preschool • Storytime I convenes for children ages 3–5.
Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointpubliclibrary.com.
(10/8); with Neill Clegg and Dave Fox (10/15); Brenda Morie with Neill Clegg and Dave Fox (10/22); Jessica Mashburn with Neill Clegg and Dave Fox (10/29). No cover. 624 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-2000 or www. ohenryhotel.com/jazz.htm. JAZZ NIGHT. 7 p.m. Fresh-ground, fresh• brewed coffee is served with a side of jazz at
Tate Street Coffee House, 334 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 275-2754 or tatestreetcoffeehouse.com.
OPEN MIC COMEDY. 8–9:35 p.m. • Local pros and amateurs take the mic at the Idiot
October Arts Calendar
Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-7460 or greenhillnc.org.
THE HALF OF IT. 5 p.m. Enjoy the hands-on • exhibits and activities for half the cost of admission at $4 Fun Fridays. On First Friday (5/1), admission is only $2. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com.
Fridays & Saturdays
NIGHTMARES ON ELM STREET. 8 • p.m. A 90-minute, historical, candlelit ghost
Box, 348 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-2699 or idiotboxers.com.
walking tour of Downtown Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 905-4060 or carolinahistoryandhaunts.com/ information.
Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointpubliclibrary.com.
Fridays
Saturdays
ALL THAT JAZZ. 5:30–8 p.m. Hear Live, • local jazz featuring Neill Clegg and special guests
gelatin prints from fall leaves (10/2); mix colors in monoprint paintings (10/9) or with paints in petri dishes (10/16); make spider hats (10/23) or monster masks (10/30). Greenhill, 200 North
belles. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
Thursdays
TWICE UPON A TIME. 11 a.m. Preschool • Storytime II convenes for children ages 3–5.
in the O. Henry Hotel Social Lobby Bar: Clint Horton with Neill Clegg and Dave Fox (10/1); Deb Richardson with Neill Clegg and Dave Fox
TO MARKET, TO MARKET. 7 a.m.–12 p.m. • The produce is still fresh and the cut fleurs still
CAFÉ DES ARTISTES. For $6 per person, • Masterpiece Friday offers kids a chance to create
Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
Downtown Greensboro Downtown Greensboro
•
Sports
G R E E N S B O R O
People keep telling us that a visit to LaRue is like a trip out of Greensboro.
We Disagree. LaRue is constant growth, adaptation, and development in pursuit of ceaseless progress.
Greensboro Sure Sounds Like Home To Us
MONDAY-SATURDAY CHEF’S LUNCH 12PM-3PM THURSDAY-SATURDAY DINNER 5PM-10PM LATE NIGHT NOODLE BAR 10:30PM-2AM 313 S. GREENE ST. 336.252.2253 SUNDAY BRUNCH 11AM-4PM
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Lunch Special The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
O.Henry 119
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October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Arts Calendar •
MORE JAZZ. 6:30–9:30 p.m. Kick back to the sounds of Endeavors Trio, featuring Brandon Lee, Thomas Linger and Steve Haines (10/17), and Patience Reich (10/31), part of the O. Henry Jazz Series on select Saturdays. O. Henry Hotel Social Lobby, 624 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-2000 or ohenryhotel.com.
•
IMPROV COMEDY. 10 p.m. on Saturday, plus an 8 p.m. show appropriate for the whole family. The Idiot Boxers create scenes on the spot and build upon the ideas of others, creating shows that are one-of-a-kind — at the Idiot Box, 348 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-2699 or idiotboxers.com.
Sundays
•
MUNCH FEST. Noon–4 p.m. Round up the family and bring your appetite to the NC Food Rodeo, with the state’s best food trucks, craft beers, wine. Grove Winery, 7360 Brooks Bridge Road, Gibsonville. Info: www.grovewinery.com.
•
HALF FOR HALF-PINTS. 1 p.m. And grown-ups, too. A $4 admission, as opposed to the usual $8, will allow you entry to exhibits and more. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com.
•
CHICKEN’N’PICKIN’ 6:30–9:30 p.m. Tuck into Chef Felicia’s signature fried chicken and gravy, select beverage specials, including buttermilk with cornbread crumbled in it. Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, 1421 Westover Terrace, Greensboro. Info: (336) 370-0707 or lucky32.com/fried_chicken.htm.
To add an event, email us at ohenrymagcalendar@gmail.com by the first of the month prior to the event Key:
•• •
•• •
••
Art Music/Concerts Performing arts Film Literature/Speakers Fun History Sports
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Arts & Culture
It’s a killer show. The Stevens Center of the UNCSA Tickets now at 336.725.7101 PiedmontOpera.org Luxury coach transportation is available from Greensboro for the 10/25 matinee performance. No driving, no parking, no fuss!
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
O.Henry 123
State Street
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October 2015
Call 910-693-2488 or or mail payment to P.O. Box 58, Southern Pines, NC 28388 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
O.Henry 125
Featuring Artist Bill Walsh
Featuring Artist
Bill Walsh
336-274-2426
251 N. Greene Street
www.MartinsFrameandArt.com
Arts
& CULTURE 126 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
CULTURAL EVENTS MAESTRA Film Screening with Filmmaker Catherine Murphy
Thursday, October 8 | 7:30 pm Shirley Recital Hall, Elberson Fine Arts Center
MAESTRA explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach in rural communities across the island. Filmmaker Catherine Murphy will give introductory remarks, followed by a film screening.
Arts & Culture
Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. One-hundred thousand of the teachers were under the age of eighteen. Over half were women.
Edith Lake Wilkinson: Packed in a Trunk Exhibition
ART FOR THE TABLE
Jason Van Duyn, Speight Shallow Bowl | Daphne Cohan of The High Fiber, Flour Sack Towel
ART FOR YOUR LIFE T H E
S H O P
GREENSBORO CULTURAL CENTER | GREENHILLNC.ORG | 336.333.7460
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Exhibition: October 23-November 18 Mary Davis Holt Gallery, Elberson Fine Arts Center
&
OUT @ The Movies Film Festival Screening of Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson Saturday, November 14 | 7:00 pm Hanes Auditorium, Elberson Fine Arts Center Packed in a Trunk celebrates the long-buried talent of lesbian artist Edith Lake Wilkinson. In 1924, she was committed to an asylum, encouraged by the family lawyer who subsequently siphoned off her funds. Once she was put away, Edith’s work and all her worldly possessions were packed into trunks and stored in an attic for the next forty years. Packed in a Trunk is about rescuing the work of lost and gifted souls out of attics and closets and forgotten rooms. Discussion and reception to follow the film screening.
Free Admission | www.salem.edu/culturalevents 500 E. Salem Avenue Winston-Salem, NC 27101 | (336) 721- 2600 October 2015
O.Henry 127
Arts Arts&&Culture Culture
Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild
November 6-8, 2015 raleigh convention center
Tickets on sale NOW One Day Ticket $7 Weekend Pass $10 Children under 15, Free
Featuring over 110 fine craft artists from NC and across the United States!
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128 O.Henry
October 2015
CarolinaArtisanCraft.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Artist’s
Garden
american impressionism
Arts & Culture
and the garden movement 1887–1920
“…the best examples of the genre.” – Philadelphia Magazine
october 3, 2015–january 3, 2016 reynoldahouse.org | #RHArtistsGarden The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement 1887–1920 was organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with leading support from the Mr. & Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc and the Richard C. von Hess Foundation. The Major Exhibition Sponsors are Bill and Laura Buck, and Christie’s. Additional support from Bowman Properties, Ltd., the Burpee Foundation, Edward and Wendy Harvey, Mr. and Mrs. Washburn S. Oberwager, Pennsylvania Trust, Alan P. Slack, Martin Stogniew, in memory of Judy Stogniew, a lover of art and gardening, the Victory Foundation, Ken Woodcock, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. Reynolda House is grateful for the generous support of the following sponsors for bringing this exhibition to North Carolina, including Major Sponsors Wake Forest University and Patty & Malcolm Brown. Detail: Richard Emil (or Edward) Miller (1875–1943), The Pool, c. 1910, Oil on canvas, 32 x 39 7/16 in. Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1988.13. Photo: © Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
RH_ArtistGardenOHenry.indd 1
October 2015
O.Henry 129
9/10/15 3:43 PM
MAGAZINE O.Henry magazine is a complimentary publication supported by our advertisers. Please consider patronizing these businesses, services and nonprofit organizations and tell them that you saw their ad in O.Henry magazine.
Index of Advertisers 1618 Restaurant 40 A Shade Better 39 About Face Cosmetics & Day Spa 131 Air Fun Trampoline Park 52 Airlie Gardens Foundation 123 AL Holliday Estate Sales 136 Allen Tate Realtors 8,9 Angie Wilkie, Allen Tate Realtors 60 Area Modern Home 133 Art & Soul 134 Artios 104 Aubrey Home 133 Autumn Creek Vineyards 142 Badaxe Boutique 109 Barber Center for Plastic Surgery 34 Bardy’s Estate Jewelry 111 Bel Canto 126 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty IFC Bermuda Village 49 Bill Guill, Allen Tate Realtors 113 Blockade Runner 55 Blue Moon Estate Sales 106 Brixx Pizza 115 Burkely Rental Homes 133 Caldwell Academy 58 Canterbury School 58 Careful With the China 54 Carlisle 139 Carolina Bank BC Carolina Design Craftsmen Guild 128 Carolina GroutWorks 122 Carolina Vein & Specialists, PA 2 Carolyn Todd’s Fine Gifts & Clothing 70 Carriage House Antiques & Home Decor 132 Chartreuse 65 Chateau Morrisette Winery & Restaurant 142 Cheesecakes by Alex 115 City of Greensboro 10 Cone Health 48 Country Kennels 140 Cox Team, Keller Williams Realty 26 CP Logan 129 Crafted, The Art of Street Food 36 Crafted, The Art of the Taco 36 Cunningham & Company 47 Dan Suits U 106 Du Jour Fashion 136 Debby Gomulka Designs 62 Divas Boutique & Bridal 65 DLM Builders 57 Doctors Hearing Care 44 Dolce Domora 111 Downtown Greensboro Animal Hospital 119 Elizabeth Pell, Tyler Redhead & McAlister Real Estate 103 Extra Ingredient, The 132 Feathered Nest, The 68 Fentress Jewelry 105 Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery 11 First Baptist Church 62, 136, 140 Friendly Pharmacy 133 Friends Home West 44 Furniture Medic 104 Glass & Stone 104 Goodwill Industries of Central NC 121
•
October 2015
Graham Farless, DDS, Family, Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry 33 Great Outdoor Provision Company 134 GreenHill, The Shop 127 Greensboro Builders Association 71 Greensboro College 24 Greensboro Coliseum 122 Greensboro Farmers Curb Market 134 Greensboro Historical Museum 42 Greensboro Orthopaedics, Dr. Matthew Olin 12 Grove Winery & Vineyards 142 HAJOCA 72 HealthTeam Advantage 17 Hearing Solutions 49 High Point Bank 30 Hirsch Wellness Network 129 Home Instead 62 House of Eyes 42 Irving Park Art & Frame 128 Irvin Orthodontics 121 Jeff Allen Landscape Architecture, LLC 46 John Reganess, Wells Fargo Advisors IBC Jules Antiques 127 Katie Redhead, Tyler Redhead & McAlister Real Estate 3 Kay Chesnutt, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty 139 Kay Rule, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty 106 Kim Mathis, Allen Tate Realtors 140 Koshary 120 Kriegsman, The Luxury Outerwear Store 38 LaRue Restaurant 119 Laura Redd Interiors 104 Lee Rogers 136 Libby Hill 116 Lillo Bella Boutique 125 Linnea’s Boutique & Vera’s Threads 52, 125 Los Gordos Tex-Mex Cafe 116 Madcap Cottage 65 Main & Taylor 110, 111 Marion Tile & Flooring 139 Mark Brande, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty 105 Marsh Kitchens 28 Marshall Stone 47 Martin’s Art & Frame 126 Maureen Mallon 136 Mechelle’s 120 Melissa Greer, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty 40 Melt Kitchen & Bar 116 Meridith Martens 110 Merle Norman 139 Michelle Porter, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty 104 New Garden Landscaping & Nursery 113 O.Henry Hotel 14 Old Salem Museums & Gardens 20 Oriental Treasures Rug Gallery 62 Oscar Oglethorpe Eyewear 64 Otey Construction 43, 45 Out of Hand 60 Party Chick & Paper 68 Patterson Carpets 105 Penland Custom Frames 120
Pest Management Systems, Inc. Phil Barker Refinishing Piedmont Opera Pinehurst Resort Polliwogs Children’s Boutique Preston Young, Tyler Redhead & McAlister Real Estate Priba Furniture Printers Alley Proximity Hotel PTI Purgason’s Western Wear • Equestrian Gear Radiance Yoga Studio & Boutique Randy McManus Designs Re-Bath of Greensboro Realigned Red Collection, The Renaissance Center for Cosmetic Surgery & Wellness Reto’s Kitchen & Catering Reynolda House Museum of American Art Rioja Wine Bar Roomer Has It Ruff Housing Saint Mary’s School Salem Academy Sally Millikin, Allen Tate Realtors Scott A. Welch, Family & Cosmetic Dentistry Serendipity by Celeste Shea Homes Shea’s Chase Sheree’s Natural Cosmetics Schiffman’s Shoppes on Patterson Simply Meg’s Smith Marketing, Allen Tate Realtors Southern Lights Landscape Lighting Stephanie Baubie, Allen Tate Realtors Stifel Investment Services Sweet Tea Studio Talley Water Taylor’s Discount Tire & Automotive Ten Thousand Villages Theodore Alexander Outlet Thyme Well Spent Tom Chitty, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty Triad Estate Sales Tyler Redhead & McAlister Real Estate Tyler White O’Brien Gallery UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance View on Elm, The Village at Brookwood Vintage Thrift & Antiques Vivid Interiors Waban Carter, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Yost & Little Realty Weatherspoon Art Gallery Weezie Glascock Wesleyan Christian Academy William Mangum Fine Art Window Works Studio Woods of Terror Yamamori, Ltd.
103 105 123 29 70 103 39 56 14 50 106 70 111 50 120 28 124 59 129 142 16 132 48 127 106 113 68 21 136 60 1 136 134 22 23 54 53 70 106 54 113 57 116 13 103 4, 5 121 128 7 117 131 120 122 126 60 58 32 65 66 125
Falling for Art “The event was fantastic,” read the effusive email. “I was so exhausted that I couldn’t get the rest of my work done for the weekend, but I loved it. I sincerely want to do it again.” That was just one of many unsolicited messages that appeared in the email box of John Turpin, dean, of High Point University’s School of Art and Design last year. Turpin had organized HPU’s first-ever Fall Festival, which launched a yearlong campus initiative, Year of the Arts, whose purpose was to stimulate a dialogue between the university and community about the role of fine and visual arts: What is their role from a philosophic, economic and business perspective? How are the arts produced and mediated, criticized and consumed? The festival was just the spark needed for such big-picture-thinking. “We brought HPU, local and artist communities together for the first time,” says Turpin. “This was to be our first level of exposure to the art of making.” Gathering on HPU’s campus, thirty-five participating artists, such as Four Paw Pottery of Trinity, Piedmont Quilters Guild and High Point’s 512 Art Collective displayed, sold and, in some instances, created wares on-site. Two of the biggest hits among the 1,500 festival goers were Be Spoked, which fashions jewelry from bicycle spokes and Printology, the brainchild of recent HPU grad
Worth the Drive to High Point
Mackenzie Allred, who set up an old letter-press and made personalized stationery on the spot. In keeping with the Year of the Arts’ mission, HPU profs integrated interviewing the artists and learning more about the creative process as part of their class curriculum. This year, under a modified banner of Fall Art and Design Fest, the event (October 10) promises more of the same. Turbin says in addition to exhibitors from the eastern and central part of the state, “We expect Printology and Be Spoked to be favorites again,” adding that others to keep an eye on are Joseph Sand Pottery of Randleman, leather wristbands with engraved billets by AveryReese of the Piedmont, and Greensboro’s Quinn Metal Arts, maker of sculptures, jewelry, candlesticks and yard ornaments. There’ll be food trucks, bands and a juried art show. But not to worry, the festival keeps on giving, as the juried works form the basis for the exhibition Visions 2015: Fourth Annual Invitation (October 19–December 10), at HPU’s Sechrest gallery. And who knows? After perusing the show of small works based on observation — landscapes, cityscapes, still lifes, drawings and photography —you might just be inspired to do some creating of your own. Info: www.highpoint.edu. OH —Nancy Oakley
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October 2015
O.Henry 131
Triad Local Think Local • Buy Local • Be Local
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GreenScene
Lori Stevenson, Shay Stephens
PGA TOUR Executive Women’s Day sponsored by Astellas Pharma US, Inc. Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club Tuesday, August 18, 2015 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Libby Sluder, Kim Huneycutt, Martha Dula
Kathleen Kelly, Cathy Davis, Nicole Connor, Anne Jacobsen
Erin Molinaro, June Basden
Tonya Battle, Amber Siesling, Christine Willard, Tracie Cranford Christine Willard, Colleen Nicolosi
Misty McCall, Deborah Proehl-Moser, Daniela Helms, Tamara Melton, Tonya Cockerham
Mandy Black, Charisse Kleinman, Donna Griffin
Crystal Tedder, Lynn Welborn
Kim Gatling, Leigh Ann Klee, Suzanne Wilcox, Mindy Oakley
Eugenia Leggett-Frank, Lucy Dancer
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
O.Henry 135
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October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene Habitat Greensboro’s Summer Bash One Night . . . One House presented by Columbia Forest Products Friday, August 28, 2015 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Phil Barbee, Laura Lomax, Leigh Jones
Rhyan Kime, Suzanne Deal
Charlotte Davidson, Brittany Carroll Cynthia & William Mangum
Julie Tesh, Daintry O’Brien
David & Jo Ann Shaw, Karen & Tom Armstrong
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Abdou Zeba, Daoud Boukarl
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2015
O.Henry 137
GreenScene
Victoria Ball, Sonja Makitan
Louis Allen
Rise Together Greensboro The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro’s Public Art Endowment Wednesday, September 9, 2015 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Gale & Wayne Whitworth
Jenny, Michael & Runson Murray
Jackson & Thomas Prause, Theresa Southern
Paul Sparrell, Rebecca Maust, Mandy, Murphy Townsend Julie Longmire, Robert Dumon
Max Baynes
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138 O.Henry
October 2015
Tim & Maguy Thompson
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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3016 Alamance Rd
11 New Bern Square Spacious home with Master Bedroom & 2nd Bedroom on the main level plus Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Den with fireplace, 9 foot ceilings, hardwood floors. Attached 2-car garage. Lots of storage. Charleston garden area. $480,000
Prime Sedgefield golf course location. This custom built home with master bedroom on main, high ceiling, custom moldings, hardwood floors and detail is one of a kind!
Xan Tisdale 336-601-2337
Kay Chesnutt 336-202-9687
Xan.Tisdale@bhhsyostandlittle.com Kay.Chesnutt@bhhsyostandlittle.com ©2015 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
M A R ION Tile & Flooring
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Personal Stylist and Wardrobe Consultant 336-337-7374 I elegantedge@aol.com Showroom located in Sedgefield, 4710 Perquimans Rd W, Greensboro, NC By appointment only. Email or call for your personal style and wardrobe consultation. Group appointments welcome.
October 2015
O.Henry 139
Scribes of Hope II a
C I Va T r a V e l I n g e x h I b I T I o n
Scribes of Hope features 31 works across a wide range of approaches from today’s calligraphers. These works express the tension between traditional commitments to create work that is legible and a more contemporary view that emphasizes expressing the spirit of the text.
First Baptist Church Greensboro 1000 West Friendly Avenue Between Mendenhall and Tate streets
Gallery is open to the public. October 4 -30 | Weekdays 10 am to 4 pm Gallery Opening - Sunday, October 4 at 3 pm To arrange a special gallery showing, please contact the FBC Music Office. In the House of My Pilgrimage | Psalm 119.54 | Grace Bomer, artist
www.fbcgso.org • 274-3286 •
Where your pet will beg to stay while you’re away Luxury Lodging Doggie Daycare Cuddle Time Nature Walks Full Grooming Salon Professional Dog Training
7630 Royster Road, Greensboro P: 336.644.1095 | F: 336.644.9404 www.countrykennelboarding.com 140 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene
Amy Scott, Lauren Beasley
Toast to The National Folk Festival Friday, September 11, 2015 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Ehren Nagel, Lydia Lundeen
Frank Manship, Jim Himes, David Leppert
Amanda Lehmert, Carolyn Kuzmin
Hillary Meredith, Cecilia Thompson, Candice Tucker Anbec DeShield, Jarvis Wilkerson
Lex Culman, Cyenthia Barker, Jerry Hudson
Perrine DeShield, Brandon Blackmon
Brittany Carroll, Larry Czarda Bob Cone, Rodney Jonas, Tammy Eubanks, T.L. Clary, Alan Perdue
Brad & Anna Cone
Sheila Thrower, Karen Kantziper
Rhonda & Alan Branson
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Denny Kelly, Lou Bouvier
October 2015
O.Henry 141
GroveWinery.com 7360 Brooks Bridge Road Guilford County NC 27249 336.584.4060 Upcoming Events October 7 Cooking Demo & Dinner October 11 2nd Sunday NC Food Rodeo October 17 Wine & Song w/The Radials
Visit Grove website for more information
Tasting Room Open Daily from Noon until 6pm
Meet the Girls for Wine and Tapas at
Wednesday is Flight Night at Rioja! Create your own Wine Flight, served with two gourmet cheese sampler - Only $9 Hundreds of Combinations! 336-412-0011 • 1603 D Battleground Ave., Greensboro, NC
(Just north of downtown in the Starbucks shopping center)
Visit us online at riojawinebar.com for events and weekly specials
Autumn on the Parkway RESTAURANT OPEN DAILY IN OCTOBER
e in
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142 O.Henry
October 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Accidental Astrologer
Astral Candy
You know about the Death Clock? Lordamercy, Astrid here just discovered it online By Astrid Stellanova
Well, Star Children, looks like I’m clocking out, so to speak, on April 3, 2040! Only twenty-five more years before I depart from Curl Up and Dye feet first. But at least that gives me enough time to perfect my red balayage, figure out what essentials to tote around in my purse, and find just the right shoes for the Sweet Hereafter. When the end comes, I, for one, don’t plan to be caught off guard. Ad astra. Libra (September 23–October 22) While your tippy-top favorite won’t come wrapped in a box, you are getting some fine birthday prezzies. Health, happiness and even financial reward are yours in October, ripe on the vine and ready for picking. I don’t know if you have visited the fountain of love lately, but when you do, drink deeply, Sweet Thing. (A caution: One prezzie could be a real stumper, cause one of your favorite people tries their hardest but miscalculates every dang time. You are not as practical as they reckon, but spare their feelings and tell them you just want a car wash or a back rub this year.) You won’t have much to holler about this coming year, so chill out. And don’t keep declaring you hate birthday cake, either — you know that ain’t exactly true. You just hate all them candles flaring away like a torch. Scorpio (October 23–November 21) That little escapade last month got you into a whole lot more trouble than you expected. When the whole silly thing shakes out, you are going to discover that somebody has a thing for Hot Little You and part of the drama was attention seeking and getting. And they ain’t going away, either, even if you want ’em to in the worst way. This don’t mean they are crazy enough to boil the bunny, or not quite, but they are going to make for more mischief and the drama ain’t over yet. Remember this the next time you make the 30 Proof Punch for the company party. Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) The fact of the matter is, you expected a whole lot of sugar for one small dime, as Grandpa Hornblower used to say. I don’t know what gets you so wound up when it comes to spending a little money, but we ain’t in the Depression years. Loosen up that wallet, Honey. Time to get real. When you get back to Earth, consider leaving quarters in the vending machine just to surprise somebody and be nice. Little things count. Nice counts. Money ain’t all that matters. Capricorn (December 22–January 19) Life took the starch out of your shirt in a public way; somebody said something you didn’t deserve and it hurt. Here’s what Astrid wants you to do: absolutely nothing. Get on with your head up high and just wait. By the middle of this month, you are going to experience one of the best days of your life. Ever. Nothing that happened before is going to matter. Life is going to take you onto a journey into fabulosity. Aquarius (January 20–February 18) In the first week of this month you have a particularly challenging conversation. The person you meant to reach may act as if they didn’t hear a word you said but they ain’t as deaf as they seem. Go about your business and wait; they are going to have a personal epiphany, and you get to enjoy the best aspect of that. Being around somebody you love, who finds a little happiness of their own, is something we all want. Also, Honey, you have forgotten something that you simply ain’t going to believe. Pisces (February 19–March 20) Carrying around a delicious little secret is like winking in the dark. Nobody but you knows, and it is innocent little fun. Your secret concerns a special someone who is in your hip pocket. They are slowly realizing what you knew all along: You are good medicine for them, and a sweet tonic. And they are going to just love taking the cure. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Aries (March 21–April 19) Sometimes I cannot wait to see what is coming next for the Ram. Whatever it is, it ain’t boring. This month, the danger is, you will have a dry spell when it comes to excitement. This is a prescription for Aries trouble. Do not go online and buy, book, sell, rent, smell, smoke, sniff or comment on something that you think is dangerous, endangered, explosive or indicting. If you need something to restrain that impulse and hold you back, visit your local slammer and see how much you think you would like bunking in there. Taurus (April 20–May 20) Your vacation was not the huge success you hoped it would be, but some of that is because of your gawdawful need to control people. You would even try to direct the show at Sea World if you were sitting in the audience watching a dolphin for the first time and had never been in water above your knees. Life might be a little easier for everybody around you if you could just shut up and enjoy the show. Seriously. Gemini (May 21–June 20) The salesman needed to sell that luminous pea-green car; they flattered you into thinking it was going to make you stand out from the crowd and you bought it. Now it’s in the garage gleaming like a glow worm and you have buyer’s remorse. OK, maybe it wasn’t a car, but you get the idea. Flattery is your weak spot; for the love of split pea soup, don’t let it get the best of you this month. Could cost you dearly. Cancer (June 21–July 22) This is one of those months that you find yourself on idle, waiting for the Next Big Thing. Maybe your destiny is in discovering the beauty of the Next Small Thing. A waitress smiles and calls you Sugar. A child blows you a kiss as you leave. Either it all matters, or nothing matters. And pay it back. If you do that, good karma comes rolling right back and your heart is fuller, lighter and bigger. Leo (July 23–August 22) You keep smiling as if all is just fine and dandy, but inside you are doing a slow burn. Nobody knows you all that well, and that is exactly how you have been determined to keep things. But the truth is, it is causing you a lot of unnecessary pain and loneliness. Holding onto mystery is just one way to be holding onto lonely, Sugar. Don’t nobody want that. Virgo (August 23–September 22) If everybody found as much personal excitement as you do in a trip to Walmart, the world would be a better place. This has been a year where you find your groove wherever you are, whatever you are doing. The thing is, Nirvana ain’t on aisle 5. But it is right here, right now. And you are as close to finding your bliss as you ever hoped to be. But don’t waste your star power on trying to perfect the art of the email. OH
For years, Astrid Stellanova owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in the boondocks of North Carolina until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings provoked a new career path. October 2015
O.Henry 143
O.Henry Ending
Arnie’s Arm
By Grant Britt
There’s another dimension out
there, some folks will tell you, one filled with undead things flitting about in flimsy sheets, moaning and groaning about God knows what, making general nuisances of themselves. It’s fine with me if you believe in that stuff. But if you or anything else comes around my house wrapped in a sheet, oohing and aahing and carryin’ on, I’m gonna hit you over the head so hard you’ll hum like a ten-penny finishing nail hit with a greasy ball-peen hammer. Then I’ll wrap your now truly dead carcass in that sheet and put your obnoxious ass back in the dirt where you belong.
In the 1970s, my ex-wife and I had a house on Tate Street. It was an old wooden two-story that creaked and groaned some, not in any mysterious or frightening way, but like it was just trying to get comfortable after so many years of being in one position. We felt at ease and at home there. But that changed one cold winter night after we had gone to bed. I woke up first, wondering if we had left a window open. It was teeth-chattering, paralyzing, Arctic cold in the room. I started to throw the covers back to investigate, but what I saw on the other side of the room stopped me cold. A human arm was protruding from the wall, fingers wriggling in a come-hither gesture. Wanting some company, moral support and proof that my mind hadn’t finally melted and run out my ears in my sleep, I poked my wife repeatedly and with vigor ’till she woke up. Too stunned to talk, when she sat up I just pointed at the wall. By now, the arm had come farther out of the wall, and now we could see it was connected to a torso, with just the arm, shoulder and part of the waist showing: no head, no feet — just this disembodied arm. And by this time, it was moving more urgently, the arm waving to us, beck-
144 O.Henry
October 2015
oning us to come forward. “You see it too?” I managed to croak. Nodding her head vigorously, she latched on to me with a death grip I hoped wouldn’t be permanent for either one or both of us. We gaped at the apparition for another minute while it continued to wave us on. “Well, hell,” I said finally. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get the hell outta here.” Moving together like some four-legged organism, we crab-walked from the bed, still clutching the comforter around us, scuttling into the living room to the other side of the wall where the arm was beckoning us toward. Too traumatized to sleep and too spooked to go back to the bedroom, we huddled together on the sofa till first light, but nothing came after us, and the arm never reappeared. After the sun came up, things seemed less sinister and we were ready to go exploring for an explanation. We had a friend, Billy the Hobo, who was currently living in the basement and had first told us the house was for rent. When we told him about it, he didn’t seem surprised. “Oh yeah,” he said, “that was old so and so” (the name escapes me after all these years, but not the image, so we’ll just call him Arnie.) “Used to be his house, he died here, but comes out once in awhile to warn you if something bad’s about to happen.” Said he’d seen him several times and he seemed harmless enough. Hobo said not to worry, but told us to check and see if anything was missing or wrong. Inside, the house seemed fine, but as soon as we ventured outside, we saw tracks in the new fallen snow that led directly to the window of the bedroom we’d been in. On closer inspection, we found a broken screwdriver underneath the window, the paint scuffed around the latch where somebody apparently was trying to break in when old Arnie woke us up. We never had any more problems with would-be burglars nor saw old Arnie again in the year or so we lived in the house afterward. We told a few people about it initially, but the looks we got prompted both of us to shut up about it. But I was there and I saw it, and I’m grateful to whatever it was. But as I said earlier, don’t come sneaking around me in the night acting all spiritual and spooky and stuff. Me and my ball-peen hammer are ready to show you what the term ghost busters really means. OH Grant Britt still offers upside-your-head host bustin’ sevices from his Greensboro abode across the street from the graveyard to any miscreant foolish enough to go sneaking ’round his property and hollerin’ “boo” in the middle of the night. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Illustration by Harry Blair
A grateful little ghost story on Tate Street
John Reganess, CFP 速, CLU 速, ChFC 速 Senior Vice President - Investments Fundamental Choice Portfolio Manager 806 Green Valley Road, Suite 100 Greensboro, NC 27408 (336) 545-7116 john.reganess@wfadvisors.com https://home.wellsfargoadvisors.com/john.reganess
0615-05677 09/2012
At his old bank, this was Account # 713-2590-4539. At Carolina Bank, this is Joe. He’s a sound engineer.
He owns every Clash album. On vinyl.
Original pressings.
This is his eight-year-old daughter, Emma.
She loves playing piano.
He’s saving to get her one.
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