February 2013 PineStraw by PineStraw Magazine

COMING

THE CROWN...

February 1................................. FireAntz vs. Knoxville Ice Bears 2................................. TNA Impact Wrestling presents Road to Lockdown Tour 2-3............................. Gun & Knife Show 7................................. Winter Jam 2013 featuring TobyMac, Red, Matthew West, Jamie Grace, the Sidewalk Prophets, Royal Taylor, Jason Castro, OBB, Capital Kings, and Speaker Nick Hall 7.................................Rodney Carrington: Laughter’s Good Tour (for mature audiences) 8................................. FireAntz vs. Columbus Cottonmouths 9................................. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast 10............................... FireAntz vs. Knoxville Ice Bears 15............................... Fireantz vs. Augusta RiverHawks 22............................... FireAntz vs. Mississippi RiverKings 23............................... FireAntz vs. Mississippi RiverKings 23............................... Kool & the Gang (part of Community Concerts) 28 - Mar. 3.................. Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey presents Fully Charged

March 12............................... FireAntz vs. Knoxville Ice Bears 15............................... FireAntz vs. Huntsville Havoc 16............................... FireAntz vs. Huntsville Havoc 19............................... FireAntz vs. Augusta RiverHawks 22...............................Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diaries Tour 23-24..........................American Girl Fashion Show 27...............................Harlem Globetreotters 2013 World Tour

1960 COLISEUM DRIVE FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28306 910.438.4100 910.436.TKTS (8587) www.AtTheCrown.com

crowncenternc @crowncenternc

Author EvEnt

Meet Wiley Cash Wiley Cash, author of A Land More Kind Than Home, will be returning to the he Country Bookshop for the paperback version of his novel. We LovE E this book, a phenomenal literary story told from three different perspectives about a small town in the rural mountains of north orth Carolina.

Meet and hear him speak on Saturday, February 16 at 4 p.m.

“the book is a thriller, but it’s so beautifully written that you’ll be torn about how fast to read it. this his is great, gothic Southern fiction.” —nPr

“At its core the story is about power. At the surface is about families and religion.” — Kimberly Daniels

“Mesmerizing . . . [An] intensely felt and beautifully told story.” — new York times Book review

www.prudentialpinehurst.com

Old Town Pinehurst

Shadowlawn: English tudor on 1.5+ lush acres. Quaility & History define this distinctive property. Text T256378 to 85377

Emily Hewson 910.315.3324

Old Town Pinehurst

Masterful ground-up renovation of the former Rectory House. Wood Beams, Wine Cellar, 5BR/5+BA. Text T11637 to 85377

Emily Hewson 910.315.3324

CCNC

3BR/3+BA/3-Car Garage. Main House: great ktchn & Carolina Rm. Carriage House: 1BR/1BA. Text T325823 to 85377

Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

Pine Grove Village

Beautiful, brick family home boasts 5bdrms, 4.5baths and space for entertaining! $459,000 Text T302851 to 85377

Jim Saunders 910.315.1000

Stonegate

Remarkable CCNC home - golf front & water views! Distinguised architectural features! Text T529422 to 85377

Jim Saunders 910.315.1000

Heart of Hunt Country

Elegant home bordering Walthour Moss Foundation. 8-Stall Barn, 4-Paddocks & more. Text T443907 to 85377

Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

CCNC

Exquisite golf front home overlooks 12th hole on Dogwood. Elegant, comfortable living! $789,000 Text T443822 to 85377

Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

The Arboretum

www.175WiregrassLane.com - Like New! 3BR, 2BA w/many upgrades. Private backyard. $397,500 Text T472936 to 85377

Frank Sessoms 910.639.3099

Log on to www.prudentialpinehurst.com FOR OUR Easy Search or Snap & Search with our FREE APP on your Smart Phone 910.295.5504 Pinehurst | 910.692.2635 Southern Pines

CCNC

Waterfront! 4BR/3BA, terraces, screened porch. A home for a buyer with exceptional taste! Text T547882 to 85377

Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

Edgewood Cottage

Vintage Dutch Colonial laden with character and charm in Old Town Pinehurst. Pool & Cabana. Text T11599 to 85377

Eva or Emily 910.638.0972/910.315.3324

Water Front

CCNC: Beautiful rustic contemporary with many renovations. 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths. $750,000 Test T368102 to 85377

Joel Rich 910.315.4009

Pinehurst #6

Affordable living in desireable Pinehurst neighborhood! See: www.LuvPines.com $279,000 Text T853185 to 85377

Mav Hankey 910.603.3589

Get the free mobile app at http://gettag. mobi

ÂŠ2012 BRER Affiliates Inc. An independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates, Inc. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity.

February 2013 Volume 8, No. 2 Features

Departments

53 Always Kissing

Poetry by Meister Eckhart

54 The Game of Love

How well do you know your lover? We put five local couples to the test

66 Into Africa

By Jessie Mackay

The journey that changed two women’s lives — and an entire village

72 Sandhills Photo Club

The Gold Standard By Deborah Salomon

The Zimmers, Jill and Dale, made this 93-year-old gem the gold standard of cottage life

85 February Almanac

By Noah Salt

The winter stars for dummies and St. Valentine unplugged

7 10

Sweet Tea Chronicles

Jim Dodson

PinePitch

13 Cos and Effect Cos Barnes 15 The Omnivorous Reader Stephen E. Smith 19 Bookshelf 23 Hitting Home Dale Nixon 25 The Pleasures of Life Dept. Ed Peele 27 Food for Thought Deborah Salomon 29 Vine Wisdom Robyn James 31 The Kitchen Garden Jan Leitschuh 35 Out of the Blue Deborah Salomon 37 Life of Jane Jane Borden 39 Speak, Memory Jean Freeman Carver 43 Birdwatch Susan Campbell 45 The Sporting Life Tom Bryant 49 Golftown Journal Lee Pace 86 Calendar 101 SandhillSeen 109 Thoughts from the Man Shed Geoff Cutler 111 PineNeedler Mart Dickerson 112 SouthWords Jim Dodson

Cover Artwork by Jessie Mackay

February 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw M A G A Z I N E Jim Dodson, Editor

910.693.2506 • jim@pinestrawmag.com

Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director 910.693.2467 • andie@pinestrawmag.com

Cassie Butler, Photographer, Graphic Designer 910.693.2464 • cassie@pinestrawmag.com

Kira Schoenfelder, Graphic Designer 910.693.2508 • kira@pinestrawmag.com

Editorial

Deborah Salomon, Staff Writer Stephen E. Smith, Staff Writer Ashley Wahl, Associate Editor Sara King, Proofreader Mary Novitsky, Proofreader Contributing Photographers

John Gessner, Tim Sayer Contributors

Cos Barnes, Jane Borden,Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Jean Freeman Carver, Geoff Cutler, Mart Dickerson, Meister Eckhart, Robyn James, Pamela Powers January, Jan Leitschuh, Jessie Mackay, Meridith Martens, Dale Nixon, Lee Pace, Jeanne Paine, Ed Peele, Noah Salt

PS David Woronoff, Publisher Advertising Sales

Michelle Palladino, Sales Representative 910.691.9657 • mpalladino@pinestrawmag.com Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Kerry Hooper, 910.693.2508 Perry Loflin, 910.693.2514 Peggy Marsh, 910.693.2516 Darlene McNeil-Smith, 910.693.2519 Johnsie Tipton, 910.693.2515 Karen Triplett, 910.693.2510 Pat Taylor, Advertising Director Advertising Graphic Design

Stacey Yongue, 910.693.2509 Mechelle Butler, Clay Culberson, Scott Yancey Circulation & Subscriptions

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488

PineStraw Magazine

910.693.2467 173 W. Pennsylvania Avenue Southern Pines, NC 28387 pinestraw@thepilot.com • www.pinestrawmag.com ©Copyright 2013. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PineStraw magazine is published by The Pilot LLC

February 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PLAY

Must be 62 or older.

After a lifetime of work, it’s time you relaxed and enjoyed yourself. There’s no better place to play than Belle Meade and Pine Knoll. These two beautiful, engaging communities offer an endless array of events and activities, plenty of fun-loving neighbors to share them with, and the added security of the St. Joseph of the Pines continuum of care should you ever need it. So let the fun begin.

CALL TODAY – 910.246.1008

Where life just keeps getting better. Southern Pines, North Carolina • www.sjp.org • 910.246.1008 A member of the St. Joseph of the Pines Aging Services Network continuing the legacy of the Sisters of Providence.

The Ryder Cup Lounge D r i n k I n Th e G a me

iscover a whole new dining experience at the

Ryder Cup Lounge located just off the porch of the historic Carolina Hotel. From the BBQ Pork Two Ways to the Pretzel Panini, our menu is as unique as Pinehurst itself.

We d n e s d a y S p e c i a l

Li v e Mu s i c

Get complimentary Deconstructed Nachos –

Bob Redding

tortilla chips, pulled pork

Friday & Saturday nights

BBQ, queso sauce, hoop cheese, refried beans, cilantro cream, salsa and guacamole – with the purchase of one entrée. *

The Carolina Hotel • Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina • 910.235.8415 • pinehurst.com

* Limit one appetizer per table.

SweeT TeA chronicleS

Forever 52

BY JIM DODSON

on a cold Friday in

late January of 1975, I skipped a senior history seminar class at college and drove three hours home to surprise my father for his 60th birthday, bringing him a bottle of his favorite Napoleon brandy.

I found him sitting alone in his cozy office behind old Irving Park Shopping Center, reading Dag Hammarskjöld’s Markings, a collection of essays about life and faith. The office was empty, I learned, because he’d taken his six employees to lunch at Irving Park Delicatessen and then insisted — owing to snow ﬂurries in the air — that they take the afternoon off, typically never mentioning it happened to be his birthday. My old man’s youthful energy and generous optimism had even fooled me. Had my mother not phoned me on the sly just to let me know my dad was turning 60, I might have skipped what turned out to be a memorable afternoon with him. The moment I appeared before him, at any rate, ﬂushed with cold and holding his favorite tipple, he hopped up and gave me a warm hug and wondered — with a sudden look of mild concern — why I’d come home unannounced. Was everything OK back at school, with life in general, with my new girlfriend? I assured him everything was just fine with all the above, and that I might even soon graduate. I’d simply come home, I pointed out, to mark his important milestone of a birthday. “It’s not every day you turn 60,” I said. “Don’t make it sound so old,” he shot back genially. “My best years are ahead. Besides, I subscribe to both Satchel Paige and Lady Astor on the subject. Paige said getting older is all a question of mind over matter — as in, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” “What about Lady Astor?” “She refused to admit she was a day older than 52 — even if it meant all her children were illegitimate.” He laughed, I laughed, and we pried open the Napoleon brandy and had a legitimate snoot to Paige and Astor and being forever 52. In just over a week, he reminded me, I would turn 22.

“Blink your eyes, young buck, and you’ll be turning 60, too. You won’t believe how quickly you’ll get there. The bad news is, your golf game won’t be worth a hoot. The good news is, you may be a lot wiser and happier than you can even imagine at this point. That’s why you should never waste a minute complaining about the way things turn out. Everything evolves and there are always compensations.” This was vintage Opti the Mystic, the silly nickname my brother and I had for our ever-upbeat father the eternal optimist, the gung-ho early riser, a true believer and adman with a poet’s heart. Whatever else was true, he did seem an almost ageless character in our eyes, an inspiration to his friends and employees and — save the graying temples — almost immune to growing old. Yet I remember sitting with him companionably sipping my brandy as the snow picked up outside and asking him — a bit smugly, upon reﬂection, sounding every bit the history seminarian — to tell me a dozen things he’d learned in 60 years. “Oh,” he said vaguely, clearly enjoying my surprise visit and his toddy, “this and that. You already know some of them. You’d probably laugh, being almost 22.” “Try me,” I insisted. So he did — though I can only recall the broad strokes of his reply. The usual themes of his core beliefs were certainly present — always keep an open mind, never stop learning as you go, laugh at yourself, whatever you give to others comes back double in other ways — things my brother and I had heard him say (and rolled our eyes over) forever. The funny thing is, whatever cornball things he articulated that afternoon, he was spot on about two observations. His best years did in fact turn out to be ahead of him. Though he was soon diagnosed with colon cancer, requiring radical surgery and a major lifestyle adjustment, he never complained and went right on working and living his upbeat philosophy for the next two decades, arguably displaying even a greater zest for life and people, significantly growing his business, moderating a weekly men’s Sunday discussion group at church, hacking around with his regular golf buddies and taking my mom off to the mountains or coast for weekends away. He closed his office only a few weeks before he passed away, and I was smart enough to place my busy life in Maine on hold and come home to be his daily caregiver until he slipped away one sleety March morning. We talked

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

sweet tea chronicles c a p e

f e a r

v a l l e y

n e u r o s c i e n c e

c e n t e r

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of bringing you hope and healing

If you or a loved one has a neurological problem, you may not know where to turn. You may even think you need to travel out of town to an academic medical center for treatment. Cape Fear Valley Neurology and Cape Fear Valley Neurosurgery offer comprehensive treatment and surgery right here in Fayetteville: Headaches : Dementia : Movement Disorders : Neuropathies : Neuromuscular Diseases Stroke and TIA : Epilepsy and Seizures : Trigeminal Neuralgia Brain Tumors : Aneurysms : Simple and Complex Spinal Disorders : Neurosurgical Management of Pain Together these specialists bring hope and healing to patients from all over the Cape Fear Region and beyond. Call to learn more about your treatment options. [910] 615-3350.

about this and that and managed to leave nothing left unsaid. This month, wonders of wonder, I turned 60. My children are now the age I was when I surprised my father at his office with a very good bottle of brandy on a snowy January afternoon long ago. Funny how that happened in the blink of an eye. Both are living and working in New York City, starting brave new careers and broadening their young lives, and though I would be delighted if they suddenly showed up unannounced and bearing a fine bottle of Italian plonk for the old man, I’d also be a bit worried they were needlessly taking important time away from their busy schedules just to observe my birthday. Besides, thanks to Satchel Paige, Lady Astor and Opti the Mystic, I would likely tell them, my new aspiration is to someday be forever 52, a highly legitimate ambition since 60 is said to now be the new 40. In any case, when all four of our kids recently came for Christmas, we agreed to postpone the birthday party and plonk until a family beach gathering in July. By then I’ll probably be on straight ginger beer anyway. The strange truth is, I’ve never felt more alive and fulfilled by work and relationships — not to mention optimistic about the future — than this moment, come to think of it, any other time in my life. I’m not quite sure how I earned this good fortune, though it may have something to do with the things my old man used to say to me that made me roll my eyes. Funny how he grew smarter as I grew older. Not so funny, I think, how quickly I went from 22 to 60. Even so, with a little luck, I hope to save my best for last, too, whatever that turns out to be. Yet if you asked me to state what I’ve learned in 60 years of living, I would have to admit I’m still in learning mode, definitely a work in progress. All I can tell you for sure is: Gray hair happens. So do life’s triumphs and trials, large and small, most of them unforeseen. Learn to deal with whatever comes along with grace and humor and an open mind and you’ll be better for it, having earned every gray hair on your head. Never stop learning. Cicero learned to play the harp at age 60. Picasso began painting in the nude at this age. Don’t tell anybody, but I’m contemplating learning to play the harp in the nude. Create your own life. It’s yours to do with what you please. Find your passion and purpose and chances are you’ll never go wrong. Love matters most. Share liberally. As I still tell my grown-up kids [insert eye roll here] and really anyone else who will listen these days, it’s corny but true — love in all forms is the most powerful force in the universe. The thing that will make you happiest and keep you forever 52. PS

February 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PINEWILD

SOUTHERN PINES

PINEWILD

Gorgeous one story brick home on the 16th fairway of the Magnolia Course at Pinewild Country Club! This lovely home offers a light and open floor plan with an oversized dining room, separate office with golf course views, split bedroom plan and so much more. Elegant and inviting! 3 BR / 2.5 BA $400,000 www.16LasswadeDrive.com

These maintenance free, Craftsman style townhomes border a Donald Ross Golf course and a 20 acre lake for canoeing and kayaking. The 3 bedroom, 2 -1/2 BA homes have 1st floor master suites, hardwood & tile flooring, and much more! Convenient location near shopping, support facilities and Ft. Bragg. 3 BR / 2.5 BA $187,900 www.45CypressCircle.com

This charming home with a wraparound porch offers a panoramic view of the 13th fairway of the Magnolia course. A split bedroom contemporary floor plan is accented by the open entry and great room. The beautiful kitchen has Stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and breakfast bar.

WHISPERING PINES

SEVEN LAKES NORTH

WHISPERING PINES

This great home in has been beautifully maintained and has tasteful upgrades that include crown molding, hardwood floors, a stone front gas fireplace, and a large screened porch. The kitchen is open to an open keeping room area. Nice circular driveway and large fenced back yard. 4 BR / 3.5 BA $310,000 www.45SunsetDrive.com

Picture perfect describes this immaculate home! Nestled at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, this home offers a large, private, well -manicured yard, spacious new deck, beautifully updated interior with granite counter tops in kitchen and baths, hardwood floors, plantation shutters, and a new metal roof. 3BR / 2 BA $175,000 www.129ShagbarkCourt.com

This gorgeous custom built home offers Beautiful views of Whisper Lake from the screened porch, the spacious deck and from almost all the rooms. High ceilings, light filled rooms and an open floor plan make this a very inviting home. Irrigation straight from the lake means it's easy to maintain the beautifully landscaped lawn. 4 BR / 2 Full & 2 Half Baths $475,000 www.23GoldenrodDrive.com

PINEWILD

FOXFIRE

SEVEN LAKES WEST

This beautiful home built by Masters Properties is located in a quiet, wooded culde-sac. The open floor plan features hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, unbelievable moldings and accents throughout. The home boasts a wonderful screened porch, a gourmet kitchen, and oversized master bedroom & bath and a 2nd bedroom with bath on the main floor. 2 bedrooms and 2 large bonus room areas upstairs.

4 BR / 3 BA $464,900 www.16AirdrieCourt.com

This lovely brick home in a golf course community is in immaculate condition! Great location on a quiet, wooded lot with easy access to private walking trails. Outstanding easy access, walk-up storage space. There is a separate workshop/golf cart garage. 2 BR / 2 BA $225,000 www.18ShamrockDrive.com

This gorgeous all brick custom home is located in a quiet, wide cove with beautiful long views of Lake Auman. Built by Harris and Son, the home offers a light and open floor plan with hardwood floors, crown molding, solid surface counter tops, split bedrooms, sunny Carolina room, and many great upgrades and features. 3 BR / 4.5 BA $655,000 www.135AndrewsDrive.com

SEVEN LAKES WEST

PINEHURST

OLD TOWN PINEHURST

Gorgeous home on Lake Auman with beautiful wide lake views. Built by Harris and Son, one of the area's finest builders, this one is really special with outstanding curb appeal, lovely well landscaped yard, upscale gourmet kitchen, oversized screened porch, generous master bedroom, and so many special touches. 4 BR / 3.5 BA $615,000 www.123VanoreRoad.com

Sweet Spot Cottage - This beautiful, custom home, built by Billy Breeden, overlooks the 4th fairway of the #5 course. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac, the lane leading to this home feels like a cart path! The 5th tee box of the #5 course is across the street giving you fabulous golf views from both the front and the back of this very special property. The floor plan is bright and open with a split bedroom plan.

Walk to the Village from this prime Old Town location! The oversized living room with hardwood floors is bright and cheerful with light streaming in through the large windows. The formal dining room has hardwood floors, deep crown molding, and three walls of windows. Updated kitchen features granite countertops and new appliances. 3 BR / 2 BA $395,000 www.110McLeanRoad.com

3 BR / 2.5 BA $374,000 www.3ForestHillsLane.com

3 BR / 2.5 BA www.52Stoneykirk.com

View Floor Plans and Virtual Tours of Our Listings and See ALL Moore County Listings and Community Information at

WWW.MARTHAGENTRY.COM

$379,000

Military?! Check out our Military Advantage Program at www.MarthaGentry.com

Re/Max Prime Properties, 5 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst, NC 910-295-7100 â&#x20AC;˘ 800-214-9007

The Art of letting Go

Pop Goes the concert

Pssst! Does your sweetheart dig pops? On Saturday, February 9, the Carolina Philharmonic delivers Debussy and Grieg, plus love songs from Les Miserables, Star Trek, Harry Potter and more. With Maestro Wolff rocking the keyboard, consider the show an audible early Valentine. But you’d still better make out a card. Concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission: $25/general; $40/preferred seating; $10/students. Robert E. Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.carolinaphil.org.

Meet, Play, love

The Country Bookshop is all fun and games on Friday, February 15. Welcome to Crayola central, folks. Ages 6 and up will be hooked on games like Spot It!, and creative souls of any age are encouraged to interact with paper, prompted by a book called Wreck This Journal. Meet at 5 p.m. Play until 6:30 p.m. Love every minute. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

Meet North Carolina author Judy Goldman, whose memoir, Losing My Sister, has been nationally praised. “Few writers in America have ever written with such passion and insight about the joys and great perils of family life,” wrote author Pat Conroy in response to Goldman’s book, which explores how she and her older sister, Brenda, lost each other three times — twice through conﬂicts, and finally in the “most permanent way.” Author event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Sunday, February 24, 3 p.m. at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, 555 East Connecticut Avenue, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or www.weymouthcenter.org.

inside the Box

Miss your veggies? Then you won’t want to miss the Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative’s 18week spring/summer season. This community grassroots project directly connects you and your neighbors with boxes of fresh, local produce and products from Sandhills farmers. The season begins April 17 and runs through mid-August. Hurry and sign up; subscriptions start now. For information about Sandhills Farm to Table Co-op memberships, subscriptions and area gathering sites, visit www.SandhillsFarm2Table.com.

February 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Being ernest

In 1957, Ernest Green and eight other African-American high school students (the “Little Rock Nine”) were the first to integrate the racially segregated Little Rock Central High School. Hear Green tell his inspiring story on Wednesday, February 20, at Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 7:30 p.m. Ruth Pauley Lecture Series events are free and open to the public; seating is limited. Info: (910) 245-3132.

it Takes A Village F-U-n

The ninth annual Spelling Bee for Literacy will be held Thursday, February 7, at 7 p.m. The Bee, as locals know it, is a carnival of f-u-n. Twenty teams compete for the Best Spellers trophy, antics abound, and the costumes will be wild and wonderful as ever. Believe it. Open seating for a suggested donation of $10; Ages 18 and under free. Proceeds benefit the Moore County Literacy Council. Robert E. Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.mcliteracy.com.

For the seventh year, from March 2–3, Penick Village will host its Annual Art Show and Sale to benefit its benevolent assistance program, which assures that no resident is ever turned away due to lack of funds. A preview party will be held on Friday, March 1. For tickets and information about preview party and gallery hours, call (910) 692-0300 or visit www.penickvillagefoundation.org.

“Geraniums” by Joan Williams

Any way the wind Blows

Talk about Airborne!

The Moore County Historical Association and the Southern Pines Civic Club present “The Story of Camp Mackall,” on Sunday, February 10th. Norris Hodgkins and Joseph W. Caseman Jr., along with William Sobat and Tom MacCallum will discuss the significance of Camp Mackall, an active U.S. Army training facility located south of Southern Pines established 70 years ago. The program is free and open to the public, and will be held twice, first at 1 p.m. and the second one at 3:30 p.m. The Civic Club is located at 105 South Ashe Street at the corner of East Pennsylvania Avenue in Southern Pines. Reservations are required since seating is limited. To reserve seats, call (910) 692-2051 or e-mail info@moorehistory.com.

On Monday, February 11, the Grammy-nominated Borealis Wind Quintet will perform onstage at the Sunrise Theater as part of the 2012-13 Classical Concert Series presented by the Arts Council of Moore County. Formed in 1976 at the Juilliard School, the ensemble has earned a reputation for delivering musical brilliance at every show. Watch and see why they were named after the Northern Lights. Concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

Floor Plans to FitAny Lifestyle New Construction homes by

Shepherds Ridge Subdivision- Aberdeen

1,400 + sq. ft. starting at $151,900 • 2 Pending, 5 Sold · Spacious garages · Professional landscaping package · Appliance package with black smooth top range, dishwasher and microwave · Smooth ceilings · Security system · New home closing orientation

www.ShepherdSridgeSubdiviSion.com

Sinclair - Vass 2,195 sq. ft. starting at $197,900 • 1 Pending, 77 Sold • 9’ ceilings • 200 rolling acres with a community pond • Lots of open space in a picturesque rural setting • Moore County schools • 15 minutes to Ft. Bragg • 15 minutes to quaint shops of Southern Pines • 15 Minutes to Moore Regional and historic Pinehurst

www.SinclairSubdiviSion.com

Forest Hills Pointe - Aberdeen 2,727 sq. ft. starting at $233,900 • 2 Pending, 11 Sold • Functional, family friendly floor plans • Spacious lots • Granite kitchen countertops • Soaring ceilings • Feels like country living, but is conveniently located in Aberdeen • Easy drive to Ft. Bragg

www.ForeSthillSpointe.com

Birkdale Village at Mid South 3,041 SQ. FT. STARTING AT $299,900 • 4 Pending, 16 Sold • TWO country club memberships included in purchase price • Gourmet kitchen • HardiPlank ColorPlus siding • Coffered, vaulted and cathedral ceilings • Energy efficient, security systems, pest defense system & more • Golf front lots available

Birkdale Agents are currently located in the Camden Villas Clubhouse

www.birkdalevillageatmidSouth.com

CALL TODAY for a private tour and see for yourself the awesome amenities when you visit one of these outstanding communities by H&H Homes! Larose & Company Independently Owned & Operated

190 Turner Street, Suite D | Southern Pines, NC 28387 910.693.3300 | Sales@LaroseandCompany.com

COS And eFFeCT

memoir of a Soldier

BY COS BARNES

i am always amazed at what I

PHOTOGRAPH BY CASSIE BUTLER

learn from other people whose experiences were so different from mine.

Tom Shaylor, a friend at church, had a 30-yearcareer in the Army, the last two years of which he served as senior aide to Gen. Omar N. Bradley, at that time the last living five-star general. Tom is writing his memoir, and he tells of all the celebrities he met with the general. “The first task I had,” he said, “was to talk to Mary Tyler Moore Studios about special projects involving the general. I went to all luncheons and dinners with him and he insisted I sit at his table. I met many celebrities including Esther Williams, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Danny Thomas and Bob Hope. There were also Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, George Burns, Harold Robbins, Irving Wallace and John Huston. Huston came to my home on one occasion to talk to me about leadership for a project he was working on.” According to Tom, both the general and his wife loved horse races and always wanted to bet on the daily double, the first race of the day. The men’s routine was to go to the race early and send the limo back to bring Mrs. Bradley in time for the fifth race. “She was a great handicapper, and won many times,” Tom said. “If she could not attend she would have me place her bets. Mrs.

Bradley was a successful screenwriter. She wrote a number of episodes of The Untouchables.” Tom continued, “Gen. Bradley believed the most important word in the dictionary was humility. He was soft-spoken and never raised his voice to anyone. Once when we were showing the movie Patton, I asked the movie star Karl Malden what was the most difficult thing he had to do to portray Gen. Bradley. He told me to keep his voice soft when he was supposed to be angry.” It should make for a most interesting memoir. Tom has stories about Korea, Vietnam, Saigon, Ecuador and Puerto Rico. You can even ask him about Dinkins Mill. As for romance, happy Valentine’s Day. One of the most interesting valentines I ever received was from my husband many years ago. Returning home from a business trip on Valentine’s Day, he sheepishly handed me a card. He’d arrived so late the drugstore had sold out of Valentines so he’d substituted a card with no hearts decorating it. It had no shamrocks or leprechauns either. Instead it bore a picture of the Jolly Green Giant. “Let me be the first to wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day,” he said. PS Cos Barnes is a longtime contributor to PineStraw magazine. She can be contacted at cosbarnes@nc.rr.com.

9.5x11.5

The OmnivOrOuS reAder

Travel Can Be murder On tour with the Grande dame of mystery

BY STEPHEN E. SMITH

i have a weakness

for fictional characters who are intrinsically ridiculous, among them P.G. Wodehouse’s Earl of Emsworth, George MacDonald Fraser’s Harry Flashman, and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, with whom I became acquainted forty years ago while riding the Silver Star (I imagined I was onboard the Orient Express) into D.C.’s Union Station.

Since then, I’ve been coping with a serious Agatha Christie addiction, which is, thank goodness, mitigated by the knowledge that I’m not suffering alone. Christie is the most published writer in the universe. Her mysteries and occasional romances have sold billions of copies (yeah, billions). Although Christie was not fond of her Hercule Poirot, I dig the old weirdo, and by extension, the author who created him, and when I learned that Mathew Prichard, the grandson of the grande dame of whodunits, had edited a book of his granny’s correspondence, The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery, I grabbed it. The letters and postcards collected by Prichard were written by Christie during her marriage to her first husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Archie Christie, financial advisor to the Dominion Mission Exhibition, as they toured parts of the British Empire in 1922 on a promotional trade mission. The young couple deposited their 2-year-old daughter, Rosalind — “my little Rosy-Posy” — with Christie’s sister, and set out on a tour of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada via Hawaii. During her travels, Christie wrote to her mother frequently — “Dearest Mummy” — recording her observations and often including black and white photographs, many of

which, although of poor quality, are reproduced in this collection. Her missives are full of anecdotes about sunburn, recurring seasickness, surf boarding (in the ladylike prone position most of the time, although she managed to stand on her board while in Hawaii), and other routine activities and minor irritants. The attraction for Christie aficionados is a rare glimpse into the author’s personal life and a taste of her decidedly Victorian sensibilities. When she writes of her fellow travelers and the local characters she encounters, she assumes a prissy, gossipy tone — she is, after all, writing for the amusement of family — and never hesitates to take a nasty poke at an eccentric acquaintance. She’s especially fond of skewering Major Ernest Belcher, Archie’s grumpy, overbearing boss on the mission, and relishes detailing her encounters with eccentric Colonials, as she does with a man she nicknamed “the Dehydrator” — “If anything put him in a bad temper he was so impossible that one loathed him with a virulent hatred. He behaved exactly like a spoilt child.” What Christie fans will find most endearing are snatches of her droll humor. She describes a Ms. Hiam as empty-headed: “I forget if I told you but she said four times the other day what an extraordinary thing it was that there should be a Llandudno and a Clifton in South Africa ‘Just the same names as in England!’ I hinted that it was a phenomenon fairly often encountered in our colonies, but she repeated ‘Actually the same as in England’ and seemed to think it was a clear case of thought transference.” Christie is generally lighthearted and forthright when expressing her class consciousness, but her observations regarding the locals are ethnocentric in tone and content. In Australia, she observes: “Amongst the various servants, station hands, general helpers, etc., most of who [sic] were half-caste, there

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013 15

The Omnivorous Reader

were one or two purebred Aborigines.” In South Africa, she mentions the “little curly heads” of the children about Rosalind’s age and expresses a mild degree of guilt about leaving her young daughter. In Honolulu she writes: “There are Japanese everywhere — all of the servants and waiters in most of the shops. Their English is not good, and they never understand a word one says.” She is, however, full of praise for Americans: “Most of the women are fascinating, nearly all of the men have an individual and fantastic taste in headgear. . . and all the sailors have the funniest little tight round white caps!” (On Waikiki Beach, Christie snapped a photo of 14 male surfers, among them future actor and businessman Duke Kahanamoku, whose autograph would later appear on thousands of vintage souvenir ukuleles. Christie doesn’t mention Duke in her letters, and he’s not identified by Prichard in the photo’s caption.) Despite her keenness of observation, Christie is amazingly unaware of the decline of the empire she’s touring and seemingly oblivious to the more than 2,000,000 deaths suffered by the United Kingdom and its dominions during the world war that had ended only four years earlier. Notable also is the fact that Christie often mentions her first husband, Archie, who is only vaguely alluded to in most of her autobiographical writings. Unfortunately, readers are not provided any insights into the matrimonial difficulties that would eventually lead to divorce. The only hint of foreboding is contained in Christie’s mother’s warning concerning Archie: “If you’re not with your husband, if you leave him too much, you’ll lose him. That’s especially true of a man like Archie.” Four years later, Archie would ask for a divorce in order to marry a younger woman, and Agatha would vanish for an 11-day real-life mystery. Anybody who’s suffered an Agatha Christie addiction will love this book. Christie was a prolific writer whose life was, except for her divorce, amazingly uneventful, and this record of her travels reveals the source of her inspiration for exotic settings, convoluted plotlines, and memorable characters. Immediately following her grand tour, Christie wrote her third mystery, The Man in the Brown Suit, which draws heavily on her travel experience. Alas, I grieve the passing of books such as The Grand Tour. How many contemporary luminaries — literary or otherwise — bother to write letters, scribble witty postcards, and print photographs? Textual scholars must be in despair. Fifty years from now our descendants will be reading The Collected Tweets of Justin Bieber. PS Stephen Smith’s most recent book of poetry is A Short Report on the Fire at Woolworths. He can be reached at travisses@ hotmail.com. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

February 2013

February 2013 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

BOOKSheLF

new releases for February BY KIMBERLY DANIELS AND ANGIE TALLY Black History Month and Valentine’s Day — Oh, here lies Feb-ru-ary! February is known to some as the month to diet (it IS the shortest month of the year). At The Country Bookshop we are selling lots of copies of The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. A customer came in recently looking for books written by black female writers. We immediately pointed her to Jesmyn Ward’s National Book Awardwinning Salvage the Bones about people facing life in the rural South (including the challenge of facing the storm Katrina). Their Eyes Were Watching God by by Zora Neale Hurston was published 75 years ago, and if you have not read it . . . do it this year, maybe even this month. It is one of the more important books of the 20th century and Black History Month is a great excuse to add this to the books you HAVE read list. In Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898, the black middle class was thriving. There were black elected officials and the only daily black newspaper in the South. In Crow, an amazing novel written by Barbara Wright, the naïve, 11-year-old Moses reveals this world and all the injustices present, however advanced Wilmington may have been at the time. When an editorial in the black paper (his father works there as a reporter) causes the whites to lash out against the hard-earned rights of the black middle class, the Wilmington race riots are seen through the eyes of Moses. This is about an interesting and unique time in North Carolina history, one book truly worth reading. Consider using your three-day weekend to read this. To some, all of February exists for Valentine’s Day. It is always fun to pick up a book of date suggestions for your husband or wife, like The Best Romantic Ideas by Mara Goodman-Davies, or a travel book about some faraway romantic destination like Lonely Planet’s Argentina Travel Guide or somewhere close by like the Not For Tourists Guide

to Atlanta. Valentine’s Day always causes me to turn to poetry. Love Poems (Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets) is a small hardcover delight and a perfectly thoughtful gift. If you have a sense of humor, the E.E. Cummings that you may remember from English class also has a collection called Erotic Poems. . . There is a newly packaged Kama Sutra book out, translated in the 1800s by Sir Richard Burton and published this time with a black cover and inside filled with beautiful Hindi paintings and pictures of sculpture. There is also a fun nonfiction book by Betsy Prioleau called Swoon: Great Seducers and Why Women Love Them. It takes the reader through the great Ladies Men of history and looks at why they could make all women swoon. Spousonomics was an interesting book so overlooked in hardcover that they renamed it for the paperback. It’s Not You, It’s The Dishes is a book by Jenny Anderson and Paula Szuchman — two newspaper reporters who had the idea to apply economic theory to marriage. Allocating resources (energy, time, money) efficiently in a marriage is something we do every day without even realizing that we really are economists! After reading this book (thoroughly enjoyable for someone who really likes to read the stock market pages while not listening to his wife) . . . we may realize that if we aren’t economists in our relationships, maybe we should be. We know some people look at February and the only thing they think is, “Three day weekend!” So for you readers, here are some newly released books to take on vacation or read on a staycation. Beth Carpenter has been raving over Maeve Binchy’s posthumously published last book, A Week in Winter. It is about a group of people who spend a week in a house on the Irish coast, out mid-February. Carpenter’s other favorite for the month is The Tin Horse by Janice Steinberg. Elaine Greenstein’s twin sister, Barbara, ran away sixty years ago, and Elaine has made peace with her loss. But as Elaine is going through boxes in preparation to move to a retirement community, she finds a possible hint as to Barbara’s whereabouts.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013 19

BOOKSheLF

Also check out Home and Away: One Writer’s Inspiring Experience at the Homeless World Cup by Dave Bidini, Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini, Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler, Time of Grief: Mourning Poems by Jeffrey Yang, The Vineyard at the End of the World: Maverick Winemakers and the Rebirth of Malbec by Ian Mount, and The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church by John Thavis.

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT

I Loathe You by David Slonim. “I loathe you more than slimy rats, more than frostbite, skunks or bats. Picture lobsters pinching me . . . I loathe you more — now do you see?” How do

BOOKSheLF

How do you want to retire?

Mommy monsters tell their little monsters they love them? With absolute unconditional loathing! Offbeat Valentine’s fun for ages 3-7. Hope’s Gift by Kelly Starling Lyons. From the author of the award-winning Ellen’s Broom comes the story of the Emancipation Proclamation told through the voice of a child. When Hope’s father, a slave, runs away to fight in the war, Hope holds on to a conch shell, a gift from her father, which he says “sings a song of freedom. And nothing can keep freedom from coming.” This third book in Lyons’ picture book series celebrating family, freedom and love is a wonderful way to introduce stories of African-American history to young readers. Ages 4-8. Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool. Newbery Award-winning author Vanderpool shares the story of Jack Baker, orphaned after World War II, and placed in a boys’ boarding school in Maine where he meets Early Auden, a strange but fascinating boy who leads him on a quest along the Appalachian Trail. Seth, age 12, says of Navigating Early, “This book is full of surprises and suspense. Jack has a mysterious past and that makes you want to keep reading to find out what happened before and what will happen next.” Ages 10-14. Lincoln’s Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin. A real-life actionadventure story involving United States Secret Service agents, convicted counterfeiter Ben Boyd, Lewis Swegles, criminal mastermind and double agent, and the plot to steal Abraham Lincoln’s corpse for $200,000 ransom. Fascinating reading for ages 10-14.

Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer. Queen Victoria, the longest reigning female monarch in history, left behind a legacy of cultural, political, scientific, industrial and military accomplishments. Referencing Queen Victoria’s personal journals, Meyer has created a historically accurate fictionalized account of Victoria’s teenage years. Readers age 12-16 will enjoy this story of love, power, intrigue and mystery. PS Compiled by The Country Bookshop

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China National Orchestra & Raleigh Symphony Orchestra

Friday, February 15, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

R.E. Lee Auditorium at Pinecrest High School Concert is free — tickets are required to attend. To receive your free tickets, Information: send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Arts Council of Moore 910-692-2787 County, P.O. Box 405, Southern Pines, NC 28388 or pick up tickets at www.MooreArt.org Campbell House (482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines). 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This concert is made possible by Arts Council of Moore County, Town of Aberdeen, Harris Blake, Moore County Chamber of Commerce, Moore County Schools, Village of Pinehurst, Town of Southern Pines, Art Swanson and Thermal Metal Treating, Inc.

22 February 2013 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

hiTTinG home

my Love Affair with Books (Which is not the same thing as a good book about a love affair)

By Dale nIXon

When i

think of February, I think of Valentines. When I think of Valentines, I think of love. So, I thought a review of a book about a great love affair would be a good choice for a column this month.

Perhaps a review of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, believed to be written between 1591 and 1595. It’s a story about two star-crossed lovers whose double suicides unite their feuding families. Betrothed to another, Juliet takes a drug that will put her into a deathlike coma for “2 and 40 hours” to delay the unwanted wedding. A messenger is sent to inform Romeo of the plan. The messenger does not reach Romeo, and believing Juliet to be dead, he drinks poison. Juliet then awakens to find Romeo dead and stabs herself with his dagger. The families are reconciled by their children’s deaths and agree to end their violent feud. “For never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” That’s tragic and depressing. Then I considered Gone With the Wind. First published in 1936, Gone With the Wind was written by Margaret Mitchell, who won the Pulitzer Prize for the book in 1937. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler are two other “star-crossed lovers.” When Scarlett finally chooses Rhett over Ashley Wilkes, Rhett tells Scarlett that his love for her has worn out and he is going away with the parting words, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Scarlett dreams of a love that has eluded her for so long but she still has Tara, and “tomorrow is another day.” That’s just sad . . . I then thought of Love Story, written by Erich Segal in 1970 and when made into a movie was selected by the American Film Institute as one of the 10 most romantic movies of all time.

Harvard law student Oliver Barrett IV and Radcliffe music student Jenny Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny and a love they cannot ignore. Oliver comes from a wealthy family and Jenny from a working class one. Upon graduation, the two decide to marry against the wishes of Oliver’s father, who severs ties with his son. When Jenny and Oliver decide to have a child, they discover after repeated tests that Jenny has leukemia. Unable to afford the multiplying hospital bills, Oliver approaches his father for financial help. The senior Barrett asks if he needs the money because he got some girl “in trouble.” Oliver says yes instead of telling the truth. When Jenny dies, a grief-stricken Oliver is met at the hospital by his father, who now wants to apologize for the way he treated his son. Oliver replies that “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” and walks off. I’m crying now. All classic love stories are beautifully written but depressing for a Valentine’s column about love affairs. But then it hit me, there are all kinds of love affairs — love affairs that fill our hearts with hope and inspiration. Love affairs that bring us to tears, make us chuckle or laugh out loud. Some of these affairs make better people of us or are for our entertainment only. Those of us who love to read have love affairs with books — real books with real paper pages. A paperback that you can break the binding on — a hardback that you can display in a book case. A book for coffee tables only or one that sits on our nightstand. Large print for us baby boomers and regular print for the young ones. You may even choose to read from the Internet, a Kindle or a Nook. How many times have you said, “Let me read one more paragraph; one more page. I’ll be there when I finish this chapter.” So let me wish a Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone who has ever written or read a book. It is a love affair with a happy ending. PS Columnist Dale Nixon may be contacted at dalenixon@carolina.rr.com.

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Valentine’s Day is on the way!

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24 February 2013

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T h e P L e A S u r e S o F L i F e d e P T�

The Last Twinkie in my heart, it will last forever

By eD peele

For my entire life

my family has known that I have an enlarged and cavity-prone sweet tooth. It is not unusual for me to have a cookie for an appetizer before any meal. The only way for me to have the willpower not to eat something sweet at any time is to remove all sweets from the house and a three-block area. Cookies, pies, cakes, even jelly on dry loaf bread are all considered respectable desserts and rest assured no meal, no matter how special and delectable, is complete without some type of dinner-ending sugar rush. I like to blame it on the habits I learned from watching my daddy and his daddy, which means it’s not really my fault.

This all explains why I have been so far down in the dumps at the closing of the Hostess Baking Company. They are the makers of such delightful products as Wonder Bread, Merita Bread, Dolly Madison Cakes, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, and last but not least the forever popular Twinkie. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who has not at some point had a Twinkie, plain or fried, because I don’t look under rocks for my friends. They so thoroughly infiltrated every home in America for generations that they have become a national treasure at least among the sweets-at-all-cost set. I can’t say that I remember my first Twinkie, it was just kind of there. As my first real vice my granddaddy probably introduced them to me, as granddaddies are apt to do. We worked on the farm where we lived and most days I was on his heel watching all that he did. There are habits and chores that are rituals on any farm. Everyday things that must be done. One that I quickly caught on to was that between 9 and 10 o’clock each morning the work would stop and Papa would make a brief pilgrimage to one of two places, whichever was closest. Mr. Joe’s store was just down the road and we would go there for our morning snack, a Pepsi and a Twinkie or Honey Bun (also a Hostess product). The fellowship of the community around the store was wasted on me as a child so the second location held a larger appeal.

If we were closer to the house we would walk to the shelter, a long low-roofed affair with an open front that sat just outside the back door of Papa’s house. It was here that Papa did lots of small chores, washed up in the big old sink or just sat in an old metal glider as he contemplated the day’s advances or tomorrow’s challenges. But to me the best thing about the shelter was the rusty old Frigidaire refrigerator that sat in the middle of one of the walls. It was short and rusted on the front and side where the seal had broken and cool air escaped. It had a big chrome handle, also rusted, but seemed to work just fine because it always opened when tugged, exposing the treasures within. Papa was not a miserly man, but he liked a good deal. To this end he would occasionally stock up on the contents of the Frigidaire — Pepsis, Honey Buns and Twinkies. For me, a budding sugar addict, it was euphoria. When the door opened and the light came on I swear I could hear angels and trumpets. I knew nothing about where these delicacies came from, just that the Frigidaire was always full. That is, almost always full. I remember one Saturday in particular when the cupboard was bare. We had been raking leaves, a job that often required a special reward. Heading to the Frigidaire, we were confronted with a catastrophic disappointment as the door opened to empty shelves. Papa motioned to me and we got in his old truck bound for a destination that only he knew. The drive headed into town and soon we were pulling into the parking lot of what I knew only as the “bread store.” Papa’s secret was out. This was where he bought the mountains of Twinkies and Honey Buns. The bread store was where all the old bread and rolls and sweets went to stay until they were too dry and hard to eat without chipping a tooth. Papa bought Twinkies and Honey Buns by the dozens at a price of twenty-five for a dollar. It could be considered one of the first recycling centers. Who knew he was so far ahead of his time? And now it’s all gone, Twinkies, that is. I’m not entirely certain what happened. Somebody wanted more money and somebody else wouldn’t give it up. So goes a layman’s version of a very complicated situation. Didn’t they know they were messing with history? My childhood, to be exact. What a shame. The food that can stay on the shelf of a bomb shelter for twenty years and not change a molecule has been swept away with the stroke of a bankruptcy judge’s pen. Oh well. Does anyone have Little Debbie’s phone number? PS Ed Peele is a jack-of-all-trades and occasionally writes for PineStraw Magazine.

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26 February 2013

Food for Thought

The Joy of Getting Sauced Getting creative with bottled sauces can liven up any meal

By Deborah Salomon

What separates American from French

Photograph By Cassie Butler

cuisine is, for the most part, sauces. French restaurants employ a cook, a saucier, who makes only sauces based on wine, cream, stock and butter. Lots of butter.

Americans don’t need that fancy stuff. We’ve got gravy, barbecue sauce, tartar sauce and condiments like mustard, mayo and ketchup. Well and good. But there’s another approach: a collection of bottled sauces and sauce ingredients brought back from trips, or from restaurants that sell their concoctions, or, especially, T.J. Maxx and Big Lots. A dash of this, a dollop of that provides a flavor punch without much trouble. Or butter. Besides, they look nice lined up on a display shelf. This sauce trend (how I hate that word) has been validated by, of all people, Campbell’s; their new line of pricey Skillet Sauces, in pouches, includes Marsala with mushrooms and garlic, Thai green curry and toasted sesame. “Just add chicken,” the blurb goes. The flavor isn’t bad but the texture is gooey with, mon dieu, cornstarch. Other trending products include Land o’Lakes Sauté Starter (easily augmented into a sauce) and Philly Cooking Crème. All promote the idea that ordinary foods benefit from a little oomph. My United Nations of Bottles suggests more impromptu (and subtle) uses: Make a green bean hater into a green bean lover by cooking whole beans crisp-tender, draining well, shaking dry in a hot pot and dousing with chipotle salsa — just enough to coat the beans. Excellent hot or cold. Beans also benefit from a smidgen of sesame-garlic-ginger stir-fry sauce. Indian sauces have begun to crowd out Asian on supermarket shelves. They are expensive but concentrated; a little goes far. For an interesting

side dish, stir half a cup of bottled curry sauce into 3-4 cups cooked white rice. Cover with sautéed onions and bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. A curry blend instead of white sauce gives a whole new meaning to creamed spinach. Nothing’s more boring than a tilapia filet. Cure boredom by brushing on bottled hoisin or creamy horseradish sauce before broiling close to element until slightly blackened. Slide onto a bed of sautéed kale moistened with a few drops of pungent Vietnamese fish sauce. The vegetarian will appreciate Thai lemongrass sauce or fiery Korean kimchi over rice noodles or couscous. Definitely stir something from a bottle into defatted pan drippings, bubble it up and spoon over roast meat. Shrimp, crab cakes and sweet potato fries beg remoulade — or an approximation that gets its zing from Braswell’s Red Pepper Relish. Mix equal parts relish, spicy ketchup and mayo. Speaking of ketchup, stock a variety: Heinz’s limited edition balsamic was a treasure but there are others. I also keep half a dozen salsas going to dab on cottage cheese or jolt bland turkey burgers. Spiedie sauce/marinade made Binghamton, New York, famous. Michigan red hot sauce put Detroit dogs on the map. Louisiana knows pepper sauces like New England knows maple mustards (great on grilled salmon). An uncivil war still rages over which Carolina region owns the best barbecue sauce. But even this isn’t only for ribs. Add a few spoonfuls to the pot roast braising liquid or to canned lentil or vegetable soup. None of the above constitutes sauce in the French manner — no deglazing, no reductions, no mirepoix or roux. These are gussied-up condiments doing double duty. But when push comes to taste, the difference can be as amazing as a béchamel or béarnaise, a bordelaise or hollandaise. And a lot more creative. PS

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As the quality of Washington state’s wines soar, now is the time to buy

Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Cabernet Sauvignon

By Robyn James

Remember

Photograph by cassie butler

the old slogan, “We’re No. 2, so we try harder”?

That could easily become the new slogan for the Washington state wine industry. Washington is directly behind California in wine sales and production in the United States, but in my opinion, they are far and away No. 1 in value. A recent survey by a California-based wine magazine points out that Washington leads California (as well as France, Italy and Oregon) in both the percentage of wines scoring 90 points or better and the average price of those wines. A metric often called QPR measures such quality-to-price statistics. And in the past three years, Washington wines outshone the leading competition. Of the Washington wines tasted, 48 percent scored 90 or higher, compared with 33 percent from California. And the average price of these Washington wines was $42. OK, not cheap, but less than half the $91 average price of the high-scoring California wines. It’s time for consumers to strike while the iron is hot before Washington becomes as delusional about its wines as Napa Valley. Every time I pick up my industry journals and read about the $500-$1,000 a bottle Napa “cult” cabs I have to wonder, who buys these wines? I recently purchased some Figgins Estate Red, one of Washington’s most sought after wines and extremely limited in production. Price tag? $102 a bottle. That’s still a lot of money for a wine, I agree, but the trickle-down effect for Washington wines is a beautiful value-ridden trail. Washington is also every bit as versatile as California, perhaps more. Its wine country is so vast that it possesses perfect microclimates for many different varietals. Here you will find outstanding riesling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. The only mainstream grape Washington shys away from is pinot noir, wisely deferring to its more arid neighbor, Oregon. Here are some of my favorite bangs-for-your-bucks from Washington:

Dunham Trutina

Washington, 2008, approx. $37 “The 2008 Ethos Cabernet Sauvignon spent 22 months in 100 percent new French and American oak. Inky purple in color, it sports a fragrant nose of pain grille, pencil lead, exotic spices, incense, and assorted black fruits. In the glass it deftly combines power and elegance revealing layers of fruit, succulent flavors, and impressive length. Give it 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it from 2015 to 2028.” Rated 92+ Points, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

Washington, 2008, approx. $32 “Lithe, polished and appealing for its seductive red berry and cream flavors on a polished texture, echoing on the restrained finish. Cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot. Drink now through 2016.” Rated 90 Points, The Wine Spectator

Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills Les Chevaux

Washington, 2010, approx. $15 “Supple and spicy, with a plush-textured, dark-hued, blackberry-rich mouthful lingering against creamy oak notes on the long and polished finish. Merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. Drink now through 2017.” Rated 90 Points, The Wine Spectator

Eroica Riesling

Washington, 2011 “Scents of peach and honeysuckle give way to stone fruit flavors that feel clean and pure, buoyed by a minerality that keeps the wine en pointe. A tremendous success.” Rated 93 Points, Wine & Spirits Magazine PS Robyn James is proprietor of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room in Southern Pines. Contact her at winecellar@pinehurst.net.

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30 February 2013 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The kiTchen GArden

The original kitchen Gardener Vintage recipes from another time

By Jan leItSChuh

To be a good cook these days is a

snap. Grocery aisles groan with an abundance of gorgeous vegetables, nuts, meats, fish, eggs, dairy, bakery, exotic seasonings, fresh fruit. Refrigerators and electric or gas ovens make preparation easy. Freezers hold the overflow. We have no excuses!

Travel back to the day when cooking meant chopping the wood for the stove — hours in advance of the actual food preparation. No refrigeration for preservation — the domestic arts included canning, drying, pickling, smoking and salting. The original settlers in Moore County had to think ahead — months and months ahead. In order to have cornbread and field peas in February, one had to grow the fixings the summer before. In fact, early settlers had to let some of their garden plants go to seed so as to have seeds to plant the following spring. I guess you could say the subsistence farmers who settled the sand of Moore, Hoke and surrounding counties were the original kitchen gardeners, tillers of the soil in a deadly serious business — grow it or die! No Chilean strawberries for their breakfast oatmeal! Such are the thoughts that run through my head perusing the 1997 cookbook Keepers of the Heart, compiled by Marilyn Wright and Anne Wright and sold through Mill Prong House, Edinborough Road in Hoke

County. This book was loaned to me by a friend in Lumberton, Chandler Stewart. This fascinating cookbook is based on records, old account ledgers and shared recipes from the families connected with Mill Prong House. The ledger belonged to Archibald McEachern (1788-1873). As Archibald apparently lived a good, long life, may we assume good, wholesome whole-food cooking played a role in his substantial lifespan? Archibald acquired a large acreage of good farm and timber land through land grants from his father and other purchases of land, the cookbook tells us: “Included with the land was the handsome home known as Mill Prong . . . The seventh child of Archibald and his wife Effie was Margaret (1828-1878). Her name is written in the ledger and one can assume the many hand-written recipes are hers.” Later family members may have also added their favorites. Apparently she had the gift of laying a fine table. A relative wrote: “Aunt Margaret had that supreme gift for holding a family together.” Naturally, I was curious about the vegetable chapter of the cookbook, A Summer Garden. Explains the book: “Summertime was a busy time when fruits and vegetables reached their peak of ripeness. For the housewife, this meant long hours in the hot kitchen canning and preserving to stock the pantry for winter. No surprise to me, the vegetable recipes found therein could grace today’s tables . . . The innovation of mason jar canning (the use of screw lids) appeared around 1856. Rows of mason jars lining the pantry shelf in the summer meant the family ate well in the winter.” No surprise to me that these time-tested recipes would star on today’s tables. Take this one:

32 February 2013 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e k i t c h e n ga r d e n

Eggplant Fritters

season, fulfilling that fresh-produce hunger.

1 medium sized eggplant 2 eggs, beaten separately 2 level teaspoons of flour 1 teaspoon finely chopped onion 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 2 tablespoons butter

Cold Slaw

Peel and cut eggplant; cook in boiling water until soft. Drain and put through sieve. Cook onion in butter; add to eggplant. Beat in the egg yolks and flour, salt and pepper and parsley. Cut and fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Drop on a hot greased griddle and fry like hot cakes. This is an excellent accompaniment to cold, sliced, leftover roast. It wouldn’t be belaboring the point to note that it was a matter of survival to capture summer’s bounty for the lean months of winter, and not just to fill the belly and power the next day’s work. There were no vitamins, or even drug stores. A family’s winter health rested mightily on the plants in the herb garden and the preservation of the kitchen garden’s bounty. “Life in the country at the turn of the century presented problems unfamiliar to rural folk today,” explains the cookbook. “Electricity, modern plumbing, and refrigeration have changed our priorities in life. We are less concerned with the thrift and economies of careful household management. But in earlier times, people threw away little, and met most needs through the labors of their own hands.” There were no seed stores either. No pretty little packets of spinach seeds or six-packs of tomato plants. That meant forethought and restraint — no eating the biggest, prettiest produce if one wanted to improve his or her crops. Regionally adapted varieties were commonplace, out of necessity. “A fertile garden depended on recycling,” says the book. “Some fruits and vegetables and flowers were allowed to die on the stem. The dried seeds became starters for next year’s gardens. Experienced hands picked out the best specimens and stored them in jars ready for spring planting.” Some of the recipes are quaint in form, like “Carrot Pudding.” Yet such a recipe could fit right into a gluten-free household of today:

2 cups chopped cabbage 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon celery seed Cut, or mince, cabbage until almost a pulp; mix in enough vinegar to suit taste; season with salt and celery seed to suit taste. A little black pepper may be used if desired. Storage vegetables were essential. Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes were laid atop, followed by several inches of soil, and often stored outside under elaborate rain-shedding mound systems. First, a thick layer of wheat straw was laid down in a convenient and protected spot. A three or four foot cone of sweet potatoes was then laid atop. Another thick layer of straw was then placed atop, followed by several inches of dirt. Board went over that. The thrifty housewife burrowed in for a week’s worth of yams at a time. Though some were lost to rot, enough survived to feed the family.

Sweet Potato Pudding Take a half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, five eggs, two tablespoons brandy and the same of rose water: add one pound of sweet

potatoes, boiled and mashed fine, with a pinch of salt and a little milk to make moist. Beat butter and sugar until light, to which add the potatoes, a small quantity at a time; whisk eggs until thick and stir in gradually; then add brandy and rose water, mix all well together and set aside in a cool place for a short time. This is sufficient for three or four puddings, soup plate size. Line your plates with a nice paste (pastry dough), fill and bake in a quick oven. Nutmeg or cinnamon can be substituted for rose water if desired. Besides veggies, the cookbook is chock-full of recipes ranging from Grandmother’s Pecan Pie, Green Turtle Soup, Rabbit Pot Pie, Persimmon Pudding, Scotch Eggs, Boiled Goose to Taffy, Lemon Chess Pie and more. But, softies that we are, we’ll make them on our modern stoves and toast the ones who gardened and farmed as if their lives depended on it — because, it did. The cookbook Keepers of the Heart can be purchased by writing to Keepers of the Hearth, P.O. Box 1801, Laurinburg, NC 28353. PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and co-founder of the Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative.

Carrot Pudding A coffee cup full of boiled and strained carrots, 5 eggs, 2 ounces of sugar and butter each, cinnamon and rose water to your taste, baked in a deep dish without paste. Crops that grew well in colder or even cold weather were critical to extend the fresh-veggie season. Mustard and turnip greens, beets, rutabagas, onions, collards, kale, chard and cabbages all filled that bill. They grew well in both early spring and late fall, extending the shoulders of the growing PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

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Out of the Blue

Lucky Me

Confessions of a crazy old cat lady

By Deborah Salomon

Pets usually get the

Photograph by Cassie Butler

column treatment at the beginning of a relationship — and the end. Eulogies seem irresistible. I can’t read any more dead dog/cat columns. Too sad.

Living with Lucky is anything but. For one thing, my black cat Lucky (not a white hair on him) behaves like a dog; he comes when called, gives a kiss, paws my leg for attention, owns my lap, sits up and begs for treats. He won’t use a litter box, preferring the yard. How funny is it to see a cat run outside in the rain, pee, run back in? Lucky thinks like a person: When the suitcase comes out, he gives me a look part disappointment, part resignation. He wouldn’t dream of jumping on the kitchen counter or drinking out of the toilet. He is hospitable to visitors and comforting when I am injured or ill. Lucky is, quite simply, the most unusual cat I have ever known. And the best. (Sorry Horowitz, Pumpkin, Max, Sophie, Sam, Sadie and Shim.) I noticed him hanging around my porch (and under my car, for shelter) two Decembers ago. Back then he seemed skittish, frightened. I put out food, which he gobbled. But, after decades of pet relationships, I wasn’t seeking anything permanent. Handouts continued until July when, one brutally hot afternoon, I heard a commotion. An unleashed dog had chased Lucky to my front door. I opened it. He ran in — straight to the kitchen, where he calmly sat down and waited for dinner. That was that. Lucky was clean and gorgeous, with a shiny, silky coat and expressive eyes. He had been neutered and (horrible!) declawed. Tenants at my apartment village sometimes leave cats when they move, I learned — even more horrible. Lucky bonded immediately, grateful almost to a fault. He purrs very softly, only for my ears. We are both morning creatures. His timetable rivals the Swiss railroad. At

5 a.m., I feel his presence, then a sandpapery tongue, then a plaintive cry. Playing dead doesn’t work. So I keep a dish with a few kibbles in the bedside drawer. This pacifies him for 30 minutes. When I can resist no longer he leads me into the kitchen. After a quick breakfast he’s out. When I come back from the gym an hour later he is waiting in the bushes. At the sight of my car he dashes to the front door. Spooky that he recognizes it from a distance. In the winter, morning nap happens on top of the cable box, which is warm but smaller than Lucky. I extended it with a book wrapped in an old sweater. Hindquarters on the box, head on the book, Lucky snoozes until about 9 a.m. Then out again, then a major nap on the rocking chair except on sunny days. Uncanny, how he knows exactly when the sun’s rays will flood his mat on the porch table — also which day is Monday, when one must hide from the yard people bringing noisy machines. This cat has a circadian clock. Lucky observes the birds and squirrels at the feeder without aggression. He avoids other cats knowing, instinctively, that he hasn’t a chance. When I accidentally touch a tender spot on his hip he puts his mouth around my finger, a gentle warning, with-

out closing down. Then he licks it. But perhaps Lucky’s most endearing habit is as a taste-tester. High-quality canned food in the morning, dry at night suit him fine. He turns up his nose at people food in his bowl, even tuna. But when I sit down with a tray Lucky is right there. He wants a tiny bite of everything: shrimp, fish, scrambled eggs, spinach, baked potato, ice cream. I don’t eat meat, so no burgers. Have you ever seen a cat navigate a strand of marinara-coated spaghetti? Grilled cheese sandwiches (just a speck, preferably sourdough crust) and lemon yogurt (licked from the cup covering) send him over the top. He’d rather chase a grape around the kitchen floor than a ping-pong ball. Oh happy day when Lucky showed up at my door. Because being a crazy old cat lady is better than being just a crazy old lady. The thing is . . . I’m not sure Lucky’s a cat. PS Deborah Salomon is a staff writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.

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February 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

l i f e o f ja n e

A Room of My Own

Sometimes it’s comforting to share a space with whoever came before you

By Jane Borden

Brian Wilson sang, “There’s a

world where I can go and tell my secrets to/ In my room, in my room/ In this world I lock out all my worries and my fears/ In my room, in my room,” and all of America related. Yet, most of our rooms had been occupied, in as private a way, by dozens of others before.

In twelve years, I moved into and out of eight apartments in New York City. Each time, a new space was just that: new. Mine, immediately, exclusively. I’d envision where pieces of furniture or works of art would live, never imagining the foreign lamps and conversations that had previously roosted, even though the very nature of my occupation was predicated on sequential tenancy. This is a strange defense mechanism we intuitively employ, or rather, selectively employ, because, of course, there are countless spaces in which we exclusively imagine past ghosts. See where Thomas Jefferson once slept. Wander stone-walled rooms where Incan priests sacrificed animals. Then again, these postmortem pictures and our desire to construct them are born of clues left behind, in hotel ledgers or missionaries’ diaries. This must be why, before we move into a previously occupied space, all clues have been removed. We want a clean slate, to know nothing of

our home’s ex-boyfriends. Otherwise, those people’s worlds will seep into the borders of our own, like color filling a cartoon pane that’s already drawn. That’s what happened when I found a toy ring in a dusty corner of an elevated side room in my basement apartment in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn — and how I came to live with the previous tenant of 175 Green Avenue. The ring became a talisman. I’d brush my teeth and watch the little cave morph from my office into a child’s playroom, pink and green, cluttered and carpeted. Then it would shift again, now filling with the posters, hair ties and lip glosses of a teenage girl who might have procured the token from a gumball machine, with friends who have similar ones in different colors. For reasons I don’t fully understand, it brought me great comfort to think of the imaginary girls’ footsteps pacing the same circles as mine, of them waking in the middle of the night to the same degree of darkness, to imagine their ghost belongings occupying simultaneously the same space as my corporeal items. “There’s a world where I can go and tell my secrets to/ Because others have before me and their secrets remain, collecting on the walls like pillows, stopping up gaps under the doors/ In our room, in our room.” It’s a brand new space that would leave me uneasy, fearful that my worries and my fears would find ways in through cracks not yet clogged. But each to her own. Some people feel panic when they look at the stars and fathom their smallness in the universe, while others feel peace. PS Jane Borden is a native of Greensboro and the author of the highly acclaimed memoir I Totally Meant To Do That. Illustration by Meridith Martens

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Speak, Memory

Afternoon, 1946

By Jean Freeman Carver

Illustration by Kira Schoenfelder

The gray weathered stucco house stands

close by the village road; deep balconies encircle its two stories like wraparound porches in the southern part of the USA. Comfortable lounges and chairs, placed in friendly groupings, provide conversational areas for teas or cocktails. Rosebushes climb the trellis, their pink and white blossoms drooping in profusion. Down below, formal garden circles filled with snapdragons, zinnias, larkspur and daises accent the garden, all in abundance of color, for the time is spring.

I sit with my cup of hot sweet tea on the table beside me, an almost forgotten book in my lap, my thumb between pages to mark my place. In this peaceful setting in Greece in 1946, it’s easy to forget the war and the destruction that surrounds me, to forget that I’m an expatriate in a country seven thousand miles from my North Carolina home. Today there is such stillness; such silence from the guns I often hear in the mountains high above us in our Kavala village. My husband, Jim, and I left our Aegean seaport home yesterday for this twenty-five mile inland trip to the small town of Serres. This area grows an abundance of tobacco, and Jim, who works as a tobacco buyer for Liggett & Myers, needs to check on the farmers in this part of Greece as to the condition and size of this year’s crop. I came along, as I often do on Jim’s tobacco excursions, just to be with him and to hope for a holiday from the sounds of gunfire

in the hills above Kavala. The company house in Serres is lovely and comfortable with a roof-top water deposit large enough to assure us of daily baths — a Macedonian luxury. During the last phase of the war, while British occupied Greece, the military requisitioned this house to use as their officer’s mess. It has recently been repaired and restored to its original state, and now two young American men, who also work for Liggett & Myers, live here. When we arrived yesterday, they extended us a hearty welcome, happy to be able to relax and speak English with fellow Americans, and when they learned that we were bridge players, our welcome was doubly gracious. Tonight, the four of us are guaranteed an evening of entertainment. I look across the valley at the red-roofed, whitewashed stucco houses and beyond to a path of a road that rises into a desolate landscape of barren hills, of sky, of horizon, and then into nothingness. I sit on the top-floor balcony, high enough to see over the house’s protecting wall, but close enough to the road to see faces and produce in vehicles as they coast down the hill; or to hear the change of gears as the cars struggle to climb again. Greek license plates with their peculiar markings emphasize to me my foreign surroundings. Devastation lies all around, roofs caved in, walls crumbled, hovels flattened. There should at least be a semblance of peace in the middle of this destruction, for the Big War has ended; but now added to this crippled country, Greece is actively involved in civil war. This is a more intimate struggle where no clear demarcation forms a boundary between friend and enemy. Knocks on doors at night may come from invited guests or as easily from brigands who arrive to steal husbands and sons and carry them off to the mountains, seldom to be seen again. I lift my cup and take a sip of the warm tea. The afternoon sun is low in the sky, the village quiet, and the scene around me mesmerizing. Suddenly, a roaring noise breaks the silence, the spell. A truck roars by, speed-

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February 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SPeAk, memory

ing down the hill, changing gears to break its speed as it approaches the village. Now I can hear yells and high-pitched screaming and singing moments before the vehicle arrives near enough for me to see its passengers. As it slows down the hill, I see the truck with a flatbed attached. Five men, in dirty khaki attire, stand in the flatbed, swaying slightly to secure their balance. They spot me on the balcony, and one man yells for the driver to slow to a stop. He parks the truck by the side of the road just beyond the gate, close enough for them to hear me whisper. Each of the five men stoops to pick up an object from the bed of the truck. They hold these objects up and dangle them over the side as far as their sun-blackened arms will reach, yelling at me, “Look! Look!” Now I identify those objects as five heads the brigands have decapitated. They hold them by the hair of their heads, swing them in the air and then turn them so they look straight into my eyes. I am too devastated, too paralyzed, to turn away. They are young faces, young sons or fathers, their cheeks swollen from tears and brutality. Their wide open eyes stare in frozen terror. The brigands sing and dance and yell in gleeful orgy, their eyes glittering like psychedelic neon signs. A car drives up the steep incline, and the truck shifts slightly to give it space to pass. Its change of position breaks the spell, and I move like a sleepwalker through the balcony door and into the house. The brigands call to me as I disappear, and then they begin yelling to the people below for another audience. I stand trembling against the door frame, the yelling, screaming and brutal laughter still ringing in my ears as the swinging heads and frozen faces sear my brain. From hearsay, I know this is no uncommon sight in Macedonia, but one I had hoped never to see. I also know from hearsay that when the brigands are finished with traumatizing their road-side audiences, their truck will brake at the bottom of the hill and slow enough for the brigands to fling their decapitated heads into the village square. I know that word of the atrocity will spread through the village, and by sundown, mothers of the victims, their heads covered in black, will trudge to the village square to identify their sons. And tonight, Jim and I , and our two new American acquaintances, will gather around the bridge table. From the distant mountains, we’ll hear the occasional sound of gunfire, or maybe a truck’s back-fire will be enough to ignite our overactive imaginations. We’ll deal the cards, put our suits in order, evaluate our hands and make our bids. And as we sip our ouzos and plan our strategy, we’ll struggle to keep our minds connected to our contracts. PS

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Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Among woodpeckers, our lone winter visitor

By Susan Campbell

Woodpeckers

abound here in the Sandhills. On a given day you might see up to eight different species. Only one, however, is a winter visitor: the handsome yellow-bellied sapsucker. This medium-sized, black and white bird is well-camouflaged against the tree trunks where it is typically found. It also sports red plumage on the head, as so many North American species do. The female has only a red crown, whereas the male also sports a red throat. And, as their name implies, both sexes have a yellow tinge to their bellies. However, young of the year arriving in late October to early November are drab, with grayish plumage and lacking the colorful markings of their parents. But by the time they head back north in March, they, too, will be well-patterned.

There are four sapsucker species found in North America. The yellowbellied has the largest range and is the only one seen east of the Rockies. Sapsuckers do, in fact, feed on sap year-round. They seek out softer hardwood trees and drill holes through the bark into the living tissue. This wound will then ooze sap in short order. Not only do the carbohydrates in the liquid provide nourishment to the birds but also to insects that get trapped in the sticky substance. Holes made by yellow-bellied sapsuckers form neat rows in the bark of red maples, tulip poplars and even Bradford pears in our area. Pines, however, not only tend to have bark that is too

thick for sapsuckers to penetrate, but rapidly scab over, rendering only a very brief flow of sap. The injury caused by sapsuckers is generally not fatal to the tree, as long as it is healthy to begin with. Infection of the wound by fungi or other diseases may occur in older or stressed trees. Although the relationship is not mutually beneficial, sapsuckers need the trees for their survival. It is also interesting to note that others use the wells created by sapsuckers. Birds known to have a “sweet tooth” such as orioles and hummingbirds will take advantage of the yellow-bellied sapsucker’s handiwork. The species breeds in pine forests throughout boreal Canada, the upper Midwest as well as New England. We do have summering populations at elevation in western North Carolina. It is not unusual to find them around Blowing Rock in the warmer months. As is typical for woodpeckers, sapsuckers create cavities in dead trees for nesting purposes. They use calls as well as drumming to advertise their territory. The typical call note is a short, high-pitched catlike mewing sound. They use more emphatic squealing and rapid tapping of their bills against dead wood or other suitable resonating surfaces to warn would-be competitors of their presence. In winter, yellow-bellieds quietly coexist with the other woodpeckers in the area. It will seek out holly and other berries in addition to feeding on sap. These birds will feed on suet too, so may be attracted to backyard feeding stations. Generally it does not drink sugar water, since feeders designed for hummingbirds or orioles are not configured for use by clinging species. Of course, as with all birds, it may be lured in by fresh water: another reason to maintain a birdbath or two (even if you live on a lake). Seeing a sapsucker at close range is always a treat, so keep an eye out for this unusual woodpecker! PS Susan would love to hear from you. Send wildlife sightings and photos to susan@ncaves.com or call (910) 949-3207.

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44 February 2013 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e sp o r t i n g l i f e

Dog Heaven

On Earth they were our most faithful companions

By Tom Bryant

Afierce wind was blowing a cold steady

Photographs Courtesy of Tom Bryant

rain out of the northeast, and I was at home standing under our arbor wishing I were someplace else, like in a duck marsh. 2012 roared by a little too fast for me to keep up, I thought, as a particularly strong gust blew rain in my face. A little colder and it could snow. Isn’t this just the way, duck weather arrives when duck season leaves.

Linda, my bride, was at the beach visiting with some of her girlfriends and I was on my own for the day. I had planned to dewinterize the little Airstream to get her ready for our early spring trip to Everglades City in Florida; but with weather like this, I probably needed to pour in some more antifreeze. The heck with it. There’s freshly laid wood in the den fireplace and some old hunting photos and journals to sort through. Today’s the perfect day to reminisce and remind myself why it is I spend so much time in the woods. I had a warm fire going after only one match, thanks to Pinebluff Boy Scout Troop 206, then went in the kitchen for a cup of freshly brewed Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. I arranged all the photos and journals I wanted to look at and kicked back in my old leather chair. It was going to be a good day. I’m not the most orderly person in the world but, fortunately, Linda is. She had gone through a lot of photos, family as well as sporting, and had organized them in several albums. There were still quite a few more pictures that were randomly stacked in boxes, and I started with those first. The first photograph I pulled from the nearest box was a stopper. There were five of us standing around a pickup truck that had a dog box in the bed. A field trial, I thought. Paddle was my first yellow Lab and she was just

a puppy. This was her first field trial and we were at a Tar Heel Retriever Club event on Edwin Clapp’s farm in Siler City. It had to be in the early ’80s, as Paddle was just three or four months old. The five of us in the photo were a lot younger, just like our dogs, but in some cases not as well behaved. At the time I considered it as a random occurrence, the five of us from varied backgrounds with retriever dogs all about the same age. We would become lifelong friends, and I’ve kept in contact with the guys over the years. Dick Coleman was sitting on the tailgate, I was leaning on the side of the truck, arms crossed, deep in a conversation that long ago disappeared from memory. Jim Lasley was on the other side of the vehicle laughing at something Edwin had said, and Tom Pate looked as if he was just taking it all in. It happens sometimes. The stars align, the moon happens to be in the right quarter and good luck abounds. We all had great retrievers, and I can remember each dog and the personality it sported as well as its owner’s. Edwin’s dog, Dick, was a big male yellow Lab that was so smart it was uncanny. Dick won more than his share of field trials and made game retrieves that we still talk about. Jim’s dog, Sandy, a golden retriever, was the most loving dog I can remember, other than Paddle, of course. There was one goose-hunting trip we made to Easton, Maryland, when Sandy rode in the center of the rear bench seat between Jim and me and was more civilized than the rest of us on that adventure. Somewhere, maybe in one of these boxes, I have a photo of Sandy sleeping so close to the giant fireplace in the Tidewater Inn he almost could have been one of the logs. Dick’s dog, Honcho, a blocky, black Lab built low to the ground, had a head that we jokingly referred to as being as big as an alligator’s. Honcho had a mind of his own. One of my fondest memories is the evening Jim Lasley and I drove Dick home after a Ducks Unlimited banquet. Dick had just bought the little black fur ball at the event’s auction and we were riding them home for two reasons: one, to make sure they got there, and the other, to run interference for Dick when he introduced his new life-long friend to his bride, Lida.

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T h e sp o r t i n g l i f e

Tom’s dog, Princess, was the different one of the group. A petite Boykin spaniel, she more than made up with heart for her lack of size. She could compete with the bigger dogs and actually show some of them how it should be done. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to participate in the Tar Heel Trials because, at that time, the AKC did not recognize Boykins as a registered breed. It worked out OK, though, because Princess was a family dog and Tom’s dad hunted with her more than any other member of the family. Later, Tom got a long-legged, rangy black Lab that made retrieves that did the Labrador breed proud, but Tom never forgot that Princess set the standard. Last but not least in this canine quintuplet was my yellow Lab, Paddle. It’s often said among the sporting dog crowd that if you put in the time and pay your dues, you will one day have a dog that will make you proud. Not just occasionally but all the time. I was lucky; Paddle fit the description from the very beginning. She was so smart in her special dog way that I was constant-

ly amazed. In field trials, she placed second in her first puppy stake, and won her first derby contest. In actual hunting situations, she made some retrieves that seemed next to impossible. She loved my old Bronco because when she was in it, we were on the way to something fun. Coleman even thought I should let Paddle drive after we had a hard day afield. All these dogs have gone on to that great duck hunting marsh in the sky, just waiting for us to join them. As a matter of fact, one of the five men who were standing around that old pickup in those early dog-training days has already made the trip. Life goes by in such a hurry that I’m sure some of us will be following in the not too distant future. It’s good to know that Coleman and the dogs are waiting. PS Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

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G o L F T oW n J o u r nA L

Golf’s idle Season

yes, it’s dark and cold outside� What a perfect time to get yourself ready for spring

By lee paCe

“If we had

no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” — Anne Bradstreet

T. S. Eliot was off by two months — February is the cruelest month, not April. Your 6-iron stings if you don’t catch it flush. Some guys pack it in for four months, so games are harder to come by, but that’s not all bad, as a solitary round on foot in the winter gloaming can be quite nourishing. There’s no such thing as a quick nine after work. The five-day forecast is the most important data point on your hand-held device — any numbers fifty or above and a sunny avatar on the screen are cause for celebration. At least in the Sandhills, your golf ball’s not perpetually muddy like those bounding along soggy clay-based fairways throughout winter. In the spirit of Pinehurst’s genesis — the resort and village were conceived in 1895 as a wintertime escape for snowbound Yankees not wishing the rigors of a two-day journey to Florida — here are some ideas for slogging through the dark months. Go South. Find a place warm and sunny. First choice: The Dominican Republic and Casa de Campo. American Airlines flies directly from Miami into the tiny town of La Romana, which sits next to the 7,000-acre enclave of seaside splendor. There are fifty-four holes of golf, the most famous of which are certainly the eighteenth on The Teeth of the Dog, a Pete Dye masterpiece that opened in the early 1970s. The course is ranked No. 43 among Golf Magazine’s best in the world, with seven holes pitched on the cliffs above the

Caribbean Sea. You can ride horses, go snorkeling, eat fresh fish and drink rum until the snowy North is a mere blur, and perhaps do so while spotting the likes of Cameron Diaz, Beyoncé, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez. Learn Yoga. So much of good golf is core strength and flexibility, and the ancient practices of posing and contorting one’s limbs and core into a pretzel pay significant dividends in those areas. “Yoga is a great full-body stretch and full-body workout,” says Jennifer Reid, spa director at Pinehurst. “Power and stability in the golf swing come from the core. Yoga strengthens the core as well as anything you can do. And when we say ‘core,’ we don’t mean abdominals only. We’re talking lower-back, mid-back. Flexibility comes from the lower and mid-back.” Annika Sorenstam has long extolled the wonders that yoga has done for her golf game. PGA Champions Tour golfer Joe Inman does as well: “Before I tried yoga, I thought it was for all those nuts from California,” Inman says. “But it’s wonderful. I wish to God I’d done this when I was 25.” Check Your Shafts. Bob Burwell grew up around the Pinehurst golf scene and for three decades has operated Robert’s Golf Shop in Aberdeen. The 5,000-square-foot-facility was the proverbial “big box” golf shop before anyone had heard of Edwin Watts. Robert’s will check your shafts, lies and lofts on your golf clubs at no charge — a perfect idea for the off-season. “As a guy gets a little older, maybe has an injury or two, he doesn’t swing quite like he once did,” Burwell says. “Those shafts that were fine several years ago are now too stiff. The shaft is the engine of the golf club. If you get

G o lft o w n J o u r n al

the shaft right, you’re 90 percent there.” Burwell will also direct anyone who laments his banana ball, stiff shoulders, faulty gap wedge or fatigue after fifteen holes to the Titleist Performance Institute website (www.mytpi.com), a massive collection of golfspecific health and fitness information from experts throughout the game. Toy Time. Of course, it’s always fun to strut to the first tee in April with a sparkling new wand in your golf bag. Titleist has just updated its line of drivers and fairway metals after three years, and the new 913 driver offers improved adjustability during fitting and more speed off every point on the clubface. The 913 continues the use of Titleist’s watershed SureFit Tour hosel technology, a system that

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. . . the new Ghost line of putters that stand out from the crowd with their stark white color . . . allows loft and lie to be independently adjusted for each golfer to optimize ball flight and achieve a more precise fit. There are sixteen unique lie and loft combinations. The SureFit is best adjusted by a trained fitter, but it can easily be done by the consumer by using the guide provided with every driver purchase. “It’s the most precise metal wood fitting technology available,” says Titleist official Chris McGinley. “That’s why we call it Tour-van-in-ahosel. What we used to have to do in a Tour van, we now do at the point of fitting. We have the ability to change loft and lie independent of each other. You can set loft and adjust lie. Or set lie and adjust loft. No one else has that capability, and it’s very powerful when fitting all golfers.” Manufacturers have ramped up their attention to R&D in the putter category in recent years. Today you can buy an iPhone app from Ping that measures stroke type, as defined by the amount of putter rotation through the ball, impact angle and tempo. TaylorMade has the new Ghost line of putters that stand out from the crowd with their stark white color — the better to reduce “hot spots” on sunny days for better alignment. And Odyssey putters from Callaway Golf has introduced the Flip Face putter — giving golfers the choice of switching from a harder to softer impact surface.

February 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

G o L F T oW n J o u r nA L

Tweak Your Closet. Peter Millar, a Raleighbased clothing concern that has set the benchmark for color in its decade of existence, is the go-to resource to add some style and pop to your golf wardrobe for spring. Its spring catalog glows with colors that challenge the wordsmith and the dye-maker: Majesty (purple), Saltwater (light and dark green), Elixir (light and dark blue) and Tango (pink and orange). The fabrics trace the globe: cashmere, pima cotton, linen, silk and microfiber. And the cuts seem infinite: sweaters for early spring have collars ranging from shawl to crewneck to V-neck to quarter-zip. Of course, the base to the whole shebang is the classic chino — khaki, stone or British tan is the ideal backdrop against a dollop of amethyst. Revisit The Classics. NFL playoffs are over, March Madness has yet to begin, and the PGA Tour from a manufactured garden in Arizona is a cruel tease. Thus a dour Sunday afternoon in February is perfect for a fireplace and a good book, and golf beyond all others has spawned a wonderful library. As author George Plimpton observed, baseball “has produced some interesting books, but golf by far is the best.” Charles Price, who called Pinehurst home in both the dawn and dusk of his luminous writing career, produced The World of Golf in 1962, and these three hundred pages of text and historical photos will kill a couple of hours quick as a cat. British author P.G. Wodehouse penned the short-story compendiums The Clinking of Cuthbert and The Heart of a Goof in the 1920s, and readers howled 90 years ago as they do today over the golfing antics of Cuthbert Banks, Mortimer Sturgis and others trundling about the fairways of Wood Hills. Of recent vintage, Kevin Cook’s excellent tome on the lives of Old and Young Tom Morris, Tommy’s Honor, will spirit one back to the links of Prestwick and St. Andrews in the 1860s. And then there are the prescient words of one Arnold Haultain, who wrote in his classic 1908 work, The Mystery of Golf, of his recent conversion to golf and his total consummation with the game. “The duffer is puzzled at the extraordinary fascination which his new-found past-time exercises over him,” he says. “He came to scoff, he remains to play; and he inwardly wonders how it was that he was so long a heretic.” Which serves to make us all the more anxious for the vernal eqinox. Perhaps the Bard was etching last November’s dirt from the grooves of his 8-iron when he mused, “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” PS Lee Pace’s most recent book, The Golden Age of Pinehurst, is available at Pinehurst Resort golf shop and bookstores everywhere. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � February 2013

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February 2013 Always Kissing They are always kissing, they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t control themselves.

It is not possible that any creature can have greater instincts and perceptions than the mature human mind.

God ripened me. So I see it as true: all objects in existence are wildly in love. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328)

Photographs by Tim Sayer

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Love, observed the ancient poet Ovid, is a kind of warfare. As anyone who has fallen in love with somebody else can confirm, the course of true love

rarely runs all that smoothly — especially if marriage and baby makes three (or more). Understanding your lover’s true nature and — unlike, say, Congress — learning to accommodate the essential likes and dislikes and key differences between you, scientists claim, is the key to forging a successful modern marriage and enduring love match. The good news for married folks — old hands and newcomers alike — is that, statistically speaking, they live longer, enjoy better sex and generate more income than their single counterparts — not to mention act altruistically in society and vote regularly, which may or may not be good news for a Congress that exhibits all the traits of a failing marriage. Be that as it may, a recent poll of couples married five years or more indicated that men believed they could predict their wives’ personal tastes and reactions to random relationship questions at least 75 percent of the time. The women surveyed merely laughed. In the interest of getting at the heart of the matter, PineStraw found five brave local couples willing to put it all on the line for love — and a splash-up Valentine’s Day dinner at 195 American Fusion Cuisine — by submitting to our own crafty little Game of Love. The results were rather eye-opening — and a lot of good clean fun.

Shot on location at 195 American Fusion Cuisine

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Alicia & Rashad Gatling

Married March 20, 2010 l First date: The End Zone Restaurant l How they met: They met each other in High School, but got to know each other when Alicia was a student at UNCChapel Hill l Children: Reese, 4 months l Alicia is the Site Coordinator for Communities in Schools. Rashad is the Spa Group Coordinator for the Spa at Pinehurst Resort

Five-point questions for Rashad: 1) What one thing does your wife have too much of? Rashad: Make up Alicia: Personality

Five-point questions for Alicia:

✔

1) What celebrity does your husband most resemble? Rashad & Alicia: Vin Diesel

2) If your wife could choose one thing of yours to get rid of, what would she choose? Rashad: My X-Box Alicia: His gun

2) Which of the following candies best describes your first kiss?

3) How would you complete this sentence? My wife is a natural-born ___________. Rashad: Leader Alicia: Runner

3) Complete this sentence: Not many people know it but my husband is really good at ________. Alicia: Singing Rashad: Procrastinating

4) What is your wife’s all-time favorite movie? Rashad: Dirty Dancing Alicia: Forest Gump 5) Complete this sentence: I knew I had found the love of my life when she _______________. Rashad: Returned my phone calls Alicia: Cooked for him 6) What traffic sign best describes your wife on a bad day? Rashad & Alicia: Proceed with caution

✔

BONUS 10-POIN T QUESTION 7) How will your wife complete this sentence? My husband has more ________ than anyone else I know. Rashad & Alicia: Drive/Attitude

a. Starburst b. Good and Plenty c. Hot Tamales d. Goobers e. Milk Duds

Alicia: Starburst Rashad: Hot Tamales

✔

4) What is the one item of clothing that your husband wears that you just can’t stand? Rashad & Alicia: Draw string sweat pants 5) If your huband were lost, he would most likely

a. Pretend not to be lost b. Stop and ask for directions c. Ask you for directions d. Stop and buy a map

Alicia: Ask me for directions Rashad: Stop and ask directions 6) If your husband were an animal, what would that animal be? Alicia: Honey badger Rashad: Lion 7) What character on Downton Abbey best describes your husband?

✔

a. Bates b. Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham c. Matthew d. Mr. Carson

Rashad & Alicia: Matthew

8) What would your husband say is your favorite thing to squeeze in the supermarket? Alicia: Melons Rashad: Loaf of bread BONUS 10-POINT QUESTION 9) Wives, fill in these blanks: My husband may be the world’s best ______, but he may also be the world’s worst ________. Alicia: Athlete / cook Rashad: Dad / communicator

Total Points: 20

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Damita & Tim Nocton

Married August 8, 1986 l First date: Tim’s Friday the 13th Party l How they met: Grew up together l Children: Caleb l Damita is a First Grade Teacher at Southern Pines Primary. Tim is an Associate Professor at Sandhills Community College

Five-point questions for Tim:

Five-point questions for Damita:

1) What one thing does your wife have too much of? Tim & Damita: Books

1) What celebrity does your husband most resemble? Damita: Brad Pitt, it’s the nose Tim: Elmer Fudd

✔

2) If your wife could choose one thing of yours to get rid of, what would she choose? Tim: My jokes Damita: Old trophies

2) Which of the following candies best describes your first kiss?

✔

3) Complete this sentence: Not many people know it but my husband is really good at ________. Tim & Damita: Mooing like a cow

3) How would you complete this sentence? My wife is a natural-born ___________. Tim: Talker Damita: Teacher

✔

4) What is your wife’s all-time favorite movie? Tim & Damita: Out of Africa

✔

5) Complete this sentence: I knew I had found the love of my life when she _______________. Tim: Introduced the special ed team at the high school pep-rally Damita: When I rode out in a truck to see cow surgery with him 6) What traffic sign best describes your wife on a bad day? Tim: Hazardous Waste Damita: Caution 10-POINT BONUS QUESTION 7) How will your wife complete this sentence? My husband has more ________ than anyone else I know. Tim & Damita: Stories

✔

a. Starburst b. Good and Plenty c. Hot Tamales d. Goobers e. Milk Duds

Tim & Damita: Starburst

4) What is the one item of clothing that your husband wears that you just can’t stand? Tim & Damita: Five ﬁnger running shoes 5) If your huband were lost, he would most likely

a. Pretend not to be lost b. Stop and ask for directions c. Ask you for directions d. Stop and buy a map

Damita: Pretend not to be lost, and keep driving Tim: Buy a map 6) If your husband were an animal, what would that animal be? Damita: Pig (sorry, Tim) Tim: Koala bear 7) What character on Downton Abbey best describes your husband?

a. Bates b. Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham c. Matthew d. Mr. Carson

Damita: Bates Tim: Matthew

8) What would your husband say is your favorite thing to squeeze in the supermarket? Damita: Grapes Tim: Avocado 10-POINT BONUS QUESTION 9) Wives, fill in these blanks: My husband may be the world’s best ______, but he may also be the world’s worst ________. Damita: Husband / singer Tim: Teacher / public speaker

Total Points: 35

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

James & Lucille Buck

Married December 26, 1960 l First date: The movie Sink the Bismarck, and dinner at the Rathskeller in Chapel Hill l How they met: Duke University Law School & Graduate School l Three Children and Seven Grandchildren l Lucille is a retired Division Head of The Hewitt School, New York, NY. Jim is retired Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of the New York Stock Exchange

Five-point questions for Jim: 1) What one thing does your wife have too much of? Jim: Pizzaz/Effervescence Lucille: Gall 2) If your wife could choose one thing of yours to get rid of, what would she choose? Jim & Lucille: Neckties

✔

3) How would you complete this sentence? My wife is a natural-born ___________. Jim: Talker Lucille: Entertainer 4) What is your wife’s all-time favorite movie? Jim: Sink the Bismarck Lucille: Mrs. Miniver 5) Complete this sentence: I knew I had found the love of my life when she _______________. Jim & Lucille: Agreed to come to Akron, Ohio

✔

6) What traffic sign best describes your wife on a bad day? Jim: Deer Crossing Lucille: Dead End BONUS 10-POIN T QUESTION 7) How will your wife complete this sentence? My husband has more ________ than anyone else I know. Jim: Wrong ideas Lucille: Sex appeal & gumption

Five-point questions for Lucille: 1) What celebrity does your husband most resemble? Lucille: Cary Grant (except Jim’s alive and wears glasses) Jim: Newt Gingrich 2) Which of the following candies best describes your first kiss?

a. Starburst b. Good and Plenty c. Hot Tamales d. Goobers e. Milk Duds

Lucille: Good & Plenty, (Jim will say Hot Tamale) Jim: Hot Tamales

3) Complete this sentence: Not many people know it but my husband is really good at ________. Lucille: Pleasing me, he’s a good dancer, makes good Manhattans, brings me coffee in bed, giving me babies back when. . . and buying jewelry Jim: Pleasing me

✔

4) What is the one item of clothing that your husband wears that you just can’t stand? Lucille: Golf hat, old sneakers, all of his ties Jim: Ties 5) If your huband were lost, he would most likely

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

a. Pretend not to be lost b. Stop and ask for directions c. Ask you for directions d. Stop and buy a map

Lucille: Pretend not to be lost (then ask me and blame me for being lost) Jim: Pretend not to be lost 6) If your husband were an animal, what would that animal be? Lucille & Jim: Buck (of course) 7) What character on Downton Abbey best describes your husband?

a. Bates b. Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham c. Matthew d. Mr. Carson

Lucille: Lord Grantham, or Lord somebody Jim: Lord Grantham

8) What would your husband say is your favorite thing to squeeze in the supermarket? Lucille: Avocado, (or him on occasion) Jim: Avocado BONUS 10-POINT QUESTION 9) Wives, fill in these blanks: My husband may be the world’s best ______, but he may also be the world’s worst ________. Lucille: Husband, father, grandfather / tech. user Jim: Father / at talking at dinner

Total Points: 35

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Baxter & Taylor Clement

Married April 18, 2009 l First date: June 1, 2007 l How they met: Blind date at First Friday, arranged by Baxter’s father, Bill l First child is due late March l Taylor is a financial advisor. Baxter is a Musician/Actor

Five-point questions for Baxter:

Five-point questions for Taylor:

1) What one thing does your wife have too much of? Baxter &Taylor: Shoes

1) What celebrity does your husband most resemble? Taylor: Mr. Bean Baxter: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Mr. Bean

2) If your wife could choose one thing of yours to get rid of, what would she choose? Baxter: My horrible facial hair experiments Taylor: CDs

2) Which of the following candies best describes your first kiss?

✔

3) How would you complete this sentence? My wife is a natural-born ___________. Baxter: Traveler Taylor: Singer 4) What is your wife’s all-time favorite movie? Baxter: FernGully Taylor: The Little Mermaid 5) Complete this sentence: I knew I had found the love of my life when she _______________. Baxter: Took her shoes off on our ﬁrst date Taylor: When I met your mother 6) What traffic sign best describes your wife on a bad day? Baxter: Yield Taylor: Slow, deaf child BONUS 10-POIN T QUESTION 7) How will your wife complete this sentence? My husband has more ________ than anyone else I know. Baxter & Taylor: Guitars

✔

a. Starburst b. Good and Plenty c. Hot Tamales d. Goobers e. Milk Duds

Taylor & Baxter: Starburst

3) Complete this sentence: Not many people know it but my husband is really good at ________. Taylor: Math Baxter: Amateur surgery 4) What is the one item of clothing that your husband wears that you just can’t stand? Taylor: Black jacket from being on tour, it has holes and is fraying Baxter: Spandex 5) If your huband were lost, he would most likely

a. Pretend not to be lost b. Stop and ask for directions c. Ask you for directions d. Stop and buy a map

Taylor: Stop and ask for directions Baxter: Ask an iPhone

6) If your husband were an animal, what would that animal be? Taylor: Pink unicorn , or a Loch Ness monster named Nessie Baxter: Loch Ness monster

✔

7) What character on Downton Abbey best describes your husband?

✔

a. Bates b. Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham c. Matthew d. Mr. Carson

Taylor & Baxter: Bates

8) What would your husband say is your favorite thing to squeeze in the supermarket? Taylor: Avocadoes Baxter: My bottom or melons BONUS 10-POINT QUESTION 9) Wives, fill in these blanks: My husband may be the world’s best ______, but he may also be the world’s worst ________. Taylor: guitar player / bagpiper Baxter: lover / cowboy

Total Points: 30

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Tiffany & Will Carpenter

Married June 9, 2012 l First date: Downtown Southern Pines Parks, Little Dino sub & fries that Will set on fire trying to keep them warm l How they met: Physical Therapy l Tiffany is a hair stylist. Will is a branch manager at BB&T

Five-point questions for Will: 1) What one thing does your wife have too much of? Will: Purses Tiffany: Shoes 2) If your wife could choose one thing of yours to get rid of, what would she choose? Will: Carolina memorabilia Tiffany: ESPN/Red Zone

Five-point questions for Tiffany: 1) What celebrity does your husband most resemble? Tiffany: Will Ferrell Will: George Clooney 2) Which of the following candies best describes your first kiss?

a. Starburst b. Good and Plenty c. Hot Tamales d. Goobers e. Milk Duds

Tiffany: Hot Tamales Will: Goobers

3) How would you complete this sentence? My wife is a natural-born ___________. Will: Bombshell Tiffany: Talker

3) Complete this sentence: Not many people know it but my husband is really good at ________. Tiffany: Watching football all day Will: Math

4) What is your wife’s all-time favorite movie? Will: Beauty & the Beast Tiffany: The Love of Basketball

4) What is the one item of clothing that your husband wears that you just can’t stand? Tiffany & Will: Long-sleeved demin shirt

5) Complete this sentence: I knew I had found the love of my life when she _______________. Will: Gave me her phone number Tiffany: I hate to say this, but when I could drink him under the table 6) What traffic sign best describes your wife on a bad day? Will: Do not pass Tiffany: Caution BONUS 10-POIN T QUESTION 7) How will your wife complete this sentence? My husband has more ________ than anyone else I know. Will: Chest hair Tiffany: Patience

✔

5) If your huband were lost, he would most likely

✔

a. Pretend not to be lost b. Stop and ask for directions c. Ask you for directions d. Stop and buy a map

Tiffany & Will: GPS

6) If your husband were an animal, what would that animal be? Tiffany: Bird Will: Goldendoodle 7) What character on Downton Abbey best describes your husband?

✔

a. Bates b. Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham c. Matthew d. Mr. Carson

Tiffany & Will: Bates

8) What would your husband say is your favorite thing to squeeze in the supermarket? Tiffany: Bread Will: Tomatoes BONUS 10-POINT QUESTION 9) Wives, fill in these blanks: My husband may be the world’s best ______, but he may also be the world’s worst ________. Tiffany: Husband / at talking on the phone Will: Listener / talker

Total Points: 15

Photograph by cassie butler

Into Africa

The story of two remarkable women — an artist and a deacon — who brought self-sufﬁciency and pride to a village in Tanzania, changing their own lives in the process

Story anD art By JeSSIe maCKay

t was getting dark in a village with no electricity as my friend Tally Bandy baptized her 80th person, a man in his 40s. This was our last day in Tanzania and we had gone far out into the bush making numerous wrong turns on dirt tracks, fording dry streambeds with others from Msalato to this baptism of 240 people! Tally and two priests performed the sacrament, each taking 80 people. It took all day. The holy water was murky water drawn from some far-off well dug by hands of women and children. The pan used was the only pan they had, and when it came time for the offering, the water was chucked and the pan became the offering plate, but not before a chicken had come up to it and taken a drink. The smallest children had not seen a muzungu (white person) before and wailed when placed in the arms of the person welcoming them into the Church. Why Africa? What do you do there? Good questions. We are on our own, unaffiliated, yet mightily supported by people mainly from Moore County who have joined us in our work in Tanzania. Tally Bandy is a retired deacon in the Episcopal Church, living with her husband, Claude, in Whispering Pines — and I am a painter, living in Pinehurst. So, to the question “why Africa?” a quote from Frederick Buechner comes to mind: “. . . go to that place where the needs in the world will ignite the passions in your heart, tap your natural gifts, etc . . . go to that place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I had been on a number of wonderful, sanitized safaris to Africa and one more rugged safari where friends and I rode horses across Malawi’s Nika region into Zambia. On that journey I got to see more off-the-tourist-tract villages where people were truly struggling to stay alive. I knew then that I wanted to go back and “do something”! It took over ten years to find the right opportunity and during that time I met and became friends with Tally, who shared the same desire after having been to South Africa in 2007. In 2008 we chanced upon a perfect opportunity for us both in Tanzania. It was through the Msalato Theological College in Dodoma, Tanzania. Tally would teach pastoral care and theology and I would teach art at a nearby primary school, while researching needs in that region. Over the years our work has expanded to include women’s empowerment and more extensive fundraising. Coming to this place for our fifth summer, we step back into a very deep past way of living and being. We go to a region of subsistence farmers, who till a patch of land “Shambas” with iron-age tools, and pray the rains will come. It has an Old Testament look in terms of lifestyle — goats, sheep, mud huts, thatch or other organic material for roofs which wash out in the rainy season, few possessions. The villages lack electricity and there is no plumbing, as there is no water. Their wealth and currency of exchange is in their animals. Their “portfolios” walk out to graze on a parched landscape and the manager of this portfolio is a male child who shepherds them to grazing areas when he should really be in school. We wonder if the milk in our tea has been boiled, we take anti-malarial pills daily, and sleep under mosquito nets. In the villages we visit, we go to bed

The Artist l Jessie Mackay Tanzanian Villagers

when it gets dark at 7:00 and the cooking fire has gone out, taking the light with it. We have time to think! Time to listen, not only to the stories of our hosts, but to the sounds of animals and wind in this raw, desolate land of our origins. I appreciate this silence. At home it is hard to find. Stores and malls play music, you cannot go to the doctors, or get the oil changed without the ubiquitous television disrupting any attempts at an inner life. We come here from a place where we live in the center, not the extremes . . . it has altered us profoundly for the better. At the college, our lifestyle is bare-boned, but we have conveniences such as furniture, electricity, plumbing. Here we have formed very rich relationships and learned so much about the life and culture in Tanzania and how it differs from our own. We have formed friendships and trust with the people we work with that have ensured the success of our projects so far. The first project was finding a way to help the primary school where I was teaching art. Teachers there were working without pay, the classrooms were grim, and the transport the children used to get to school were dangerous public mini-buses built to hold 17 people, but always stuffed with 38 plus. Tally and I had ridden these death traps to town and thus understood the fear parents experienced with their children using them to get to school. Also, they were expensive for the school, so though it took three years, a former business contact of mine in Germany bought a proper school bus as well as helping the school pay down a debt and get back on an even keel. Dearest to our hearts, however, have been the women’s empowerment projects. Having bonded with the women in Ikowa Village, we

asked what we could do to help them. Their lives were toil-laden, rising before the sun to make a cooking fire, gathering water from a well three-and-a-half miles away, walking hours to gather firewood (this walk gets longer every year as the trees are cut for wood). So much of their energy is expended simply to survive another day. There is no cushion. For many, no money to buy a school uniform for their child so that he or she can attend the state school. They rely on their husbands for support, who in many cases cannot provide in a land with unreliable rainfall. Many of the men sit around in idle agitation and despair, numbing themselves with homemade brew, locked into inaction by a culture which dictates their role must not include helping with duties such as gathering water or firewood, tending to children and small domestic animals. The worst thing about being poor is not the lack of things, but shame. Unable to provide for their families wounds their souls past the breaking point, adding even more stress to the families. The women met with each other and discussed what kind of project they would like to do that would provide much needed income and decided on raising pigs. We had told them we could provide $500 in a loan that would need to be repaid the following summer. It is important to note here that the success of any project depends on the ownership and initiative of those conducting it. We had nothing to do with the choosing of their project, nor in how they set it up. If it succeeded or failed it would be due to their efforts or lack thereof. The women who were active in their church were the first group to organize. There were 45 and they formed nine groups with five women in each group. Each group bought three piglets at a cost of

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PhotograPh by caSSie butler

Artist Jessie Mackay (on right), with her friend Tally Bandy $18.50 per piglet. They would raise the pigs for one year and sell them, keeping the original sows for breeding purposes. When the sows were ready for breeding, they hired a couple of boars to do the honors. We returned the next summer and with much ceremony, drumming and dancing, the women showed off their pigs, the pens they had crafted, and newly born piglets. They repaid their $500 loan in full. We had brought an additional $600 raised by people from St. Mary Magdalene Church in West End and gave that money — along with the $500 they had just repaid — back to the women and told them to lend it to new groups. The project, which was started in 2010 with 45 women, has now grown to 314 women in eight villages. The money is the original $500 plus the added $600. No new funds have been allocated from Karimu. (A word here — after the first summer we realized we needed to get organized and with the help of a retired attorney, formed a 501(c) (3) which we named Karimu and began raising funds. Neither Tally nor I had ever done this kind of thing. In fact, we did not even know what a 501(c)(3) was! We have a proper treasurer who handles the books. Also, Tally and I pay our own expenses and use the donations we receive solely

for the projects in Tanzania.) The pig projects have transformed the lives of these women. They have bought metal sheets to roof their houses, are able to send their children to school now, buy better food for their families, and even eased some of the strain from their husbands. We have learned that they also have included women who were totally without funds to contribute to the caring of the piglets, and basically sub-loaned to them. Each new group becomes the moral guarantor for the next new group. Other projects have been English classes for women, an entrepreneurship class for women who live in or near town, and scholarships for men and women attending the theological college. Pastors are often the only link for a village to the outside world. Pastors are the ones who teach them about AIDS, health issues, comfort and guide, settle disputes, and of course preach the Gospel. These five years have been a wonderful journey for us. We bring the humanity of the people here who are supporting the work, and return with the humanity of those in Tanzania who have taught us so much about what it means. PS

Sandhills Photography Club Open Print Photography Competition Class A The Sandhills Photography Club welcomes all who have an interest in improving their photography skills, and in gaining the technical knowledge that goes along with it. The club meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at The Hannah Center Theater on The O’Neal School campus. Regardless of skill or background, any prospective member is invited to attend. Information: sandhillsphotoclub.org.

First Place Optimized Category Dave Powers Peyton

Second Place Optimized Category Donna Ford Mother’s Love

First Place Creative Category

“Optimized” means minimal Photoshopping allowed; “creative” allows any amount of Photoshopping to create digital art.

Jill Margeson Hummingbirds on Defense 72

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Open Print Photography Competition Class B

First Place Optimized Category Jean Walker Special Friends

First Place Creative Category Lori Fischler Beyond the Veil

Second Place Optimized Category Suzanne Kirkman Dancing Colors

Honorable Mention Optimized Category Gene Lentz Perfectly Serene

Third Place Optimized Category John German Swallowtail

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

February 2013

The Gold Standard At 93, this classic cottage, reworked by Jill and Dale Zimmer, is a nugget of beauty and charm By Deborah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Story of a house

nything built in 1920 and dubbed The Nugget sounds more like a Prohibition era Wild West-themed speakeasy than a storybook cottage with impossibly green lawn, painted brick trim and secret garden. Sounds can be deceiving. This Nugget, home to Jill and Dale Zimmer, four dogs and two cats, was the cottage of New York horsewoman Therese “Goody” McClain. For years, McClain wintered at a hotel suite on Pennsylvania Avenue. After the hotel burned down she purchased a house across the street, demolished it, built The Nugget and bought four adjacent properties plus two more across the street. “That way, she could control who her neighbors would be,” Jill heard. The Nugget’s present configuration with gardens is equal to five prime downtown lots, all open except for the Zimmer cottage. Despite her exclusionary attitude, McClain, whose other house was a palace, built a modest (by Weymouth standards) cottage with above-ground basement apartment for the maid — now the couple’s master suite. Since then, half a dozen owners have modified the space, creating a footprint uniquely suited to the Zimmers’ casual lifestyle and illustrating Jill’s profession: furniture, wall and other surface refinishing. The gardens belong to Dale — “a flower person although he doesn’t look it,” Jill says.

l Like McClain, Jill and Dale came from elsewhere. She grew up in Washington State — he, in Pennsylvania. The military brought them to Fort Bragg. Jill augmented her business degree with horticulture studies at Sandhills Community College and worked in landscape design. Dale, who has studied architecture and drafting, remains a civilian contractor for the military. They first lived in a formal Georgian on Vermont Avenue. Jill found The Nugget on the job. While completing a landscaping installation she learned the house might be for sale: “I was drawn to the cottage style.” Everything about it appealed to her: the size, win-

Above: The nugget, cottage named by first occupant, in 1920. Below: Jill and Dale Zimmer, in the garden with one of three massive Mastiffs.

The gardens combine an informal veranda for al fresco meals and formal fountains and statuary. dows, levels, that enormous lot (part garden, part dog yard) and proximity to downtown. “We walk to the Sunrise, meet friends at a pub. We hear the marching bands at pep parades. Even if you’re not participating you get folded into it,” Jill says. They purchased The Nugget in 1999. An obvious need for upgrades intrigued Dale and Jill, who designed and worked the project themselves. They are adventurous but also meticulous; before rearranging furniture Jill plots the change on graph paper using models cut to scale. The main floor of the 2,400-square-foot house became a series of conversation areas. The first, just inside the greenhouse vestibule, presents a magnificent pink marble fireplace, an oversize gilded wall mirror and colorful unmatched upholstered pieces that somehow fill the space without crowding, hang delightfully together without formally matching, “We never buy retail,” Jill says. Instead they watch trends, haunt estate sales, move furniture around or recycle it out. The mirror, from spinster sisters’ Victorian homestead in Asheboro, came through an auction. “You couldn’t see the gold,” Jill recalls. “I restored it with a Q-Tip.” By chance, a handsome French commode (eBay) opposite the mantel has a matching marble top. The dining room became a second seating area; the Zimmers eat and serve guests on a small table in the living room that extends for family gatherings — or on the terrace embellished with

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The alleĂŠ, covered with holly bushes and lit with white lights leads from house to fountain. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

An oversized antique mirror, pink marble mantel, tranquil Asian art, wallpaper cutouts and floral displays illustrate Jill Zimmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (with cat) eclectic taste. Most pieces come from auctions and estate sales.

The Zimmer’s expropriated the dining room for a sitting room — abd eat at an expandable table in the living room corner.

trompe l’oeil vines and birds. Beyond the second seating area a den with tiny bathroom (the servant’s day room, perhaps) has a painted cloud ceiling and paneled wood wall, refinished by Jill. The mood is casual-comfy, eclectic-chic, a mix of mystery antiques and practical pieces punctuated by fine details, notably lamps, photographs and paintings, some by Jill’s sister and business partner, Cathy Crume. Pressed for a label, Jill calls her interior design style transitional: “It’s less about a particular style than balance.” Asian motifs introduce serenity; every room has flower and bird art. Family memorabilia blend in. “That bone china tea cup was my grandmother’s,” she notes. Grandmother hosted tea parties for her little granddaughters; each child was allowed to select and drink from a cup from her collection. Years later, Granny remembered Jill’s favorite cup and shipped it to her. Original two-toned patchwork parquet floors survive throughout. A dozen shades of green — from willow to froggy leaf — unify the décor. Green reminds Jill of the outdoors, where she grew up and still loves to be. Green is fresh, season-spanning, with an organic quality. She chose wall greens to flow into foliage framed by windows. The main floor is arranged around the Zimmers’ remodeled kitchen. “It was from the ’50s. Nothing was worth saving. We bided our time, lived with it for eleven years and planned,” Jill says. Yet she respected the era by selecting soapstone counters, a cork floor, subway-style ceramic tile backsplash, wood shutters and a farm sink with bridge faucet reminiscent of the Roaring Twenties. Her Five Star commercial stove looks less glamorous than the Wolfs and Vikings populating magazine kitchens. The island table is painted retro oxblood. “A pop of color, after all that green,” Jill says. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

The Nugget centers around Jillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen â&#x20AC;&#x201D; mostly green, with accents from the past.

Hanging cabinets dividing kitchen from sitting area use glass reclaimed from original windows. The couple rescued old glass from kitchen windows for panes in the custom cupboards, which Jill finished in a shaded linen green. This kitchen, although large, is more contained than part of a great room; Jill installed a counter and hanging cabinet to screen it, partially, from the sitting area. Guests can talk to the cook without observing the action. Some cooks still desire privacy. And some owner-renovators insist on retaining the unusual features of a historic home. Jill points to a set of floor-to-ceiling polished wood doors that protrude slightly from the sitting room wall. They open to reveal an entertainment center. The doors, Jill explains, were part of the â&#x20AC;&#x2122;50s kitchen. She removed and refinished them, had a cabinetmaker surround them with a matching frame, which he attached to the wall. Voila! A built-in armoire. Steep, narrow stairs carpeted in golden green lead to an attic-style bed-sitting room and bath. The Zimmers assembled this space from two small bedrooms and a hall. They were forced to remove a window to hoist in the massive four-poster bed. This roomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soft pastels, nature prints and floral wallpaper with cut-out edges over the stairwell suggest a village B&B. The Zimmers prefer saving it for guests, as they do their projects and living in the basement, a work-in-progress shared by three gentle mastiffs (the largest: 225 pounds) and a smaller mixed-breed rescue with dachshund ancestry. Here, in their own rooms, the dogs have people-sized mattresses mounted just below the windowsills for optimum views of the garden. Next venture: Jill and Dale will rip up the tile floor and replace it with reclaimed wood for a warmer, more rustic feel. A Dutch door was already in place in the basement â&#x20AC;&#x201D; convenient Jill says, for answering the bell without letting the mastiffs overwhelm the visitor.

A massive four-poster dominates but does not crowd the attic style guest bedroom.

February 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Jill and Dale’s fenced garden-within-the-yard appears, even in winter, poised for a wedding. An alleé (walkway) covered by arched metal trellises, shaded by slender holly shrubs, leads to a fountain, pond and classical statuary. The Zimmers twined the arches with tiny white lights — an after-dark fairyland. Geraniums, pansies and winter daphne (“They smell like Froot-Loops,” Jill says) bloom on the sunny, protected terrace beneath the deck. The dog’s romp is sheltered by 60-foot high cedars and a 25-foot wide holly planted, Jill surmises, by Goody McClain’s landscape people. McClain’s own dog — a German shepherd named Cherry Bounce — is buried in the garden. The Zimmers planted a cherry colored shrub near his marked grave. Altogether, The Nugget, at 93, fits the contemporary urban planning concept: smaller, more practical and energy-efficient houses clustered near necessities and amenities — schools, libraries, shopping, diversions. The Zimmers have no trouble living, working and entertaining in this well-planned and tidy home. Still, viewing it head-on, The Nugget could be the cover of a children’s book about a magic house where a dog bigger than Peter Pan’s Nana gazes through the gate. Where everything is shiny-new yet old. Where flat-screen TVs share wall space with photographs of ladies in long skirts, starched shirtwaists and hats. Where East meets West in the South. “A house should hug you,” Jill believes. She and Dale have returned the embrace. “This house has already had a life and will continue after me.” PS

HOMESTYLES 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines (910)692-3211

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Classic clothing for all ages. Stop in to see the full line of Boomerwear.

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910.245.3415

www.AntiquesofCameron.com

“Many are the stars I see, but in my eye no star like thee.” By noah Salt

Popular English Valentine message, The Good Husbandry Almanac, 1677

Winter Stars for Dummies Boy’s Life, the redoubtable resource on all important matters of civilization relating to the happy boyhood of the Almanac Gardener and millions of other Boy Scouts, offers a sure-fire and simplified way of reading the major constellations of the winter stars. Here’s the scoop. First find the Big Dipper in the winter night sky, the easiest body of stars to identify. It resembles an antique well dipper and is part of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. At the high end of the dipper sit two “pointer stars” that will allow you to draw a straight line to Polaris, the North Star, which serves as the end of the Little Dipper’s handle, aka Ursa Minor. From the North Star, you can draw a line to five stars that form a distinct “M” to the left and slightly higher in the sky, the constellation Cassiopeia — the Queen of the classical firmament. Turn around and you’ll see three dominant stars shining, forming the belt of Orion, the great hunter. Follow a line down and to the left — slightly east in the middle evening sky — and you’ll see Sirius, the bright star marking Canis Major, the Great Dog constellation. Trace Orion’s belt up to the right — west, by turns — and you come to the V-shaped constellation known as Taurus the Bull. Consider yourself a veteran star traveler now. Your merit badge is in the mail.

St. Valentine Unplugged Like most commercialized American holidays, Valentine’s Day contains vestiges of both Christian and Roman tradition, the most appealing romantic legend evolving from a 3rd century priest named Valentine who secretly married young soldiers to their beloveds after Emperor Claudius II — believing unwed soldiers were more effective — banned marriage for young men. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, he was put to death. Another part of the legend holds that shortly before his death, Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and sent her a love letter revealing his passion for her shortly before he was executed. The common view is that Christian authorities, who assumed lasting power in the early 5th century, declared the man a saint and established St. Valentine’s feast day in the ides of February primarily to “Christianize” the popular pagan festival called Lupercalia, a fertility festival in which Roman priests would gather at a cave where legend held the city’s founders, Romulus and Remus, were nurtured by a mother wolf, or Lupa. Following the sacrifice of a goat and a dog to symbolize purity, strips of skin were dipped in sacrificial blood and carried through the streets where young women were eager to be gently slapped and marked with blood — believing this only enhanced their fertility. Afterward their names would be placed in an urn and chosen by eligible bachelors — often leading to marriage. By the Middle Ages, St. Valentine’s Day was one of the most popular feast days in Europe, when the first Valentine’s greetings were sent out usually in the form of poetry. The oldest Valentine card was a love poem written by the Duke of Orleans to his wife after being imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415. The first mass-produced cards in America appeared shortly before the Civil War, made of lace, ribbons and colorful pictures. Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, more than one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent annually, 85 percent of which are purchased by women, making this the second largest card-sending holiday. PS

Friday

Art Exhibit. “Songs from the Soul,” featuring electrifying portraits of AfricanAmerican icons in music history. Through February 16. Free and open to the public. Arts Council of Fayetteville, 301 Hay St., Fayetteville. Art Exhibit & Opening Reception. 6 – 8 p.m. Light’s Moods featuring paintings by Leigh R. Swanson and Robert H. Way. Through February 22. Campbell House Galleries.

Sunday

Tuesday

Monday

Art Class. 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Combining watercolor and pastel with Irene Dobson. Cost: $90. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills.

Golf Invitational. Moore Historical Lecture. 2 p.m. “The Story of Camp Mackall.” Weymouth Center Event. 3 p.m. “Shakespeare in Song.” Speaker at the Library. 3 p.m. Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti. Rooster’s Wife Concert. 6:46 p.m. Live music from April Verch. The Poplar Knight Spot.

Wednesday

Thursday

Art Class. 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Combining watercolor and pastel with Irene Dobson. Cost: $90. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills. Lunch & Learn. 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Topic: “See Spot Run.” Sun spot fader options. Includes lunch, gift bags and specials. The Laser Institute of Pinehurst.

Art Classes. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Beginning watercolor with KC Sorvari. Gathering at Given. 3:30 p.m. Leighton Schwob, the USGA Championship Manager. Author Event. 7 p.m. Dr. Gary Small. The Country Bookshop. Spelling Bee for Literacy. 7 p.m. Robert E. Lee Auditorium at Pine Crest High School.

Golf Invitational. 14th annual Mid Pines Invitational is one of the first amateur events to kick off the 2013 season in the Carolinas. This event is a 36-hole two-man team competition. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club.

Sandhills Photograhy Club Meeting. 7 – 9 p.m. Guests welcome. Hannah Center Theater. Classical Concert Series. 8 p.m. Grammy-nominated Borealis Wind Quintet. Sunrise Theater. Art Classes. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Collaging out of the box with Sandy Stratil.

Art Classes. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Collaging out of the box with Sandy Stratil. Artists League of the Sandhills. Game Night at the Library. 5 – 6 p.m. Take the challenge in the Old School Game Night and then enjoy Pizza with Pizzazz. For kids in grades 6-8. Southern Pines Public Library.

Art Classes. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Sight sizing with Betty DiBartolomeo. Artists League of the Sandhills. Preschool Storytime. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Southern Pines Public Library. Guest Lecture. 6 p.m. The English-Speaking Union welcomes Lon Bumgarner. CCNC.

Art Classes. Beginning watercolor. Weymouth Center Event. 12 p.m. Luncheon and “Music with Love and Affection.” Senior Event. 1 p.m. Have a special dessert day. Movie at the Library. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. An Oldies & Goodies film. Free Jazz Show. 7:30 p.m. SCC Jazz Band Annual Valentine show.

Game Night at the Bookshop. 5 – 6:30 p.m. Come play your favorite games and help “Wreck this Journal.” Be ready to color, play at game tables. Free fun for kids of all ages. The Country Bookshop.

Rooster’s Wife Concert. 6:46 p.m. Live music from Tommy Edwards & Jack Lawrence. Seating is by general admission. Doors open 6 p.m. Tickets available at the door and online. The Poplar Knight Spot, Aberdeen.

Weymouth Center Event. 9:30 a.m. Women of Weymouth meeting. Women Voters of Moore County Meeting. 11:30 a.m. Celebrate Black History Month. Table on the Green. Art Classes. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Realistic animals in watercolor with Yvonne Sovereign.

Art Classes. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Realistic animals in watercolor with Yvonne Sovereign. Artists League of the Sandhills. Weymouth Center Event. 2 p.m. James Boyd Book Club. Knights and Dragons by Elizabeth Spencer.

Art Classes. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Sight sizing with Betty DiBartolomeo. Artists League of the Sandhills. Preschool Storytime. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Infants and toddlers. Southern Pines Public Library. Ruth Pauley Lecture Series. 7:30 p.m. Ernest Green on the integration of Little Rock Central High School. Owens Auditorium.

Weymouth Center Event. 3 p.m. Reading by Judy Goldman, writer and poet. Rooster’s Wife Event. 6:46 p.m. Live music from Jon Shain Trio; Lizzie Ross opens. Seating is by general admission. Doors open 6 p.m. Tickets available at the door and online. The Poplar Knight Spot.

Art Class. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Colored pencil for beginners with Betty Hendrix. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, Aberdeen.

Art Classes. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Fabulous flowers (acrylics) with Pat McMahon. Artists League of the Sandhills. Senior Event. 1 p.m. February is Bake For Family Fun Month. Bring in recipes and baked goods for brown bag lunch/game day. Douglass Community Center.

Art Classes. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Novice watercolor with Sandy Scott. Artists League of the Sandhills. Preschool Storytime. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Infants and toddlers (ages birth through 5 years). Southern Pines Public Library.

Geocaching at the Library. 5:30 p.m. Children grades K-5 and their parents are invited to cash in on the hidden value of a story with this adventurous and educational activity. Southern Pines Public Library.

Choral Society Wine Gala. 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. The Moore County Choral Society hosts a gala featuring delicious hors d’oeuvres and wine pairings. The Fresh Market, Southern Pines.

Arts entertainment

Saturday

Senior Event. 8 a.m. A trip to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. Depart from Campbell House. Rooster’s Wife Concert. 6:46 p.m. Live music from Red June. The Poplar Knight Spot. Raise the Roof Concert. 7 p.m. From bluegrass to rock and roll, there will be something for everyone. Sunrise Theater.

February 1

Golf Invitational. 14th annual Mid Pines Invitational is one of the first amateur events to kick off the 2013 season in the Carolinas. Create a Dish Garden. 10 a.m. The Sandhills Horticultural Society is hosting a workshop by Linda Hamwi, “the Plant Diva.” Make a dish garden for your home complete with miniatures. Pops Concert. 7 p.m. The Carolina Philharmonic celebrates Valentine’s early with a pops evening to remember. Cole Porter classics like “In the Still of the Night,” highlights from Les Miserables among others. R.E. Lee Auditorium.

Weymouth Center Event. Young Musicians Festival. Winners of the festival will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday. 555 East Connecticut Ave. Opera at Sunrise Theater. 12:55 p.m. Verdi’s Rigoletto. Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi’s towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960. Tickets: $25. Sunrise Theater.

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ART ExHIBIT. The Arts Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County presents “Songs from the Soul,” featuring electrifying portraits of African-American icons in music history. Exhibit through February 16. Free and open to the public. Arts Council of Fayetteville, 301 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info: www.theartscouncil.com.

•

ART ExHIBIT & OPENING RECEPTION. 6 – 8 p.m. Arts Council of Moore County presents an art exhibit called Light’s Moods featuring paintings by Leigh R. Swanson and Robert H. Way. Exhibit through February 22. Free and open to the public. Campbell House Galleries, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org.

February 2

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SENIOR EVENT. 8 a.m. A trip to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. Cost: $18 resident/$36 non-resident; and includes transportation and admisWeymouth Center Event. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. The English-Speaking Union’s High School Shakespeare Competition.

sion. Depart from Campbell House, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

•

ROOSTER’S WIFE CONCERT. 6:46 p.m. Live music from Red June. Seating is by general admission. Doors open 6 p.m. Tickets available at the door and online. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org.

•

RAISE THE ROOF CONCERT. 7 p.m. From bluegrass to rock and roll, there will be something for everyone. Sunrise Theater, 250 North West Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

February 4, 6

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ART CLASSES. 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Combining watercolor and pastel with Irene Dobson. Cost: $90. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

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February 6

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LUNCH AND LEARN. 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Topic: “See Spot Run.” Sun spot fader options. Includes lunch, gift bags and specials. The Laser Institute of Pinehurst, 80 Aviemore Court, Suite A, Pinehurst. Info/RSVP: (910) 295-1130.

February 7

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GATHERING AT GIVEN. 3:30 p.m. Leighton Schwob, the USGA Championship Manager for the 2014 U.S. Opens, will talk about the upcoming back-to-back Opens to be hosted next year at Pinehurst. Free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-6022.

•

AUTHOR EVENT. 7 p.m. Dr. Gary Small is a professor of psychiatry at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and director of the UCLA Longevity Center. He and Gigi Vorgan are the authors of iBrain, The Memory Prescription, The Longevity Bible, and The Memory Bible. He will be speaking about the now-updated guide on Alzheimer’s prevention. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

•

SPELLING BEE FOR LITERACY. 7 p.m. Moore County Literacy Council hosts the 9th annual fundraiser. Twenty teams, all dressed in bumble bee attire, compete to spell the most challenging of words. Robert E. Lee Auditorium at Pine Crest High School, Southern Pines. Info: www.mcliteracy.com.

y a d o t e b i Subscr ave &h delivered! Name __________________________________________ Address _________________________________________ City ____________________________________________ State ________Zip _________________________________ Phone __________________________________________ E-Mail Address ____________________________________ Payment Enclosed ____

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$35/yr • In State $45/yr • Out of State 3 ways to subscribe: Fill out and return or Call 910.693.2490 or E-mail dstark@thepilot.com

February 7, 14

•

ART CLASSES. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Beginning watercolor with KC Sorvari. Cost: $60. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

February 8 – 10

GOLF INVITATIONAL. 14 annual Mid • Pines Invitational is one of the first amateur events th

to kick off the 2013 season in the Carolinas. This event is a 36-hole two-man team competition. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, 1010 Midland Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8611.

February 9

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CREATE A DISH GARDEN. 10 a.m. The Sandhills Horticultural Society is hosting a workshop by Linda Hamwi, “the Plant Diva.” Make a dish garden for your home complete with miniatures. Sandhills Community College Horticultural Gardens, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 695-3882 or sandhillshorticulturalgardens.com.

•

POPS CONCERT. 7 p.m. The Carolina Philharmonic celebrates Valentine’s Day early with a pops evening to remember. Cole Porter classics like “In the Still of the Night,” highlights from Les

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

ca l e n da r

Miserables, otherworldly delights from Star Trek and Harry Potter. R.E. Lee Auditorium, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6874746 or www.carolinaphil.org.

• ROOSTER’S WIFE CONCERT. 6:46 p.m. Live music from April Verch. Seating is by general

February 10

•

MOORE HISTORICAL LECTURE. 2 p.m. “The Story of Camp Mackall.” Presented by Norris Hodgkins, Jr., William Sobat, Tom MacCallum. Look back in time from its inception in the 1940s when it housed over 30,000 soldiers, and later German Prisoners of War, through today and its role as a proving ground for Green Beret soldiers. Free and open to the public, reservations necessary. Southern Pines Civic Club, 105 S. Ashe St. Info/reservations: (910) 692-2051 or www.moorehistory.com.

•

WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. 3 p.m. Chamber Music Series. “Shakespeare in Song,” Andrea Edith Moore, soprano and David Heid, piano, with Duke University students as narrators. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

•

SPEAKER AT THE LIBRARY. 3 p.m. “Explorations: A Forum for Adults” will feature Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti. The ambassador of North Carolina literature will read poetry and discuss the craft of writing. Free and open to the public. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

admission. Doors open 6 p.m. Tickets available at the door and online. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www. theroosterswife.org.

February 11

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SANDHILLS PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB MEETING. 7 – 9 p.m. Member Competition: Pets. Guests welcome. Hannah Center Theater at The O’Neal School, 3300 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

•

CLASSICAL CONCERT SERIES. 8 p.m. Grammy-nominated Borealis Wind Quintet. A lively group that formed at Juilliard will provide Sandhills audiences with an enjoyable performance. Tickets: $25; four-concert subscription: $80/Arts Council members; $95/nonmembers. Sunrise Theater, 250 North West Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

February 11, 12

• ART CLASSES. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Collaging out of the box with Sandy Stratil. Cost: $105. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

• • Fun

History

•

February 12

•

GAME NIGHT AT THE LIBRARY. 5 – 6 p.m. Take the challenge in the Old School Game Night and then enjoy Pizza with Pizzazz. For kids in grades 6-8. Put your gaming skills to the test on some vintage games while munching on hot and delicious pizza. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

February 13, 20

•

ART CLASSES. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Sight sizing with Betty DiBartolomeo. Cost: $60. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www. artistleague.org.

February 13

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PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Infants and toddlers (ages birth through 5 years). Stories, songs, and fun, and then stay for playtime! Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

•

GUEST LECTURE. 6 p.m. The EnglishSpeaking Union welcomes Lon Bumgarner. Topic: “Shakespeare: His Life on Page & Stage.” Cocktails with dinner to follow. Cost: $40.50. The Country Club of North Carolina, 1600 Morganton Road, Pinehurst. Info: Hope Price, (910) 692-7727; reservations: (910) 692-6565.

Sports

cA l e n dA r

February 14

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WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. 12 p.m. Luncheon and “Music with Love and Affection,” by Jesse Davis. Cost: $20. Call Weymouth for reservations. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

•

SENIOR EVENT. 1 p.m. Enjoy Valentine’s Day by having a special dessert day. Sign up by February 10. Space is limited. Free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

•

MOVIE AT THE LIBRARY. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. The Oldies & Goodies film series presents a 1957 romantic drama starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, nominated for four Academy Awards. Enjoy a cup of tea and meet other film buffs at this free event. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 6928235 or www.sppl.net.

•

FREE JAZZ SHOW. 7:30 p.m. The SCC Jazz Band Annual Valentine’s Day Concert. The 18 piece band will feature big band classics, love songs and vocals. Free and open to the public. Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 245-3132.

February 15

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GAME NIGHT AT THE BOOKSHOP. 5 – 6:30 p.m. Come play your favorite games and help “Wreck this Journal.” Be ready to color, play at game tables. Free fun for kids of all ages. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

February 16

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WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. Young Musicians Festival. Winners of the festival will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

•

OPERA AT SUNRISE THEATER. 12:55 p.m. Verdi’s Rigoletto. Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi’s towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960. Tickets: $25. Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501.

February 17

•

ROOSTER’S WIFE CONCERT. 6:46 p.m. Live music from Tommy Edwards & Jack Lawrence. Seating is by general admission. Doors open 6 p.m. Tickets available at the door and online. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org.

February 18

•

WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. 9:30 a.m. Women of Weymouth meeting. Coffee with meet-

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

ca l e n da r

ing to follow at 10 a.m. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

•

WOMEN VOTERS OF MOORE COUNTY MEETING. 11:30 a.m. Celebrate Black History Month and hear a conversation with a lifelong resident of Jackson Hamlet, a Moore County minority community. Reservations required. Table on the Green, Midland Country Club. Info: Charlotte Gallagher, (910) 944-9611.

February 18, 19

•

ART CLASSES. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Realistic animals in watercolor (intermediate) with Yvonne Sovereign. Cost: $60. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

February 19

•

WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. 2 p.m. James Boyd Book Club. Knights and Dragons by Elizabeth Spencer. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

February 20

•

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Infants and toddlers (ages birth through 5 years). Stories, songs, and fun, and then stay for playtime!

Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

February 24

•

WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. 3 p.m. Reading by Judy Goldman, writer and poet. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

February 21

ROOSTER’S WIFE CONCERT. 6:46 p.m. Live music from Jon Shain Trio; Lizzie Ross opens. Seating is by general admission. Doors open 6 p.m. Tickets available at the door and online. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org.

RUTH PAULEY LECTURE SERIES. 7:30 p.m. Ernest Green will discuss his role as one of the nine students who gained recognition for the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 245-3132.

•

GEOCACHING AT THE LIBRARY. 5:30 p.m. Children grades K-5 and their parents are invited to cash in on the hidden value of a story with this adventurous and educational activity. Read a story, discover a treasure with an experienced geocacher, and stick around for dinner. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

February 23

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WEYMOUTH CENTER EVENT. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. The English-Speaking Union’s High School Shakespeare Competition. 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

Shop Sanford

•

February 25

•

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Colored pencil for beginners with Betty Hendrix. Cost: $55. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

February 26

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SENIOR EVENT. 1 p.m. February is Bake for Family Fun Month. Bring in recipes and baked goods for brown bag lunch/game day. Each participant will choose a recipe to share with the group. Sign up by February 20. Space is limited. Free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

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719 Carthage Street • Sanford, NC 27330 919-774-4700 • Find us on Facebook! Hours: Monday - Saturday 10:00 - 6:00 Locally owned and operated. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

ca l e n da r

February 26, March 5, 12

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ART CLASSES. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Fabulous flowers (acrylics) with Pat McMahon. Cost: $60. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

February 27

•

February 27, March 6, 13

•

ART CLASSES. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Novice watercolor with Sandy Scott. Cost: $150. Call to register. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

February 28

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CHORAL SOCIETY WINE GALA. 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. The Moore County Choral Society hosts a gala featuring delicious hors d’ oeuvres and wine pairings. Tickets: $25. The Fresh Market, 155 Beverly Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 949-3359 or (910) 215-0730 or www.moorecountychoralsociety.org.

February 28 – March 3

•

GOLF TOURNAMENT. 19th annual Pine Needles Men’s Invitational. To request additional information regarding this invite only event, please email reservations@rossresorts.com or call at 1-800-747-7272. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, 1005 Midland Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7111 or www. pine-needles-midpines.com.

• ••• •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Fun History Sports

•

Dance/Theater

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

A Very Big T hank-you to Our C lients. When You’re Happy, We’re Happy.

We’re pleased to announce that Edward Jones has been ranked “Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Full Service Brokerage Firms” according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Full Service Investor Satisfaction StudySM. We’ve always believed our way of doing business made sense for our clients. It seems they agree. Edward Jones received the highest numerical score among full service brokerage rms in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Full Service Investor Satisfaction StudySM. Study based on responses from 4,401 investors measuring 16 investment rms and measures opinions of investors who used full-service investment institutions. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in February, 2012. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

Call or visit your local Edward Jones financial advisor today. Craig Stokes Financial Advisor Stein Mart Shopping Center | Southern Pines, NC | 692-8628

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Member SIPC

February 2013 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

cA l e n dA r

WEEKLY EVENTS Mondays

•

READING GROUP. 3 – 4 p.m. Early Elementary reading club. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-6022.

Tuesdays

•

AARP TAx HELP. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Southern Pines Library will offer tax guidance. Clients must register onsite. No prior appointments by phone. 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

Fridays

•

FREE COOKING DEMO. 5 – 6 p.m. A fun way to play with your food using quick, easy, inseason ingredients. Samples included. The Flavor Exchange, 115 E New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1345.

Saturdays

•

• • • • •• • • Key: Art Music/Concerts Literature/Speakers Fun

Dance/Theater History Sports

Film

“Maggie”

Golden Retriever

Color Pencil on Bristol Paper

Pergolas • Statuary • Planters Fountains • Garden Art • Aluminum Fencing

Windridge

FINE

ART

PORTRAITS

PETS

www.pamelapowersjanuary.com

910.692.0505

Gardens

1650 Valley View Road • Southern Pines, NC Adjacent to Hyland Golf Course on US 1 910.692.0855 | www.WindridgeGardens.com Winter Hours Friday and Saturday 10AM-5PM, Sunday 1PM-5PM

I N I N G

GUI

D E

Join Us for

Valentine’s Dinner

Need a great gift for Valentine’s Day?

at The Tavern!

Longleaf Golf & Country Club 10 Knoll Road Southern Pines, NC 28387

910-692-4411

Enjoy a Filet & Lobster Dinner with Your Valentine!

Taking Reservations

Now

Bring home a CCups Pink Box. You’ll be glad you did.

105 E. Pennsylvania Avenue Southern Pines, NC

55 NE Broad Street | Southern Pines, NC 28387 We’re next to the Theatre Antiques Building! | 910-692-4766

910-246-CUPS (2877)

www.TheCcupsCupcakery.com

cA l e n dA r

Art Galleries ABOUT ART GALLERY inside The Market Place Midland Bistro Building, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst. The gallery features local artists. Open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. (910) 215-596. ART NUTZ AND RAVEN POTTERY, 125 SW Broad St., Southern Pines. Come see the potter at work. Features art, pottery from local potters, handmade jewelry, glass and more. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (910) 695-1555, www.ravenpottery.com. ARTIST GALLERY OF SOUTHERN PINES, 167 E. New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Features art and fine crafts from more than 60 North Carolina artists. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday. (910) 692-6077. ARTISTS LEAGUE OF THE SANDHILLS, 129 Exchange St. in historic Aberdeen. Exhibit hours are noon – 3 p.m., Monday-Saturday. (910) 944-3979. BROADHURST GALLERY, 2212 Midland Road, Pinehurst. Showcases works by nationally recognized artists such as Louis St. Lewis, Lula Smith, Shawn Morin, Rachel Clearfield, Judy Cox and Jason Craighead. Meet-the-artist opportunities available. Monday-Friday (closed Wednesday), 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m & special appointments. (910) 295-4817, www.broadhurstgallery.com. THE CAMPBELL HOUSE GALLERIES, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and every third weekend of the month from 2 – 4 p.m. (910) 692-4356, www.mooreart.org. THE DOWNTOWN GALLERY INSIDE CUP OF FLOW, 115 NE Broad St., Southern Pines. Ever-changing array of local and regional art, pottery and other handmade items. (910) 693-1999.

Seven Lakes Drive. Just nine miles from the Pinehurst Traffic Circle up 211, this gallery is dedicated to local artists. Wednesday-Thursday 1 – 4 p.m. HASTINGS GALLERY in the Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday 7:45 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday 7:45 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. HOLLYHOCKS ART GALLERY, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Features artwork by local award winning artists, Phyllis Andrews, Betty DiBartolomeo, Equine Sculptor Morgen Kilbourn, Diane Kraudelt, Carol Rotter and artist/ owner, Jane Casnellie. Monday-Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Fine oil paintings, commissions and instruction. Meet the artists on Saturdays, 12 – 3 p.m. (910) 255-0665, www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. LADY BEDFORD’S TEA PARLOUR, 25 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst. Features local artist Nancy Campbell’s original oil and watercolor paintings. Tuesday - Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (910) 255-0100, www.ladybedfords.com. THE OLD SILK ROUTE, 113 West Main St., Aberdeen. Specializes in Asian original art, including silk paintings, tapestries, Buddhist Thangkas and Indian paper miniatures. Monday, Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. (910) 295-2055. SEAGROVE CANDLE COMPANY, 116 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Showcases art of the Sandhills and Seagrove area. Monday, WednesdaySaturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., (910) 695-0029. SKY ART GALLERY, 602 Magnolia Drive, Aberdeen. Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (910) 944-9440, www.skyartgallery.com. STUDIO 590 BY THE POND IN DOWD CABIN, 590 Dowd Circle, Pinehurst. This historic log cabin is the working studio and gallery of artists Betty DiBartolomeo and Harry Neely. Fine oil paintings, commissions and instruction. (910) 639-9404.

THE GALLERY AT SEVEN LAKES at the St. Mary Magdalene building, 1145

   Fayetteville

 Fayetteville

ca l e n da r

White Hill Gallery, 407 U.S. 15-501, Carthage, offers a variety of pottery. (910) 947-6100.

Nature Centers Sandhills Horticultural Gardens (32 acres of gardens). The Sandhills Horticultural Gardens are handicapped-accessible. Daylight hours year-round. (910) 695-3882.

DAVID McCUNE INTERNATIONAL ART GALLERY

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve (898 acres). 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. (910) 692-2167.

PRESENTS

VILLAGE ABORETUM. 35 acres of land adjoining the Village Hall on Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. (910) 295-1900.

Historical Sites

Herb Jackson: End of the Shadow

Bethesda Church and Cemetery. Guided tours for groups by appointment. 1020 Bethesda Road, Aberdeen. (910) 944-1319. Bryant House and McLendon Cabin. Tours by appointment. (910) 692-2051 or (910) 673-0908. Carthage Historical Museum. Sundays, 2 – 5 p.m. or by appointment. Located at Rockingham and Saunders streets, Carthage. (910) 947-2331. House in the Horseshoe. Open year-round. Hours vary. 288 Alston House Road (10 miles north of Carthage), Sanford. (910) 947-2051. Malcolm Blue Farm and Museum. 1 – 4 p.m. WednesdaySaturday. Group tours can be arranged by appointment. (910) 944-7558 or (910) 603-2739. GALLERY HOURS

Tues.– Fr i.: 11 a .m. – 5 p.m. Satur day: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. & BY APPOINTMENT

Dale Chihuly: Sea Forms

a new exhibition of

VITREOGRAPH PRINTS ( prints from glass plates ) featuring Dale Chihuly, Erwin Eisch, Herb Jackson, Clarence Morgan, and Tom Nakashima, among others

FEBRUARY 7 – APRIL 7, 2013 Opening reception: 2/7: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Gallery talk by Carol Littleton Shay at 7 p.m.

Harvey Littleton: Giza

david mccune galler y .org

North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Monday-Friday, at the Weymouth Center for Arts and Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. (910) 692-6261. Shaw House Property. Open 1 – 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. (910) 692-2051. Tufts Archives. 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., MondayFriday, and 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Saturday. (910) 295-3642. Union Station. Open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Located in downtown Aberdeen. (910) 944-5902. Sandhills Woman’s Exchange Log Cabin Open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (910) 295-4677. To add an event, email us at pinestraw@thepilot.com by the first of the month prior to the event.

PineNeedler Answers Chocolate and Sav FromFlavored page 111 Solution:

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T h o u g h ts f r o m T h e Ma n S h e d

Happy Valentine’s Day, Old Girl You could say she was my first true love.

Oh, sure, there were other girls I liked well enough. But this girl was different. Still is. Special, you might say. So special, really, that a year after I got married, my wife let us go ahead and carry on our thing. A thing that has been going on in plain sight now for 26 years. It’s a thing with my black 1987 Saab 900S. My Valentine.

Twenty-seven years old when I got her, she wasn’t my first Saab. Nor my first car. That was a 1970 Buick Estate Wagon. A hand-me-down from my mother, but a gem of a vehicle. Part tank, part highway cruising machine, she was really just a stretched-out muscle car. Powered by a 455 four barrel, I blew two weeks pay to put the finest Michelin radials on her money could buy. And that old girl . . . she would just plain fly. Not only that, but she was so comfortable, with that big bouncy leather covered bench seat up front, it was like driving around on your living room couch. I had to give her up when one night my little brother got hold of her and drove her into a sand trap at the country club. Busted her old frame in two. Damn near broke my heart, and I could have busted him in two. Instead, we went in together on a used ’76 Saab 99GL. It was all we could afford. And that’s where I got my love for Saabs. I had a hell of a thing for that old 99GL. An unusual beauty, with under-appreciated body lines and contours that only a special eye could see. It had a four-cylinder engine which sat on its side, and a straight four-speed manual transmission. Saab geared their cars to run at high RPMs. Non-enthusiasts say that this is why they are so loud in the cockpit. Nonsense! They’re whistlers, that’s all, and only sing their sweet tune when the tachometer reads about 4,000. I eventually bought my brother out of his share, and he went and bought a Le Car. Remember those things? Renaults. French. Yuck! In 1987, Saab was manufacturing the 900 series. In my opinion, it was the best-looking car on the road in those days. It was painful to give up my 99GL, but I had my eye on this younger model. I wanted the Turbo, but that just wasn’t in the cash cards. Even as it was, I had to get my dad to co-sign the loan for me to get my first true love. Saab made the straight

900, the beefed-up 16 valve and suspension packaged S model, and then the tricked-out 900 Turbo. That turbo was a car no highway patrolman wanted to dance the tango with. It was going to be a stretch for me to muster the monthly loan payment on the S model, but before we finally drove off the showroom floor, I said to put the black fin on the tail hatch. 900s look about half dressed without their fins and no girl of mine was going to be riding about in public half naked. No sir! Coming down the Massachusetts Turnpike one afternoon shortly thereafter, I was pulled over. The trooper asked me why I was going 95 m.p.h. It was in my head to say, “Because I can . . . Sir . . . with plenty to spare.” But I didn’t, saying politely that I had no idea I was going that fast. And I didn’t. Saab had finally gotten around to adding a fifth gear by 1987 and the whistle of days past was now just a gentle thrum. I almost had to move back in with my folks; the citation that officer slapped me with was so high, it damn near broke me. Then there was the time four of us went up over the top of Pike’s Peak in the middle of the night in eight inches of falling snow, and didn’t even know it on account of how dark it was outside. My girl’s front wheel drive was phenomenal, and even with summer radials, she crested those snow-covered Vermont mountain peaks like they were the gentle rise and fall of our own Sandhills. We’ve had a hell of a go over the years, me and my girl. Now, I won’t lie to you. We’ve had our ups and downs, too. What the uninitiated call: “A Saab (sob) story.” My girl is a bit persnickety, there’s no getting around it. And if she doesn’t get her way, she’ll let me know it, too. Her window switches will mysteriously stop working. Or, her headliner will come unglued. Maybe I open the rear hatch, and it doesn’t hold and comes crashing down on my head. Weird stuff like that. So I take care of her. Treat her right, you might say. I change her oil and other fluids regularly. She’s had a new clutch and shocks. And I try to keep her clean. Like any good woman, she likes to keep up her appearance, and I’m happy to oblige. Because with only 88,000 miles on her, we still have some good miles ahead of us. And life just wouldn’t be the same if on a beautiful day I couldn’t climb in, open up her sun roof, put the windows down, and just go for a cruise with my old girl. My Valentine! PS Geoff Cutler is owner of Cutler Tree LLC in Southern Pines. He is a regular contributor to PineStraw. He can be reached at geoffcutler@embarqmail.com.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2013

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February Pineneedler

by mart DICKerson

Chocolate Flavored and Savored ACROSS 1 * Three cups 5 Raise an objection 10 * One pinch 14 Black 15 Get out of bed 16 Three-piece band 17 Building lot 18 What you pay to the IRS 19 Dines 20 Glues to 22 Navy cadets 24 Old-fashioned dads 25 Baby chick’s noise 27 * Whipped and added last 30 * 7 ozs. of 70 percent 34 Pencil tips 35 Rave 36 Swiss-like cheese 37 Extinguished 38 Challenges 39 Boxer Muhammad 40 Takes advantage of 42 Jumpy 43 Humped animal 45 Octopus parts 47 Brazen woman, not naming names . . . 48 Land measurements 49 Pea holder

50 53 57 58 61

* Three tablespoons espresso Illustrates First letter of the Arabic alphabet Sporty car brand * Prepare 1 across, 10 across, 50 across, 63 across 62 Dry 63 * Two tablespoons 64 In __ of (instead of) 65 Held on with the feet 66 Type of alcohol 67 Otherwise DOWN 1 Flat plateau 2 As previously cited, term paper-wise 3 Very repulsive (alt. spelling) 4 Tile layer’s equipment 5 Courts and woos 6 Extremely long time periods 7 * Prepare 61 across and 30 across 8 Employ 9 Admires in high regard 1 2 10 Spire 11 Middle East dweller 14 12 Miller beer 17 13 Stir a salad 21 Los Angeles football team 20 23 MGM’s lion 25 Fees 26 Sweethearts 27 28 27 Influence

28 29 30 31 32 33 38 41 43 44 46 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 59 60

Recycle Eroded Bassinet John __ (U.S. president) Fish stories Poet Dickinson (or a local animal advocate) Reduce Supplied with workers * Prepare 30 across Hearable Expert aviator Ocean gem Broken bone holder Margarine Cook Seagrove, NC, products Cart for hauling heavy things Roll up a rope or hose Binds Swing around (slang) Sever Expression of dismay

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53 59

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

8Jumpy 1 4 6 9 1 animal 4 3 Humped Fill in the grid so every row, every Octopus parts 1 * Three cups 7 column and every 3x3 box contain Brazen woman, not naming 5 Raise an objection the numbers 1-9. 5 1 8 names..... * One pinch 10 2 48 Land measurements Puzzle answers on page14 97 Black 49 Pea holder 15 Get out of bed 7 Mart Dickerson lives in Three Pines pieceand band 50 * Three tablespoons espres 16Southern 5 9 8 would welcome any suggestions from 53 Illustrates 17 Building lot her fellow puzzle masters. She can be 2 4 of the1 Arabic What you pay to the IRS 575First letter 18 reached at martaroonie@gmail.com alphabet 7 19 Dines

Sudoku:

ACROSS

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 . . . .Navy . . . . .Cadets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 . . . .* .Prepare . . February 2013 111 1 across, 10

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southwords

The Power of a Pen

By Jim Dodson

I am writing this

with a limited edition Cleto Munari fountain pen designed by the distinguished architect Oscar Tusquets Blanca, one of five beautiful writing instruments commissioned by the luxury Italian pen maker to honor five Nobel Prize winners for literature. The particular model I’m using — and let me say here what a blissful instrument it is — with its heavily lacquered rose barrel and 24-karat gold writing nib was inspired by the fictional mastery of Chicagoan Saul Bellow model, retailing for about $700, assuming you can even find one available on the retail market. Produced in 2007 for a special project called “The Book of Five Pens” celebrating the art of writing and design, famous architects were asked to create fountain pens inspired by the works of Toni Morrison, José Saramago, Wole Soyinka, Naguib Mahfouz and Saul Bellow, they are now largely collector’s items, unavailable and ever rising in price. The other day I found the beautiful black and gold Toni Morrison model on Ebay for a cool $850. Fortunately my pen was a gift from a good friend who, it turns out, is something of a fanatical fountain pen user and a serious longtime collector. The way we write, it’s been said, tells a powerful story about the person behind the pen — in more ways than one. Decades ago in college, for reasons that now are amusingly transparent, I adopted using a fountain pen and smoking a pipe to prove to anyone who cared to notice that I fully intended to someday be a serious writer. The funny thing about pretentious affectations is, of course, one can inadvertently get addicted to them. The pipe thing eventually ran its course, probably about the time I showed up in a big city newsroom puffing thoughtfully on a Sherlockian Meerschaum number that caused my crusty colleagues to double over with laughter and threaten to extinguish me with a fire hose. The fountain pen addiction, on the other hand, has never faded and, in fact, seems to be intensifying as the years pile up. This could well be because I am indeed now a serious writer of sorts, with ten books and a checkered magazine career behind me, and I have found that in pursuit of my work — especially when signing books — there is simply nothing to compare with the magicalal feel and mythic power of a good fountain pen.

112

In this view I am scarcely original. Writers across the ages have extolled the virtues of their fountain pens. Petrarch, whose sonnets became the model for Renaissance poetry, vowed by his. Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish poet and playwright, creator of literature’s beloved Don Quixote and widely considered the Western world’s first true novelist, rhapsodized that his fountain pen was “the tongue of the mind,” while adventure novelist C.S. Forester — author of the Horatio Hornblower series and The African Queen — claimed his fountain pen produced a geyser of more than 6,000 words a day. Former London Times reporter Graham Greene agreed, noting that his fingers on a typewriter never committed him to the heart of the story the way a good fountain pen did. Mark Twain was so in love with the power of a good fountain pen he agreed to appear in print ads shilling for two different companies — first the Paul E. Wirt company (“For 25 Years the Greatest Pen on Earth”) and later Conklin’s revolutionary “Self-Filling Fountain Pen,” which he claimed was “Ten times better than any pen I’ve ever used.” My own history with fountain pens is a wee bit on the dodgy side. I’ve owned a succession of fine fountain pens and somehow managed to either break or lose — typically to theft — most of them. Fortunately, the same friend who graciously gave me Saul Bellow’s pen told me about the Fountain Pen Hospital, a wondrous website for true fountain pen fanatics that not only repairs damaged pens but offers limited edition Montblancs, the Rolls-Royce of fountain pens. The other afternoon I spent a lovely hour browsing stunning fountain pens named for everyone from Virginia Woolf to William Faulkner, most of which were unavailable and priced about the cost of a weekend in Paris. Still, thinking about all the lovely notes I plan to hand-write in the days and years ahead, I was so taken with an elegant midnight blue number named for Edgar Allan Poe (with a raven engraved on its nib, no less) I left my name and email and asked to be alerted if such a glorious instrument becomes available. For the moment, I’m perfectly thrilled to have Saul Bellow’s fountain pen and do solemnly swear to give it extra special care. With a little luck my days of ruining fine fountains are finally over. Or to quote the famous raven on the fountain pen I’ll likely never own, “Nevermore.” PS Illustration by Pamela Powers January

February 2013 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills