Monthly Archives: June 2016

MM3AMMC Week 2 or: Getting Deeper

30 Thursday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

This past Monday ended the second week in Round 13 of “The Great The Less Desirables/Monday Morning 3AM Music Club Tap Takeover.” From now on, I’ll just call the this TLD/MM3AMMC. Before we continue, I’d like to congratulate KG Noble on her song, “There is No Destination” being the first week’s “featured song.”

A recap of how this works: So, on Monday morning around 8:30am or so, I go and listen to the submissions. Truth be known, I actually try to listen along the way.  But, I really listen at 8:30am. I look over the assignment, compare the lyrics and songs to that assignment and then pick the one that I think makes the best representation of the assignment’s rules.a2685756795_10

This week, the assignment was from Doug Davis: “Working as fast as we do, we concentrate on craft but don’t always have the time to try to tap into anything particularly deep and personal. Let’s change that this week. I’d like for you to try to express something honest and authentic about who you are and how you feel or what you believe this week. Doesn’t have to be deeply autobiographical or confessional; you can talk about how much you love ice cream, if you’d like. But if something were to happen to you next week, god forbid, and this was the last song you were to write, let it be said that this one communicated something authentic about who you are at this point in time.”

This week, all 10 songwriters made the cut.

The submissions are as follows:

  • Joshua West – “Whatever”
  • Clay Howard – “Hook It Up, Turn It On”
  • Doug Davis – “Note to Self: Remember When to Breathe”
  • AG Y’all (Anand Gan) – “The Lucky One”
  • G. Edward McBride – “Ragged Shoes”
  • Steve Willard – “The Weather”
  • Corky McClellan – “Find My Religion”
  • Patrick Ferguson – “Slight Shift”
  • KG Noble – “All That Matters”
  • Jerry Chapman – “Audience of One”

And the winner was… nah, you don’t get it that easy. I mean, I want you to listen to the whole show, right? So, you need to listen to find out who won. You can do that on The Less Desirables website, on iTunes, Stitcher or the newest addition, TuneIn. Or, I’ll save you the trouble and post it here, I’m good like that. And yes, there may be a reposting of this next Tuesday, you never know.

Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Hook it up put it on. Feel those juices flowing now. Hook it up and put it on. You gotta turn it on, turn it on, turn it, turn, turn, turn, turn it on!” – “Hook It up, Turn It On” by Clay Howard (not necessarily the winner)

Lunatic Blonde or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Beer of the Week, Lunatic Blonde Belgian-Style Ale from Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, NC.

I am a fan of Wicked Weed, they make good stuff. I love Belgian-style blondes. I drank a few the times I spent in Europe, especially in Belgium. We’re getting away from the increasingly boring IPAs for a bit and try something else. According to the Wicked Weed site for this brew: This ale is brewed with European hops and Belgian yeast. This combination imparts a wonderfully complex clove aroma with subtle dried apricot and biscuit-like flavor. This golden ale is a wonderful introduction to Belgian beer styles. I like that description. I don’t 23751de4-1fb5-43d5-b4c4-94d7c9c4a1d8mind apricots and I like biscuits and clove. It’s 6.5% ABV and only 21 IBU, so it’s not going to be silly hoppy. Woot, I can’t wait!!

BeerAdvocate has it rated at 86 (Very Good) with no Bros Score. Untappd has it at 3.72 caps out of 5. Both of those are quite respectable scores. Have you had this yet? How was it? We’re really interested in hearing your thoughts. If you haven’t had it or just want more of it, then head down to City Beverage and grab your sixer. Tell them that it’s the beer of the week and get 5% off the order! Tune in tonight to see what Caitlin, Danielle, her guest and I have to say about the beer (and probably a lot of other beers).

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Some believe it moonstruck madnewss to craft Old World ales for a modern palette that constantly clamors for the extremes of “hoppy” or “sour.” While our love for those extremes is strong, we believe that subtlety, balance and simplicity in beer – though sometimes forgotten qualities – are sacred necessities. It is precisely this kind of lunacy that keeps the craft world sane. It takes all kinds to make a world.” – Lunatic Blonde by Wicked Weed carton.

Wayward Brews or: The Less Desirables, June 22, 2016

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

Jeff Snyder, the manager for Wayward Brews came into The Less Desirables studio to talk about the new coffee, tea, beer and wine shop that opened just outside the WSNC city limits last week. Jeff is a childhood friend of The BCPF’s and I’ve known him since my 90-Day Club days of Finnigan’s Wake (the Official Emerald Isle of The Less Desirables).

Jeff discusses his history in WSNC, from Java by Jeff (which he owned) and moved on to other things before getting back into the coffee biz, along with NC-only beer and wine. 2016-06-22 22.13.03The beverage station sounds awesome and I can’t wait to get there to try the wares. And, hey! I get to hang out with Jeff some more. He describes it as a low-key lounge and I like that idea. It’s also not far from my house, that helps, too. He also talks about events and functions that will be held there. Then he joins the conversation with us for pop culture discussions.

Caitlin, being the Prez-o-Person of the Winston-Salem Jaycees, tells of what is happening in Jaycees World during the Caitlin’s Bowl o’Stuffs section.

a/perture cinema (the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables) presents the week in movies and this includes what’s new to a/perture, new to Netflix streaming and a review of the 1961 film, A Raisin in the Sun. I reviewed it here on Saturday, you can read that review HERE.

Fan Interference‘s very own TC gives a sports headlines update. This includes NBA, NFL and MLB news.

The Garage (the Official Music Sponsor of The Less Desirables) presents the week in music including talking about the Vagabond Saints Society show that happened last Friday and the Near Strangers’ CD release on Saturday. Also, we talked about what new music was released on Friday. We listened to a tune from the Near Strangers’ new album. It was also the very first week of The “Great TLD/MM3AMMC Tap Takeover” in which I played my “pick” from the Monday Morning 3AM Music Club project, which was “There Is No Destination” from KG Noble.

The usual As Ardmore Turns spot was replaced by a tribute to an Ardmorian that fell to tragedy the week before.

City Beverage (the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables) presents the beer of the week, Mango Tango Foxtrot IPA from Deep River Brewing. It’s tasted and rated by CrewTLD.

In addition, we’d like to thank our sponsors Washington Perk & Provision Company and King’s Crab Shack & Oyster Bar.

I’ve just given you an overview, but it’s an entertaining show. You should give it a listen. You can do so by going to the website, iTunes, Stitcher and TuneIn. OR… you can just listen here because I am including it. I’m cool like that, eh?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“A funky lounge that’s not pretentious and not a sports bar. Not a beer snob or wine snob (place). Just a comfortable place to hang out.” – Jeff Snyder on the vibe of Wayward Brews

Started Making Sense or: Wow! That Was Difficult

27 Monday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

That Vagabond Saints Society: Talking Heads show was Friday. Man! Anyone who has listened to the song “Once in a Lifetime” and thought, well that’s kind of nutty and yet it’s “simple.” Well, I’m here to tell you… it certainly is not simple. I challenge anyone to get up on stage, with a live band, without David Byrne’s guidance (singing along with the recording) and not just get lost in that song. And by “get lost” I don’t mean you’re so into it you lose yourself in it. I mean, you will get lost in the timing for that tune. That creates chaos and a train wreck. That was soundcheck on Friday night at The Garage (the Official Music Sponsor of The Less Desirables).13516746_10105885029580575_1321898613501431862_n

I didn’t get to have rehearsal for this show. Both rehearsals were at times where I was unable to get away. One was my best friend’s wedding and the other was on a Wednesday night and I can’t get away from The Less Desirables. So, soundcheck was my rehearsal. I’ll admit it, I created a clustermess of crap during soundcheck. It stunk up the joint, to be sure. I’ve never seen Doug Davis look panicked when it comes to me and my performance, until this. He was calm but he has a certain tone he takes when he’s concerned. I assured him I would handle it.

So, as soon as I stepped off the soundcheck stage, I went out to my car and listened to that song for a straight 40 minutes, non-stop. I figured out my problem, mistakes and everything I was doing wrong. Still, tension in my stomach was quite high. I had even told The BCPF that I was nervous and rarely do I ever get nervous going on stage.

In the opening set, I did “Stay Up Late” with no problem. Everyone, the band, the crowd, etc. seemed to be into that performance, so that was good. After that first set, I went back to the car and listened, once more through, to get my bearings. Next during the St0p Making Sense set, I did “Burning Down the House” and that was easier (other than the words making no danged sense) and I seemed to nail that one. I paced more than usual waiting for my next tune. I went into the “green room” and sat for a bit, talking to a few of the other performers who were going over their lyrics, then pacing more. It was time for me to go up and hit it again.

My tedious tearing apart of the song must have helped because I was able to do it, if I say so, danged near perfectly and everyone was in sync. Karon Click had told me that she was flying with me. If I derailed she was going down with me. She didn’t have to worry about it because I concentrated like no other song ever for VSS. I was able to put some theatrics in there as well without losing my spot. I even gave Karon a kiss on my way off the stage. I was that happy to get through it. Plus, I got a pretty loud pop at the end, so I think it went splendidly.

The real heroes here, though, had nothing to do with me. I was backed by a world-class band of professionals that knew the material front-to-back. They’re always spot-on and none of the singers ever have to worry about them being off. It’s up to us singers to get it right. The band always kills it.

I don’t usually break the fourth wall when it comes to this but it was so unusual a show for me and I was not so much proud as relieved to have made it out alive, that I felt I needed to talk about it. It was nerve-wracking, I must say. When I got back to where The BCPF was after that last tune, I was excited and did a double handed/armed “yesssssss!” That took a toll on me, I can’t lie.

But, the party isn’t over. I have two more shows with VSS to do these songs and I will not mess them up. I got this.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Water dissolving. Water removing. There is water at the bottom of the ocean. Under water, carry the water. But remove the water, from the bottom of the ocean.” – “Once in a Lifetime” (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth)

Silent Sunday or: When It Starts Making Sense

26 Sunday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

Whew! What a hot, steamy, turbulent, but extremely awesome weekend it was was. There’s a lot I could talk about but today is Sunday, of the “Silent” variety and I’m just going to say, I love my friends. All of them, but today, I’m focusing the love on my Vagabond Saints Society friends. I will probably talk more about this tomorrow or the next few days but I want to thank Doug Davis, Jerry Chapman, Randall Johnson, Corky McClellan, Patrick Ferguson, Neal Goode and Karon Click for allowing me to be on stage with them. Also, I want to thank Tony Dagnall and Amanda Sullivan, Drew Hofmann, Brian Cole, Brian McCuiston, Lee Wallace, Bob Campbell, Jack Benedict, Marty Rogers, Chris Nelson and John McMillan for allowing me to share the stage with them. And thanks to The Garage (the Official Music Sponsor of The Less Desirables) for hosting us.

I’m just gonna leave this here for your consideration…

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife. And you may ask yourself, “well,how did I get here?” – “Once in a Lifetime” (Byrne, Harrison, Eno, Frantz, Weymouth)

A Rasin in the Sun or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

25 Saturday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, A Raisin in the Sun (1961), starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Claudia McNeil.

Per IMDb: “A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.”

In the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, Walter Lee (Poitier) and Ruth (Dee) Younger are struggling with living in the city and being poor. v1.bTsxMTIwNTU3MTtqOzE2OTkwOzIwNDg7MTUzNjsyMDQ4Walter is wrestling with himself for being a chauffeur for a rich white man. The fact that their apartment is so small that his son has to sleep on the couch while his mother, Lena (McNeil) and sister, Beneatha (Diana Sands) sleep in the second bedroom doesn’t help. He believes there’s a better life but the women in his life keeps him “down.”

The family is waiting for a life insurance check after the passing of the family patriarch. Walter Lee wants to open a liquor store with his street-wise friends and thinks it’s silly for his sister to want to be a nurse. Walter Lee and Bene both are dreaming away their mother’s money. Bene is trying to evolve to a Godless world and Lena isn’t allowing that to happen. Ruth suddenly takes ill (turns out she’s preggers).

Walter Lee is freaking out about the money. He won’t talk to his mother until she is willing to talk about investing in his liquor store idea. He shuns his wife, everyone out of blind rage over the money; or the lack thereof. And then, Lena drops the baby-bomb on him and he comes down. Ruth tells him that she’s going to abort the baby and he’s thinking that’s not a bad idea. This creates more tension in the already-shaky family dynamic.

A young Louis Gossett, Jr. plays George, a young college student with an affluent family that wants to date Bene but she’s taken by a young Nigerian named Asagai (Ivan Dixon), so she takes to her roots, much to the chagrin of George. Then, Walter Lee starts in on George because of their money and how George is what’s wrong with “colored folks.” Lena comes back and tells the family that she bought a house. Some are happy, Walter Lee isn’t. It doesn’t help that she bought it in a white neighborhood, which she picked mainly because it was the least expensive. This drives Walter Lee to heavier drinking, not going to work and just being the lush at the bar of his choice.

Lena breaks down and gives him the $6500 left after buying the house. The stipulation is that he puts $3000 into Beneatha’s medical schooling. Then Mark Linder (John Fielder), basically the HOA envoy of “special problems.” He comes to talk with Lena about a buy out. It seems that the Clybourne Park homeowners aren’t ready for a family of color to come into their neighborhood. They tell him they’re not interested and they think it’s all funny.

Then, Walter’s friend, Bobo (Joel Fluellen) comes to tell him that the money they were putting in for the liquor store was stolen by Willie, their other “partner-in-crime.” Turns out, it was all the money that Lena had given him; including the $3000 that he was supposed to put aside for Bene. Asagai comes in to talk to Bene and tries to get her to see the whole picture. That whole picture and how Walter Lee handles the situation, you have to watch to find out.

The struggle of the non-privileged, especially those of color is portrayed in its dark, ugly reality in this film. Forgiveness, compassion and how to pull a family together at its absolute lowest point, that’s what this film is about. Sacrifice, hard decisions and living with what you’re given over what you’ve not; this and pride in family. Life is hard. All these themes are resounding loud and clear.

I can’t express enough how amazing the acting in this film was. Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Claudia McNeil, especially are as good in this picture as I’ve ever seen. How in the world it wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award, on any level, is beyond me. In 1961, there was stiff competition for Best Picture (West Side Story, Fanny, The Guns of Navarone, The Hustler, Judgement at Nuremberg), sure, and I’m not sure it could have won, but still, no nomination? Best actor? Maximilian Schell won against Charles Boyer, Paul Newman, Spencer Tracy and Stuart Whitman. But no nomination for Sidney Poitier? I don’t get it. Ruby Dee did win an award for Best Supporting Actress from the National Board Review. Also, Poitier and McNeil were both nominated for Golden Globes that year. Still, a travesty.

To prove my point, Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 100% Fresh. Meaning 14 of 14 pro critics gave it positive marks. It has an Audience Score of 86%. IMDb rates it at 8.1 stars out of 10. I watched this on DVD from Netflix. It was at one time available on streaming but isn’t currently. Honestly, I had had this disc since October of 2014. I just watched it recently. I wasn’t really interested. I think that’s the beauty of this AFI list, yes it was on that list of 400 nominees for the Top 100 of All Time, it gets me to watch things that I wouldn’t have known I’d missed. That, too, is a travesty. I rate this film 5 stars; that on the story and the acting. And I highly recommend you watch it, any way that you can.

Have you seen it? What did you think? Do you agree with me? What would you like to see/hear me review in the future? Let me know.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Oh God, please, look down and give me strength!” – Lena Younger

Once in a Lifetime or: Making Vagabond Sense

24 Friday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

So, tonight kicks off the Vagabond Saints Society’s annual summer spectacular.This year, the theme is the Talking Heads. Specifically, they’re doing the “new special edition” of Stop Making Sense, but that’s the headliner section of the show. The shows will start with non-SMS Talking Heads songs and then thrown in to the main course.

The opening show, tonight, is happening at the “Official Music Sponsor of The Less Desirables,” The Garage. The doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. Let’s be Stop_making_sense_poster_originalhonest, we rarely ever start on time but you’ll still want to get there early because there’s always the threat of it selling out and they will cut admissions when that happens.

The regular and recurring folks will be performing, I’m sure. I haven’t seen the full list, so I can’t give any details. I just know that I’m performing. I’m doing three songs and all of them are pretty well known TH songs and two of them are numbers 1 & 2 on the Ultimate Classic Rock website’s “top 10 Talking Heads songs” list and are consistently top 5 on most other lists I saw. I don’t know how I pulled that off, but okay! It’s some tough stuff, too. Not the range or anything but the timing. I didn’t get to rehearse with the band, so tonight is my rehearsal, let’s see how that goes.

The next two shows will be at Raylen Vineyards on July 16 and Summer on Liberty on August 13. I love doing all those shows but The Garage is our home. I am a huge fan of that establishment. So, again, come on out and enjoy some weird post-punk/new wavy goodness. Hear me sing about babies, houses, water and other nonsensical things, and have a good time!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Watch out! You might get what you’re after! Cool baby! Strange but not a stranger. I’m an ordinary guy, burning down the house.” – “Burning Down the House” (Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth)

MM3AMMC in MMXVI or: An Experiment in Songwriting

23 Thursday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

So, the first of “The Great TLD/MM3AMMC Musical Tap Takeover” happened this week. What does that mean? Well, if I have to explain, then it means you haven’t listened to the last two episodes of The Less Desirables. But, because I want you to know what it is, and the members of the conglomeration want you to know what it is, I’ll tell you. But, you should listen to the show! I demand it! Yeah, okay, sorry…a0362557440_10

First off, MM3AMMC means Monday Morning 3AM Music Club. It’s a project/experiment where songwriters hone their skills, with a little bit of competition, in writing a new song every week. Now, it’s not just as simple as writing a song. There’s a catch; a couple actually. First, you must have your song uploaded to the site by, you guessed it, 3am on Monday morning. Secondly, there are “assignments” that happen every week. I believe the songwriters are given the assignment on Monday, after the previous week’s deadline. If you don’t turn your song in, then you’re eliminated from the remaining weeks in the current round.

This past Monday was the first week in Round 13. There’s a few months worth of weeks in each round and usually about 12 people or so start each round. This week, two people didn’t get theirs in on time. That leaves 10. So, you’re asking, what does that have to do with me, right? Go ahead, ask me! I’ll tell you.

Doug Davis (yes, that Doug Davis) approached me to basically be a “judge” and award one songwriter an auxiliary music spot on The Less Desirables. Of course, many of the songwriters are pals of mine, and I am a fan of the project anyway, so I said, “definitely.” So, on Monday morning around 8:30am or so, I go and listen to the submissions. Truth be known, I actually try to listen along the way.  But, I really listen at 8:30am. I look over the assignment, compare the lyrics and songs to that assignment and then pick the one that I think makes the best representation of the assignment’s rules.

This week, the assignment was from Jerry Chapman (yes, that Jerry Chapman): “In honor of Georgia starting high school … Write a song to your high school self. Doesn’t have to be advice.”

The submissions were as follows:

  • Clay Howard – “Run Away (Get Out While You Can)”
  • Joshua West – “In Your Hands”
  • G. Edward McBride – “Sea of Stars”
  • AG Y’all (Anand Gan) – “It’s All Gonna Be All Right”
  • Doug Davis – “Back to the Well”
  • Corky McClellan – “Wait for the Internet”
  • Steve Willard – “It’s Gonna Be Alright”
  • Jerry Chapman – “Welcome to the Soundcheck”
  • Patrick Ferguson – “Just Move On”
  • KG Noble – “There is no Destination”

And the winner was… nah, you don’t get it that easy. I mean, I want you to listen to the whole show, right? So, you need to listen to find out who won. You can do that on The Less Desirables website, on iTunes, Stitcher or the newest addition, TuneIn. Or, I’ll save you the trouble and post it here, I’m good like that. And yes, there may be a reposting of this next Tuesday, you never know.

Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“You look different, your name is ‘wierd.’ It’s all right. It’s all right.
Be a nerd or a bookworm girl. It’s all right. It’s all right, yeah.” – “It’s All Gonna Be All Right” (Gan) (not necessarily the winner)

Mango Tango Foxtrot or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Beer of the Week, Mango Tango Foxtrot IPA from Deep River Brewing in Clayton, NC.

I’ll say this up front, the Deep River website, while sleek and fairly nice looking, hasn’t been updated, it seems, since the middle of last year. It has been so long, in fact, that the beer this week, isn’t even listed on their site. Nowhere. I even searched. I Googled it, too. Nothing. So, I hope the beer is better than the website maintenance. I’m not knocking 9b4184fb-e618-4e0a-b71b-052309c45692them, just saying, you need an updated website. As crappy as ours is, I do update it every week. Okay, enough of that.

I haven’t had a Deep River brew as far as I know, but I do like to support NC beers and, behold! this is an NC beer. As far as I can tell from the weirdly depicted description on the can, there are no real mangos (or tangos) in the beer but the flavor comes from the hops they use. Luckily, I can have mangos, even if they did. Not sure about the tangos, though. Caitlin’s back this week and I have to keep her happy, that’s why I went with an IPA. I don’t know what to expect and I can’t leech off any website descriptions because it’s non-existent.

I do know that BeerAdvocate rates it at 85 (Very Good) with no Bros Score. Untappd has it at 3.74 caps out of 5. That’s pretty good. It’s ABV is 5.7%. Have you had it? What did you think? If you’ve not had it or want it again, you should go grab your quad (in tallboy cans) today. Tune in tonight to see what Caitlin, Jeff and I think of it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“The brewery is is a 15bbl, 2 vessel brewhouse designed specifically for Deep River Brewing Co. The brewery also strives to use locally grown raw materials for the beer whenever possible.” – Deep River website

And Now For Something Completely Different or: 30 Years Later

21 Tuesday Jun 2016

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Salutations™!!

I know that Tuesdays are usually reserved for The Less Desirables recap, but today is a very special anniversary for me, not once but twice.

June 21, 1986. I woke up in “Little White Oak Holler” on Welch-Pineville Rd. in WV, anxious and nervous. There was dread, to be sure, but there was also a sense of excitement and wonder. I heard a loud rumbling sound and knew it was a large truck. But, it wasn’t the normal tractor-trailers that Ma Père had drudging up and down the “holler” that I was used to. It was a dump truck. Um… what? Yeah, just hold on, it gets even better.

It was Pops pulling up in this dump truck and he pulled into the yard and backed up to the breezeway of our old house. The breezeway was a large “porch” between the main/side door of our house and the garage/shop of Pops’. He swung the tailgate out (I had never seen nor heard of this before) and they placed a few boards to create a ramp. And Mes ‘Rents, several of their friends, a couple of my friends, my sis and I started putting items in the back of the bed. Personal items. Memories.  Life. Almost all of our stuff was TimandSandraPromsystematically (because that’s the only way Pops knows how to do things) placed in the back of this dump truck bed. Tears, laughter, more anxiety, it was all present as we put our belongings in this delivery beast.

Later that afternoon, since we had already prepped everything to be packed, we closed the tailgate, loaded up what we could in a few personal vehicles, grabbed one of my best childhood friends and set out on the road. That road led to where I’m sitting right now (at least on the same amassed property): WSNC. We moved the stuff to the house that Ma ‘Rents still live in today. I live in a house about two football fields away from that same house. I haven’t moved away from this compound, officially, in 30 years. I did live in an apartment for about four months whilst waiting for my currently previous address (also on the compound) the “Cabin in the Woods” to be ready to move into (read: waiting for the squatters to move out). But, I’ve been here for 30 years.

The “Old Homestead” has changed a lot over that 30 years. Some ugly rooms were refurbished, some left alone because of the nostalgia. New rooms added. Some pools added, then removed, then added elsewhere. Some rooms were completely gutted and the main living area floor completely restructured. The roof was removed and an entire living “suite” was built in the new floor. The basement, where my room was went from being a reconditioned hair salon to an oddly placed bedroom to a mini-apt with a living room and bedroom to a full-blown apartment with storage, a kitchen two additional bedrooms and two bathrooms. We started with just about 1/2 an acre of land and we now live on just under 20 (including my property). Really, anyone who came to visit when we first moved and haven’t been back since, certainly wouldn’t recognize the place, at all.

I hated that I had to move and leave my friends and what life I had experienced behind. I was 15. I had just finished my freshman year of high school with people I’d gone to school with for 10 years. That’s a hard age to do that with. Especially coming from a town of about 1100 people (at the time… much less than that, now) to a town of about 220,000 (more than that, now). But, anyone who knows me knows I don’t take a lot of time to get to know people and make friends. One week in school, I had it all worked out. I thought I’d try to go back “home,” back to WV, to finish school, but after about six months of living here, understanding that I had instant access to just about anything I wanted, could shop and eat, all within 10 minutes from my house (in WV, we had to go about 45 minutes away to do just about anything), and that was enough to make me realize that I had no desire to go back. I went back to visit. I dated two girls up there whilst living here. That was hard.

Let’s switch gears for a second.

June 21, 1968. Ma Père went to pick up his “fiancee” (I don’t know if they even called each other that back then) and drove her from Pineville, WV to Lebanon, VA. where they got hitched. Been pretty cool as far as I can tell. I mean, they have a really awesome son. They have a daughter and another son, too, but one really awesome one (yes, that’s a dig and yes, they know I’m not at all kidding about kidding). So, if you’re putting that together, yes, we moved to WSNC on their 18th anniversary. It was (at the time) the longest day of the year (when did that change to June 20?) and a Saturday. This is still the marriage that I strive to make for The BCPF and me. I couldn’t have picked better parents and I wouldn’t want to. I am sure they’re far from perfect, but I wouldn’t know it. They’re perfect for me, my sis, my bro, our kids.

So, happy 48th anniversary Mom and Dad and happy 30th anniversary of living here to you both, my sis and me. We’ve been through a lot and, even with the bad, I’d not want to change much of anything. Thank you, Dear Reader, for letting me indulge in grandiose storytelling, but hey, you’re used to that, by now. And by the way, the picture isn’t of their wedding, it’s a prom. I couldn’t find a wedding picture in the brief time I had to look.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year.” – Paul Sweeney