Salutations™!!

I’m the one on the left… No, I didn’t work for Foot Locker

I know that I usually post The Less Desirables Beer of the Week, presented by our Official Beer Sponsor, City Beverage, on Wednesday, but today is a little different. If I look back on this day 31 years ago, I had been up all night dreading what was going to happen. I had to get up early, along with my bestie, Scotty B. We had been gathering belongings for a few months by then.

I stood outside and watched a dump truck ride up the road in the “holler.” I didn’t understand what it was that was happening. This dump truck was pulling into our driveway and moving through the yard, backing up to the steps of the breezeway of our house. Out pops my Pops and he was swinging the tailgate of the dump truck wide. I realized what was going on. It was typical of my family: Improv. We couldn’t get a moving truck, we used a dump truck. Walking across a narrow improved ramp made of 2x4s and pressboard (at least how I remember it) we carried all of our big things – furniture, fixtures, beds, etc. – onto/into this dump truck bed.

While that happened, Ma Mère and some of her friends were piling stuff into our passenger cars, their passenger vehicles and anywhere else we could. We closed that swing gate, topped off the cars with whatever we could whilst still being able to get into them, locked the door of the “old house” and piled into said vehicles, creating a caravan of stuff that could possibly have rivaled The Beverly Hillbillies. The only thing preventing that was there was no rocking chair and the dump trucks’ sides were too high to really see what was in it.

Scotty and I had piled into a car with a family friend (I wasn’t old enough to drive, yet) in what was one of the worst rides, ever. It had nothing to do with the company, I enjoyed those folks. I didn’t want to be going where we were going. It wasn’t a vacation, this was a permanent situation.

If you’ve not figured it out, June 21, 1986, was one of the most transitional days of my life. It also was one of the biggest and best game changers ever. We moved from “(Little) White Oak Holler,” WV to good old Winston-Salem, NC on that day. I hated it. At least then. I swore I was going back as soon as I could. I was going to go stay with someone and graduate from my high school. I was going to do a lot of things. I knew no one here. I had no friends. I had my stuff, but it was boring by myself.

Then, I had a realization. I was almost 16. I was almost driving age. I was making friends at school. I was within 10 minutes of just about anything that I could want to do. City life was good and while I missed my friends in WV, I was really enjoying access and availability. I would go back “home” as often as I could and loved hanging out with my friends (and girlfriends) but I was realizing that I was missing my new home. It was a weird kind of Stockholm Syndrome – my new home had overtaken my want of being back in WV. As much as I have fond memories of the old homestead, there’s no way I’d move back there. It’s not the same as I look upon it as an adult as it was through the innocent child’s eyes. There’s nothing there for me to do – no one really. Not a lot of industry, not a lot of work, not a lot of entertainment. I’m not putting it down, I’m just stating some of the realities as to why. But, all of that being said, it’s my roots. I have wonderful memories from my time there. I still talk to friends from there, whether they’re still there or not.

As much as I have fond memories of the old homestead, there’s no way I’d move back there. It’s not the same as I look upon it as an adult as it was through the innocent child’s eyes. There’s nothing there for me to do – no one really. Not a lot of industry, not a lot of work, not a lot of entertainment. I’m not putting it down, I’m just stating some of the realities as to why. But, all of that being said, it’s my roots. Like I said, I have wonderful memories from my time there. I still talk to friends from there, whether they’re still there or not. I love my native state, but I love living in my adopted state more. I love my city, which should be obvious from about any post or podcast that I do. And the city seems to like me, which is a plus.

Oh, and something else that happened on this day 31 years ago, it was Mes ‘Rents’ 18th anniversary. So I’d love to wish them a Happy 49th Anniversary today. They’re awesome and I strive to have a family like that. They’re not perfect, but they’re perfectly mine. Happy Anny to you guys and happy Carolinaversary to all four of us (including my sis)!

And, still, go by City Beverage and get some beer or wine. Listen to The Less Desirables tonight to hear what the beer of the week is so you can get your 5% discount from City Bev. We will have Amanda and Mackenzie from Winston-Salem Ambassadors in the studio tonight. And, with the picture, I don’t really have a lot of pics from my childhood, at least digitally. Oh, well.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“I love North Carolina.” – Tyler Hilton