I want to rewind a few days, to Sunday. It started out by going to church for our special Homecoming service. For those not familiar with Homecoming, it is exactly what the title suggests. Everyone comes back to the church they grew up in for an extended service. The best part however occurs afterwards when there is a covered dish lunch. Talk about a spread. I ate the following: fried Chicken, sugar-cured ham, meatloaf, turkey and dressing, part of a porkchop, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, corn pudding, 2 types of slaw(sorta went overboard there), dirty rice, collards with homemade relish, green beans, biscuits, banana pudding, and buttermilk pie; all of which were homemade. Folks, that’s good eating. I know that you can find this all over the south and probably even farther up north past the Virginia line, but I associate traditions like homecoming with my home state of NC.
After this I went home and watched football with my dad. The Panthers finally won (about freakin’ time). At the half and for the next 2+ hours me and my Dad headed, cleaned, and filleted over 50 flounder, butterfish, and pompano. He caught them at Cedar Island…one of the most unique and secluded places in NC. A place where I would only dare take my closest friends and a place that is very near and dear to my heart. We did the fish cleaning while listening to likes of R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough play the blues. We drank Natural Light out of a can. We fried fish and boiled blue crab.
Again, I know this goes on in other states and even other regions, but I associate it with NC and I never feel more at home as I do when I’m part of stuff like this. I feel like there is a desire for people to want to be elsewhere always. They feel stuck. If they live in a city, they want to live in a secluded, quaint town. If they live in a small town, they want to feel the pulse of the city. Easterners long for the west and sometimes vice versa. Don’t get me wrong being footloose is fantastic. With new locations comes new and better opportunities. And, someday I will move away from this state for a stint of time to see what the west tastes like…but my home will remain.
I am not nor have I ever been one that dislikes my home State. NC is a great state. I don’t have to go to Napa Valley to see beauty. It’s all around me. Sure, this region has its drawbacks like any. The south is a place very rich in tradition and also one brooding with intolerance and ignorance. In fact, we have a history of it…even worse some people celebrate it! It’s the only part of the south that I am truly ashamed of; a select few give a great majority an awful reputation. Just as I am sure that New York, Penn., and even New Jersey aren’t full of foul-mouthed Yankees. They are great and beautiful states in their own right.
Go out and take a walk around the place you live and try extra hard to really appreciate all that has to offer. Consider this my case for the state of North Carolina. I would encourage anyone to visit here and if you want…stay awhile.
