THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606020172
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH
LENGTH: 62 lines
Billy Clyde Puckett, the hero of Dan Jenkins' wickedly funny football novel ``Semi-Tough,'' described human existence in simple, but meaningful, terms.
``Life's a funny ol' dog, sometimes, ain't it?''
This weekend marks the two-year anniversary of my arrival on the Outer Banks. In that light, I've thought a lot about Billy Clyde's simple, but no less wise, observation.
Let me explain.
Six weeks after my arrival in North Carolina, I had come to a crystal clear conclusion:
I hated this place.
I was nearly 800 miles from home, family and friends. I went to work for an editor who tinkered and toyed with my copy, something that had never happened at previous papers, and it drove me crazy. And then there's the whole issue of vinegar-based barbecue sauce.
I didn't know a soul, save the folks I saw at work every day. And at the end of each day, I trudged home to my apartment, greeted by a multitude of still-unpacked boxes. If they stayed shut, I thought, it would be easier to leave.
I would sit often in the maddening quiet of those dark nights, thinking that my best days as a newspaper person were long gone. That I didn't belong here. That I should turn the car around and head back to Alabama.
But time is like a mother's kiss on a child's cut finger. It heals things. And in the days and weeks and months that followed - thanks to the encouragement of that same boss and good friends at the office, and folks I met along the way - the frowns turned to smiles.
I've thought often in recent weeks of some of those folks. Keith Fearing was one of the first people I met here. On a warm summer Saturday we stood on a Manteo street corner and talked for about a half-hour. As we parted, he said, ``You'll do fine here, and you'll find out how wonderful this place is.''
Keith has since passed away, but the memory of his friendship and his advice are still very much alive.
And over the months, I found out how right he was.
I discovered how gracious folks here were after spending a few hours visiting with Grace Hooper, a retired teacher who lives in Stumpy Point.
I learned something about generosity from Dallas Gray, who shared a feast of freshly caught seafood with me on that same summer afternoon.
And from 8-year-old Orrin Gray, I learned something about courage in the face of adversity. Orrin is fighting, and winning, a war against cancer.
I've also discovered something about what matters to folks here - faith, family and living by the Golden Rule. And that's probably no different from small communities in Alabama, New Jersey, Virginia, or anywhere else in America.
I've also been blessed in other ways. My grandfather loved politics, but never got to meet the governor of his state. I've had that privilege. My grandmother loved baseball, but never met a Hall of Famer. Jim ``Catfish'' Hunter was kind enough to sit down and visit with me in his Hertford home.
I've been to good communities, like Engelhard and Columbia, and Ocracoke and Manns Harbor and points in between, for the most part loving every visit.
And I've learned that of all the places on earth, the Good Lord put in a bit of overtime on this locale. A full moon over Shallowbag Bay tells me so.
You know, Billy Clyde was right. Life is a funny ol' dog. And thanks to good folks like you, I'm fond of that old pooch.
And, I love this place. by CNB