Back from my surprise vacation. North Carolina heat and humidity is hellish like how New York can be, but the days are longer and the heat builds up faster. An example is generally on a hot high heat index day in New York the heat gets unbearable around noon, but in North Carolina this happens around 10:00 AM.
Over the past 2 weeks I have exercised in the Carolina heat, and pretty much all the bikers and joggers are done by 10:00 AM. I did my heavy hands, I walked water’s edge on the beach in knee deep water for strength workouts, and I did 3 1/2 hour and 4 1/2 hour walks in the heat.
Lost about 3-4 pounds, maybe 5. The grandson had a trip to Urgent Care for a head bump on his forehead. No big deal because baby skulls are pliable. Since one of his knicknames is “Sharky” because he is an aggressive eater, now I call him “Hammerhead.” He will be 2 years old in August.
“Maggie” also had to go to Urgent Care for a splinter in her hand from a railing. Separately she also got bitten by Fire Ants.
We learned that pretty much the rapid development and the hot housing market translates into infrastructure shortages, basic things like health care, and water pressure.
Food prices though are cheap. Premium gas for $3.99 and regular gas $2.99. The also sold non ethanol Premium 93 octane for $4.79.
The schools down there are non Union, and pretty much one could get “black-listed,” meaning someone has the power to end your career in North Carolina. TV surveillance in classrooms is also used.
Pretty high risk to buy a house without real job security. Pay is proportional somewhat to the cost of living, but a fraction of a New York salary.
Then there is the house being sold that still does not yet have a closing date. The expiration and time envelope to close is running out, so pretty much there is a good possibility if things don’t pan out very-very soon that pretty much the contract to buy the house will expire, and our homeless family will just move back into their unsold house, until they figure out what their next move might be: sell again to a different buyer; stay put; and meanwhile look for other jobs…
The basically still have their old jobs and have not officially resigned.
So things are messy right now, but there is the deadline when the contract expires, job interviews are happening, and pretty much everything is unsettled. Pretty much the family is moving back to New York.
Pretty much I drove down to NC to support Maggie, who in turn was there to support her daughter, the “Creature.” I did things like cook, but I had time to read, practice guitar, and exercise. My guitar playing advanced significantly. I read a book by Mick Dawson who not only rowed across the Atlantic, but also rowed the Pacific as part of a two man team. This was a book my friend Andrew lent me.
After learning that cooking peppers and onions separately to achieve perfection, I tried this technic on my version of a chicken prem-A-vera pasta using penne. What a feast I made.
Separately at a relative of Maggie’s house they had a Low Land Boil which is a seafood boil in spiced water. The pot used was about a 30 gallon pot, used to cook shrimp, crabs, corn, potatoes, hot sausage, and Ko-bah-C.
The ocean was the temperature of bath water. The beaches are shallow and the undertow serious. Maggie’s daughter actually saved a 5-6 year old from drowning. The boy’s parents were unaware what was happening. Kinda crazy.
Oak Island pretty much is a high concentration of white people. In fact one of the highest concentrations in NC. I kinda stood out like a sore thumb. I got really-really dark and I was wearing my thick black sunglasses (Expensive Italian frames with polarized lenses) and Maggie made the comment that I look like Stevie Wonder. When I looked in a mirror at the beach house, I certainly did with my ponytail and dark skin.
The guitar I brought down to NC was a guitar I call “Worm” because it is a “Snakehead,” pretty much a 1949 style prototype single pickup Telecaster that preceded the Fender “Esquire.” I really bonded with this simple guitar, and my playing really advanced in a significant manner. Great tone, dynamics, and more fluidity. I basically dug into chord scales, transposition, and integrating scales.
The strings need changing because I kinda wore them out from all my practicing.
It was great coming home. I missed our home. My intrusive neighbor cut our lawn. Our garden grew a lot. Lots of flowers emerged. I saw one of our wild rabbits.
Cal
8x10 Deep Tank 15L 1000 AR Octobox Ilford Ortho D23 Replenished by Nokton48, on Flickr
