7/30/2003

 

Cannon Mills/Pillowtex
1887-2003
RIP

'Tis a sad, sad day for Cabarrus County. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone here who doesn't know someone affected by this. Kannapolis wouldn't even exist without the mill, and I don't know what's going to happen to the town now. If you're a praying sort of person, about 7,700 people could really use some prayer right now...

8:52 PM

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7/22/2003

 

Well, Brian described our weekend fairly nicely in his blog. (I wasn't out there all day with him Saturday; I had another masochistic-outdoors-in-July clogging performance at Farmer's Day in China Grove, then I put in an appearance for both of us at the CPS ice cream social and joint meeting of local rescue groups. But I was out there with him the rest of the weekend.) Then came Monday morning, and four hours in the dentist's office.

Yep, 4 hours.

See, when I was a kid, and my permanent front teeth came in (late), they had pits and dark areas in them. After consultation with assorted dentists, the solution of the time was to coat my 4 front teeth with resin bonding. This gave me pretty, durable teeth. But only so durable; they told me the bonding would probably need to be redone every 5-7 years. Well, it lasted much longer than they thought - that was close to 20 years ago. I've had a few repairs where the bonding chipped but that's it. But, it discolors over time, and it had chipped some more, and the chipped areas had stained, and repairs weren't gonna cut it this time. So, courtesy of a birthday present from my dear Papa, I made the appointment to get my teeth redone. They can now do them with porcelain instead of resin, which means they won't discolor and I shouldn't ever have to have them done again. Which is good, because 4 hours in the dentist's chair is NOT my favorite way to spend the morning. I currently have temporary caps on those 4 teeth while the porcelains are being made. I'll post a picture of my new smile as soon as I get it! :)

3:53 PM

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7/18/2003

 

Farkin' A

I just got summoned for federal jury duty. The day before classes start. In Winston-Salem, no less.

Shit.

5:20 PM

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7/11/2003

 

The Friday Five

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it?

I had two at the same time when I was four. Bobbie, don't know her last name, and Joy Alexander.

2. Are you still in touch with this person?

Bobbie and I went to different schools when we started kindergarten, so didn't see each other again. Joy was hit and killed by a truck before we finished preschool.

3. Do you have a current close friend?

Several close friends. I don't have a best friend in the usual sense - as in, one girlfriend that I'm closer to than all others. But as far as I'm concerned my husband is my best friend.

4. How did you become friends with this person?

My current closest friends I met either in high school or college, and one I met online. I met my husband in high school (during a production of Fiddler on the Roof, to be exact.)

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why?

I wish I was in better contact with several friends; unfortunately, when they live many states away, it's too easy to lose touch, or at least get to the point where you only talk/write occasionally. I miss my friend Sherry, who lives right here in town, I've been trying to rectify that by nailing her down to a lunch date but no luck so far. It gets harder when you no longer have any activities in common and no longer work near each other so you can't do the once a week lunch thing. There is one friend who I've totally lost touch with that I miss - he was supposed to be at my wedding and wasn't, and when I got back from my honeymoon and settled in our apartment and called him, he had moved and the folks in his apartment didn't know how to contact him. I don't know what the hell happened or why I never heard from him again, but Jackie if you happen by some odd chance to read this, email me!

7:23 PM

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7/08/2003

 

Cabarrus Creamery Redux

I drove by the new Creamery today. There's a huge sign in the window:

THANK YOU!
YOU ATE IT ALL!!!!!
WILL REOPEN THURS A.M.!

I'd say it's a success. :-)

2:25 PM

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7/07/2003

 

I must be a masochist

Why else would I spend an hour and a half on the back of a flatbed truck in scorching July heat, burning my shoulders, sweating like a pig, and dancing til I'm nearly sick? And love every minute of it? We clogged in the 4th of July parade in Faith, NC on Friday, and we had a great time. Then Sunday we went geocaching in the July heat, and found ourselves hiking briskly through the woods in a park when it was nearly dark, because we were damned determined to find the last stage of the last cache. We did manage to find it and get out before needing a flashlight, but barely!

And speaking of masochism, we are currently fostering two small kittens. Who love to use us as climbing trees. And who still don't have the litterbox thing quite completely down yet. ***SIGH*** But they're so damn cute!

Oh, and one other thing. The new Harry Potter book is absolutely great. I won't put spoilers here, but I will say a few words:
Kingsley Shackleford
Samuel L. Jackson
When the movie comes, it better happen! :)

10:12 PM

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7/02/2003

 

Apologies

For not crediting Brian with taking the pictures in my last post, and for the failure in my rambling thoughts to mention that he was with me getting ice cream. I guess I just assumed that that was a given. My apologies.

11:24 AM

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7/01/2003

 

I scream, you scream...

I just returned from getting ice cream. I stood in line for this ice cream for 20 minutes. That's nothing...I was prepared to stand in line for up to 2 hours. In the rain. Let me explain...

In 1923, the Burrage family started Cabarrus Creamery. They made good ice cream. REALLY good ice cream. Over the years, the Creamery became a fixture in this town. Time passed, but the Creamery stayed the same. Our parents have fond memories of going there as children. We have fond memories of going there as children. Starting at age 5, I had to go have needles stuck in me routinely throughout childhood (still do, yay nonfunctional thyroid.) Often after the hospital visit (back then routine labwork had to be done in the hospital's outpatient wing), Mom would take me to the Creamery. Sometimes you'd just go after dinner. On a hot summer night you could expect to wait in line up to 30 minutes, but you didn't mind. The storefront was tiny, so the line always curved out the door and down the street. And there was no room to eat in the building, you ate your ice cream outside sitting on the curb, or just standing around in the parking lot. It was more than an ice cream shop; it was an institution. It was the place you took newcomers to when they asked what was special about the town. If, like us, you got married and moved into Charlotte for a while, you still drove back periodically to go to the Creamery.

You'll notice the previous paragraph is all in the past tense. A few years ago, the Burrages sold the Creamery. Somehow, the new owner managed to rapidly run it into the ground. I don't think anyone has figured out how he managed that. At any rate, no one even knew it was in trouble, even the employees - they came to work one day and found a "closed permanently" sign on the door. It was on the front pages of the paper the next morning. The town mourned. Everyone said, Surely someone in this town with money can do SOMETHING. Someone, please save the Creamery! This wasn't just an ice cream store closing down...it was part of the town's history.

Well, the old building is still boarded up and for sale. But the Burrages still had the recipe. And there were some local folks with money. And today, the new Cabarrus Creamery opened. There's more room in the new place, which is why I wasn't standing in the rain. The line only went a little ways out the door. And there were at least 6 people scooping ice cream, maybe more, which is why the wait was only 20 minutes. They said it had been like that since they opened at 10am. Of course it had. When you've been waiting for 2 years, what's a little wait in line?




I believe this is the first time ice cream has brought tears to my eyes. Thank you to the folks who collaborated to make the new Creamery a reality. Thank you for preserving our memories, our history. And thank you for the STILL DELICIOUS ice cream!

11:00 PM

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