Sunday Column, Sept. 23

In case you missed it, or used the business section to line your cat litter box, here is my column from Sunday, Sept. 23, along with a couple of tips that did not fit this week and will go in next week's section.

Dairy Bar up for sale?
Several people have asked me what I will be writing about this week, now that the Wal-Mart is finally open and the Waffle House is set to open on Sept. 24. I was a little worried that there would be a lull in business news, but I was wrong.
I think it says something about the shape of Sanford's economy that I really don't have to work too hard on this column these days. I can remember a time, just a few short years ago, when all the newsroom pitched in on these tidbits just so we would have enough to fill it.
Now, though, business in Sanford is booming, from what I can tell, at least. We have a true Superstore now, and several top notch restaurants to go along with a great mix of small businesses. But I would still like to see that bookstore.
Then a juicy tip came in this week. While at the grand opening of the new Wal-Mart, celebrating Sanford's leap into the 21st century of retail shopping, someone told me that the Fairview Dairy Bar, a local institution that is usually full at all hours of any given day, from when it opens to closing time, is on the market for an asking price of a cool $1 million. That was shocking, although I can see where it may be worth a lot of money, being such a well-known local brand.
Being the inquisitive journalist that I am, and having a hankering for a little barbecued chicken, I decided to take my lunch Thursday at the Dairy Bar just to see if the rumor was true. I ran up with owner Paul Freedle, who was hard at work on another busy lunch crowd, before I sat down and asked him flat out about it.
He laughed, then said there was absolutely no truth to the rumor — for now at least.
"I hear that all the time," he said of the rumor. "But it's not true. This is a family business, and it would break my heart to drive by and see someone else running it. Someday my grandkids might want to run it."
Freedle said, in fact, that quite the opposite was true. He actually has plans to invest in a computerized ordering system by the end of the year to make running the business more efficient.
The Dairy Bar is probably the busiest restaurant in town at lunch, and I couldn't see anyone walking away from that kind of gold mine. Like an unnamed customer said as I talked to Freedle, "I would just like to have the money they make off desserts."

Cuban sandwiches coming to courthouse area

Maybe you can't travel to Cuba, but that's no reason not enjoy a delicious Cuban sandwich.
Emeterio and Julia Garcia recently moved down to Sanford from New York and plan to open Julia's Sandwich Shop at 1415 S. Horner Blvd., across from the courthouse.
Julia worked in restaurants in New York City, but after her husband suffered a heart attack and couldn't bear the cold winters up north because of the medication he was taking, the couple began looking southward for a warmer climate to set up shop in.
"We must have put 2,500 miles on the car driving through towns in the South," said Emeterio Garcia. "But as soon as we came to Sanford, we fell in love. We love it here."
When the restaurant opens on Oct. 1, the Garcias will offer the classic Cuban sandwich — carved pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard — as well as other pork sandwiches, fresh salads made daily and dessert favorites like creme brulee and bread pudding.
The shop will be open for breakfast and lunch daily.

C.O.W. coming to local feed store

Local feed and seed dealer Carolina Town & Country, in conjunction with Purina Mills, will host a Cow Owners Workshop seminar at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
At the seminar, Purina will teach local farmers how to increase their profit potential. Open to all cattle producers, the workshop will feature industry experts speaking on topics such as cattle management techniques, nutrition and herd health. Information will also be available on Purina's Accuration feeding programs.
The seminar is free and steaks and drinks will be served to attendees. Producers can also register to win one of 38 prizes available with an estimated total value of more than $43,000, including a John Deere Gator Utility vehicle and a John Deere riding lawn mower.
Kind of makes me wish I owned a cow.

Moonbeams and Fairiedust Enchanted Metaphysical Shop
Barbara Hart, owner of local mystical emporium Moonbeams and Fairiedust, dropped by my desk this week to tell me that the store will relocate from its current location in the Steele Street Mall to 709 Carthage St., the former home of Priss Pots boutique, on Oct. 1.
For those not familiar with the store, Hart sells everything from incense to dragons (not real dragons — I asked) to potions in the store.
"It's a magic shop," she said. "But we don't sell magic tricks, though we do sell potions."
She said she offers consignment area in her store for people to sell their potions, and one of her vendors offers a real "Love Potion No. 9," which she said has been very popular.
"Well, we have only sold one bottle," she said. "But three others have been stolen."

Coffee coming to Spring Lake
Java Jo’z Coffee & More, a drive-up coffee shop, will open towards the end of October at 1139 N. Bragg Blvd. in the Southwinds Plaza parking lot directly behind PD Qwix and near Big Lots in Spring Lake.
Mike and Sara De Rosa of Cameron own and operate the 240-square-foot, dual-lane drive-up coffee shop, which offers a variety of coffees and smoothies, and a limited selection of snacks such as biscotti, muffins, danish and cinnamon rolls.
Mike DeRosa said that each lane of the drive-up can accommodate four cars at a time. The lanes will run in opposite directions and access from and to Bragg Boulevard is only a stones throw away.
The coffee shop will soon have outdoor seating and parking will be available for walk-up customers, however, the shop’s emphasis will be on drive-up because seating will be limited.
When it opens, the store will operate from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, check out the store's website at www.javajoznc.com. The DeRosas can be reached at mike@javajoznc.com or at 910-960-JAVA.

I likes dat new Wal-Mart

I've come a long way since college. As the son of a small retailer, there was a time when I would have rallied against the opening of another "big box" Wal-Mart coming in and killing the little guy, raping the town's wallet and sending all the money to Bentonville, Ark.
But times have changed. Now, being broke most of the time, I can appreciate a good deal just as much as the next guy.
Now, falling prices are just alright with me.
That's why I've been pretty siked out about this new Wal-Mart. So much so, in fact, that everyone in th newsroom has picked on me about the excitement with which I speak of the 100-foot TV wall. But come on, man. Who doesn't love a 100-foot-TV wall?
It's so much nicer than any big box store I've ever been to. I've always been a Target fan because the stores are always so much cleaner and the products are "more fancy." But the new Wal-Mart here is better than any Target I've been to yet.
I grew up near Asheboro, which supposedly had the largest Wal-Mart east of the Mississippi when their store opened. So I'm used to a Supercenter. But the one here in Sanford is much nicer. More modern. More hip. More interactive.
I'll probably be dropping a few bones in there this week.
I may move in there. That seems like the only way I'm going to be able to afford one of those plasma TVs. They're open 24 hours. They'll never know.

Five bands you should be listening to, but aren't

I'm not as plugged into the independent music scene as others at the Herald are, but there are some great nearly mainstream bands out there that are not getting airplay. Each one of these I can put in a CD, push play and not skip a track. That is my measure of a great band.

1. Drive By Truckers
Simply put, my favorite band out there. Twangy country mixed with blues and punk rock equal one of the best sounds out there right now. Plus their shows rock. Three of the five best concerts I have ever been to are Truckers shows. I recommend you just go to the store and buy Decoration Day, listen to it all the way through, then go back and buy Southern Rock Opera, then The Dirty South.
Favorite lyric: "Ya momma's as good a wife and momma as she can be/and your sister's putting that sweet stuff on everybody in town but me./ You're brother was the first born, got ten fingers and ten toes/ and it's a damn good thing 'cause he needs all 20 to keep the closet door closed."

2. Jason Isbell
The former guitarist for the Truckers recently released his own album, and though parts of it sound nothing like DBT, it is still great. A native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., Isbell's songs have more of a blues influence than DBT's, and it is a lot more mellow
Favorite lyric: "You can't make a woman sleep alone/ and you can't maker stay her ass at home/ and you can't give her loving on the phone/ But you try, don't you?"

3. Drag the River
Gordon turned me on to this one, and I haven't taken out the CD since. A former punk band turns country. Great stuff. The song "Get Drunk" is the unofficial anthem of the Center for Indecent Living, where I reside.
Favorite Lyric: "I love to get drunk/ I love the movies/ I love my TV, my couch and my VCR/ Love the way the neon signs light up the walls/ but I don't love you any more."

4. Dr. Powerful
A local band who is tearing up the charts! No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 Latino dance list last week. OK, so that's not true, and Dr. Powerful is my roommate since the band practices in my basement. But Gordon and friends still turn out some kick ass jams. I'm not much on punk rock, but I love their shows.
Favorite lyric: "There's a guinea snowman where my footprint used to be."

5. Glossary
Another Gordon band. This one is the owner of his label's - Grand Palace Records in Murfreesboro, Tenn. It's a little more rocking than DBT and Drag the River, but has the same vibe.
Favorite Lyric: "The worst mistakes take the longest to kill us."

Movies you may have missed

In an attempt to save a little money, I haven't been going out too much lately. Instead, I've been watching a lot of movies. Here are a few recommendations of movies you may have missed in the theater, if they came out around here, but should check out when you get a chance.

Romantic Comedy
The Tao of Steve
Every man must suffer through them on date night. You know, the movies where there are no explosions. But this is one romantic comedy that even dudes can like. It stars Donal Logue as an overweight pothead womanizer - three words that usually don't go together - that falls in love with a blonde set designer visiting his desert town. The fat guy gets the girl in the end, which is always encouraging. It's not great, but it is worth seeing, especially for the Steve McQueen references.
Favorite line: "I'm a fatist. And I'm the worst kind of fatist. I'm a fat fatist."

Big-time Hollywood Thriller
Zodiac
About the Zodiac killings in the San Francisco area in the 1960's and 1970's, along with the press hysteria that surrounded the case. It's not great either. It's a little to long. But I enjoyed it, especially trying to figure out the killer, even though I knew the case had never been solved going in. Plus, the cops reporter for the San Francisco Examiner (Robert Downey Jr.) looks a lot like Herald Cops Reporter Gordon Anderson.
Favorite Line: I can't really think of one, but the sign above the coffee machine in the newsroom said "Coffee - Delicious as hell." That made me laugh.

Sports Movie
Tin Cup
Anyone who knows me knew I would pick this one. It's great. A down-on-his-luck driving range pro goes out in search of glory, finding it at the U.S. Open. Only it's not a trophy, but a trophy wife in Rene Russo (when she was hot.) Excellent on so many levels, but never got the respect it deserved.
Favorite line (There are so many): "You can't get advise about the lady you are trying to hose from the lady you are trying to hose." So true.

Sophomoric Comedy
Booty Call
Hey, it's got an Oscar-winning cast! OK, so Jamie Foxx isn't exactly playing Ray Charles in it, but he is much more funny. I think he should have stuck to the comedy, like on In Living Color. Virtually everything he says in Booty Call is hilarious. Yeah, you probably shouldn't rent this one unless you are under 30.
Favorite Line: "I'm tired of looking at these ladies under muted light. I take a girl home from the club, wake up the next morning and a Sea Donkey is laying next to me."

I'll try to add to this list periodically. I love movies.

Sleeping in your dress blues

So this past weekend I reconnected with a bunch of old friends on my best-friend-since-Kindergarten's porch in Seven Lakes for a post-wedding party/guitar-playing/sing-along. It was great. It was just like high school, except there was beer there and girls that actually like us - somewhat, at least.

Anyway, For a small taste of what it was like, watch this video. I swear, Sanford. One day, you'll all be Drive-By Truckers/Jason Isbell fans:

A weekly shout out

I would like to give kudos to Chatham County Fire Marshall Tom Bender for keeping angry (and often unruly) protesters somewhat at bay during Monday night's contentious Pittsboro Town Hall meeting on the proposed Pittsboro Place development.

It was no easy task, to be sure. He was fighting an endless battle all night long.

I even had a run-in with Bender just before the meeting. He was attempting to keep a mob of 100 or so concerned citizens out of a tiny room where the meeting was taking place, when I walked up. He said I couldn't go in, so used the standard "You can't keep me out of a public meeting" line all media members have memorized. After a little time, he agreed to let me through.

Later in the evening, I ran into him again and apologized for the incident, telling him I knew he had his hands full — which he did and then some. He reciprocated the apology.

Let me just say that I lived in Chapel Hill for three years. I consider myself somewhat left of center on most issues, including those pertaining to development in rural areas. And I understand the need to protest and rally against causes you don't agree with. But when in a public meeting, there is a certain decorum that "concerned citizens" should try to adhere to if they really want to be taken seriously.

A few people didn't do that. For people who appear to know a lot about politics and the world around them, a handful of them knew very little about the actual governing process. There is an order to meetings. It is not a free-form shouting match. The shouting matches are held on the lawn before the meetings. If you want to speak up, make sure you come early enough to sign up to speak during the public remarks portion of the evening. It is not the commission's fault that you spent your time in the shouting match, then came late to the meeting and didn't get a seat.

Most of the protestors actually conducted themselves fine at the rally outside before the meeting and throughout the evening. It is a shame that a handful of them couldn't do the same, instead opting to push their way into the meeting room, talk amongst themselves through the entire process, actually sit on the floor in front of the developers, make snide comments to the commissioners and developers loud enough to interrupt the process, and file in and out of the room the entire — way too long — evening.

Especially when the reporters that are there to publicize your plight are on strict deadlines. I actually had to phone in my story from the road because, thanks to both the protesters and Pittsboro Mayor Randy Voller, who, against the development himself, took every opportunity he could to grandstand and delay the process, when he knew all along the vote would come down as it eventually did.

Hopefully Mr. Bender gets to take a half-day today. As I probably will, since I worked 12 hours yesterday thanks to a 3 hour meeting that should have taken 30 minutes.

There's no need to fear

Finally I have something to write about!!!

I went to see Underdog this weekend. I know. I know. I'm too old. But I had two kids with me, so it's not creepy or anything.
Anyway, good movie. Well, it was not the movie that was great. It was the fact that it was about two hours worth of screentime for a talking beagle.

I love beagles. Always have. When I was in first grade, I got my first dog — a beagle named Jake. Jake was my best friend for the better part of my life so far. I could always count on Jake, no matter what life threw at me.

Then, one day my Junior year at UNC (I remember it like it was yesterday — Nov. 3, 2001), I tried to call my dad for my weekly "I need money" plea, but I couldn't get a hold of him all day. My aunt and another worker at the shop were acting weird each time I called, too. Finally, around 6 p.m., my dad called me back to deliver the bad news. Jake had gotten run over and died in our driveway by a pottery shopper. He was crying as he told me. Soon I was crying, too.

This was a dog that had survived hurricanes, snowstorms, endless shoppers, and almost everything else for 16 years. He even ran away one time for six months, and I thought I had lost him forever until, when driving home late one night I spotted him walking towards home on the side of the road about 5 miles from our house. I figured he could survive anything after that, but he couldn't.

A few months later I got Roscoe, another beagle. He was totally different from Jake. Jake was mild manored and loved to be outside. Roscoe, mostly because he grew up in my apartment in Chapel Hill, was fiesty and loved to be inside.

He was probably the prettiest beagle I've ever seen. One nght while working at at the Sports desk at the Herald, though, I received largely the same call I had gotten three years earlier, with dad telling me Roscoe had been cut down by a tractor-trailer while crossing the road to visit with pottery shoppers at my house.

Like most of life, owning a dog is great, but it can break your heart. I think if I had a farm with about 30 beagles and about 30 cars, my life would be set. This is my goal. To have enough room that I can have as many beagles as I want and not have to receive that call again.

Anyway, Underdog was good. Not a great plot — your standard superhero movie, except with a dog. And Jim Belushi is an awful actor. Luckily he is not in it a lot. But it has some funny parts. It is what it is.

And it is great for a beagle lover.

Worth a second look

It's truly an odd time here at the Herald. I have been here for three years, and I don't know that I have ever seen things in this much disarray. The cause? An ambitious total redesign of our paper taken on by our fearless leader, Billy Liggett, coupled with a switch in our operating software.
Hopefully, though, it will all go to give you a much better paper. Our redesign started Tuesday, and although there are some kinks to be worked out, I think the new look is a major upgrade.
But now it is time for you the reader to change your attitude. We are doing all we can to make our paper informative, relevant and interesting. We want you to give us a chance.
Too often I go to the Java Express or McDonald's and see folks reading the N&O. While that paper to the north is a great source for national and state news, if you want to know what is going on around you, we need to be the first place you look.
Please give us a chance, Sanford.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a computer to kill.

Monday morning rants

Here are a few quick impressions of events that have unfolded since last we spoke:
— Karl Rove resigns: This is a monumental event. I would venture to say that never before in the 231 years of this country has an unelected person had as much power over national affairs as this man. And when he leaves Aug. 31, he will leave his good buddy George with an approval rating below 30 percent, a war in disarray and an economy headed towards another recession when it never really recovered from the first one. Right now it's not looking good for his legacy. History will not be kind to him or his "boss," at this point, at least. But maybe 9/11 was a big enough event that Bush's lasting legacy will be his speech on the rumble. Only time will tell.
I bet GW wishes he had just been commissioner of baseball now.

— Tiger blows away the field for PGA: No shock here. Wouldn't you be more surprised if he didn't? Now, with just five to go before he shatters Nicklaus's record of 18 majors (I say he'll do it in St. Andrews in 2010, more on this in a second), it's time to start thinking about his place in history. I say he is the greatest golfer of all time, but is that fair? Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Arnie or even Nicklaus didn't have the equipment (or human growth hormone) that Tiger has at his disposal. What if the Golden Bear had titanium, squareheaded drivers aand low compression balls? Would the record be 30? He did finish second in the British Open a record seven times. Maybe an extra 40 yards on one drive, and his record is at least 25...And Bobby Jones, who Tiger tied Sunday with his 13th major win (granted, six of Jones' were Amateurs), gave up on golf at 28 to become a lawyer (isn't that pretty much the same thing? Golfer and Lawyer?) What if he had kept playing?
Look, it's a given that Tiger will blow past Nicklaus, though. As sports fans found out last week, records are made to be broken. He's 32 now, and if he remains a force until 46 (when Jack won his last major at the Masters in 1986), he'll have at least 52 more chances to win six more. I think he'll wind up with at least 25, if not 30. And I think he would dominate with a persimmon driver just as easily. But those factors are worth mentioning when talking about the greatest of all time.

— Barry Bonds breaks the record: I'm tired of hearing about it. Yeah, he took steroids. And he broke the record. Enough said.

— Gordon wrecks, Stewart wins at Glen: I think Stewart is firmly in the driver's seat for the Chase now. It will be a nice prelude for when Gibbs switches to Toyota next year. The bigger question is if Dale Jr. will make the chase. He has been a factor in about every race this year, but hasn't won yet because of some terrible luck.

— I flew a plane on Thursday. It was incredible. If I had an extra $10,000 lying around, I would go to flight school tomorrow.

Drive Fast! Go Straight!

This is hilarious:


NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

Mr. Bean gets new owner

Mr. Bean Coffee House on Jefferson Davis Highway will have new ownership Wednesday.
Kathleen Wright has sold the business, which she has operated for almost two-and-a-half years, to Barbara Dickinson.
"I'm just ready to do something else," said Wright.
Dickinson said she plans to keep the business the way it is for now, but may look into expanding in the future.
"I've very excited about it," said Dickinson Monday.
The coffee shop features a wide variety of coffee, fruit drinks, ice creams and other treats to drivers down the busy highway in Tramway.

Fighting on youtube

Earlier this year, we at the Herald ran a story about Lee County High School students posting staged fights on Youtube. Well, if you read my Thursday story, you'll know that you can now watch another kind of fighting on the web, also known as the Lee County Board of Commissioners meetings. Simply follow this link to watch the meetings:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22Lee+County+Government%22

In all fairness, the meetings are usually pretty tame, unless you count the occasional bickering between Linda Shook and Robert Reives. But they are also very important. Local government is probably the most important branch to you as a Lee County citizen in all of politics. Every action the commission takes has an effect on your life. You can't say that about Congress, the presidency or even the N.C. General Assembly.

So I implore you to watch the meetings. To be an informed electorate. To know where your money is going.

Other than that, I really don't have a lot to report right now, except that we at the Herald, especially me and Gordon Anderson, are very excited to have a third reporter coming on board soon. We can release very little right now except to say that she is very talented. Some even say she can write circles around us. Stay tuned for more.

I am anxiously awaiting a weekend bachelor party trip to the beach - the last hurrah for my best friend since Kindergarten before he takes the plunge - so my mind has been elsewhere this week. I have two days to talk him out of it.

Just kidding.

I'll just leave you with this. It's the funniest picture I've ever seen:

Notice the pickles on the bun and the eating helmet!!! If there is a restaurant in town that could create a burger so big it would require me to wear an eating helmet, it would definitely be worth a note in my business column.

Have a good weekend. I know I will.

Harry Potter

Five or six years ago I asked my then-nine year-old niece Kaylee what she wanted for Christmas from me. Being the cool uncle that I am, I expected her to ask for a new bike or the hot new toy of the year, or at least a cool Carolina shirt or basketball tickets since I was in college at the time. Instead, she responded "Harry Potter."
I didn't know who that was, but I figured it was an action figure or doll or something. I went to Wal-Mart and found out it was a huge book. I got past the confusion, though, resigned myself to the fact that my niece was a nerd, and bought the book.
But by the time Christmas rolled around, I understood a lot better. Kaylee was not a nerd. She was the norm. Harry Potter was a cultural phenomenon. In an age where kids have any information in the world available at the touch of a mouse, this nerdy little English kid was defying all logic and making it cool to read books again.
Kaylee is a teenager now and entering her freshman year of high school. She has always been a very bright girl, but I have to say that I think the Potter books made her love to read — and read actual thick books, nonetheless — a hobby which has so many benefits.
I have no doubt that she will go on to do whatever she wants to do in life, partly because of the gift me and a little English kid gave her.
Reading opens a child's mind to different ways to think and worlds they can't imagine otherwise. It teaches patience. It improves vocabulary, which is sure to help in the real world and the job market, and is beneficial in countless other ways.
I can't say that I love reading — well, books, that is. I have loved to read newspapers and magazines since I was three. But my hobby is golf, one that has very little practical applications beyond making girlfriends mad and shrinking my wallet.
And I had never and still haven't ever read a Harry Pottery book or seen one of the movies. Come to think of it, I've never even read a book as thick as a Harry Potter book, unless you count the countless, mind numbing textbooks I've suffered through over the years.
My generation didn't have Harry Potter. We had Teddy Ruxpin — a talking stuffed bear — and Nintendo. Not exactly brain-busters. And partially as a result, it is often said that we will be the first generation in American history to be less successful than our parents.
So please, go by the last Harry Potter book this weekend for your kids. Somebody has got to take care of us lazy Gen Xers when we are old, broke and playing Madden 2035.
And because I still don't read, somebody tell me whether he dies or not...actually, I'll probably just buy it for Kaylee and let her tell me.

Sanford boat stores expand south

While at the beach this weekend, I ran across two Sanford-related business tips. First off, while traveling from Holden Beach to Little River on N.C. Highway 17 to hit a casino boat — a trip that ended very badly for my wallet — I spotted the newly opened Choplin Marine 2, a boat store, in Ocean Isle.
Choplin Marine is based in Sanford just off Jefferson Davis Highway. Chris Mace, the Sanford store's sales manager, said Monday that Choplin had opened the second store several months ago to take advantage of the dramatic population and traffic increase along that stretch of the coast. It plans to sell mostly salt water crafts at the second store.
Mace said the location is also ideal for a service center, which the company plans to add in the near future.
The second tips is also related to the Sanford boat sales industry, which seems to be booming throughout the state even though the closest substantial body of water to the Brick City is at least 20 miles away. And I'm sure you've all noticed this before, but when traveling down N.C. Highway 211 I notice several billboards advertising Chatlee Marine. I also saw several advertisements for Chatlee on my last trip to The Streets of Southpoint in Durham. Just thought it was interesting and comforting to travel so far away and still see Sanford's home-grown businesses having a major impact around the state.

Big Yellow Fellows

In Friday's edition of the Herald, you will find a story about bus maintenance. To some of you, it may be silly. It may even seem like a nonstory, and you may skip right over it to read about the latest dirt on Paris Hilton or the golf course or check out the new cars in the classifieds.
But the truth is, it all matters in education, from the buses to the food to the books to recess. So I urge you to read it, because it is a positive story on a part of the local school district that is doing something right.
Friday will mark my third anniversary with the paper, and most of that time I have worked with schools in some fashion. Two years of that time I worked in sports, covering high school athletes from this county and beyond and the coaches who lead them. For the last year I have been able to delve deeper into the inner workings of the school district in a newswriter's role.
And during that time, I have come to realize two things. One, there are a lot of teachers, administrators and staffers that truly do care about providing your kid with the best education they can in a safe environment to make them productive citizens of the county.
And two, that doing my job is not fair to them sometimes. I don't try to be unfair. People often tell us we never write anything good about the schools. But when tests scores come out, it is our job to report them good or bad. It is our job to compare them with area counties' scores and give our readers context to base their opinions on the district upon.
I would love to write a story on a kid who learned the alphabet, the meaning of Pi or the capital of Djibouti (it's Djibouti) every day, and I could because those small victories are won every day in classrooms all around this county.
But unfortunately,we don't have that much ink.
Test score season is fast approaching. Writing scores should be available within the next week, and end-of-grade ones will follow in August. I have no idea how those scores will turn out, though I know there have been many teachers and administrators working hard this year in Lee County to win enough of the small battles mentioned earlier, hopeful that it will translate into an overall victory in the war that has come out of federal and state standardized testing.
Hopefully I can write a few more positive stories like the bus one. But if not, just know that there is a lot of positive stories going on each day in each of Lee's 15 schools to make up for the bad ones.
You just have to ask your son or daughter how their day went, or what they learned today.

The PIR

Today is the ending of an era. A turning of a page.
Bob Barker's final episode on the greatest game show in history, The Price is Right, just aired, and as I sit at my desk, only sadness grips me.
Barker has been with me from the beginning. I remember sitting in my living room on summer days as a child (when I should have been outside playing or working) watching fantacizing about one day being on The PIR, playing Plinko or the mountain climbing game or putting alongside the long miked man with the white hair.
In high school, though things changed often, there was always Barker. I remember my second-period journalism teacher at North Moore allowing me to watch it, and today, watching the final episode with Barker, I found myself back in that room...engulfed in the PIR when I should have been working on a paper.
That theme followed me in college, where I laid out of a many an Econ 10 class to watch the show. (But I still got an A- in that class by only the grace of God. I swear I think my professor got me mixed up with someone else.)
And I got pretty good at it, up to the very end. As four of us in the newsroom wwatched this morning, I came the closest to the final showcase and guessed the correct price of a car on the Any Number game.
So where does the show go from here? The best thing about the show with Barker was that it never changed, even though the whole world around it did. It was the one constant in my life. The car prices got hirer, but the games rarely changed. No digital dials or computer graphics. Just plain old wheel-spinning and price guessing.
The putts kept falling. The spay and neuter calls did, too. And the Barker Beauties stayed beautiful, although plastic surgery and implants didn't hurt, either.
Whomever takes over for Barker (God help us if it is Mario Lopez) there is no way the show will ever recapture what Barker had. They'll probably dress it up with fancy camera angles, new spins on old games and savvy marketing ploys.
But it won't be the same.
God bless you, Bob. Have a nice retirement. You will be missed.

Is this thing on?

Well, this is my first venture into the blogosphere. It's cold and there are bears.