9.22- Candidate Forum

Owner/Editor of the local far-right "County Compass" newspaper keeps time during the Oriental town commissioners "candidates forum" at the historic town theater

Local MC celebre Jeff Aydellete hosted the only scheduled forum for candidates seeking election to the Oriental Board of Commissioners.

Jeff Aydellette recently started the "County Compass" weekly newspaper, and personally participated in and "reported on" the local anti-President Obama "Juggernut" group that was part of the "tea-party" protest in DC on Sept. 12 (a-la Fox News)

Mr. Aydellete and the "County Compass" have been heavy promoters of (and participants in) the anti-President Obama "Jugernut" campaign, with weekly "articles" and editorials promoting the group... here is (one of the many promotionals published by the paper) See the "Juggernut" anti-universal-health-care campaign web-site (with Uncle Sam telling you that not everyone should get health care.)

If you are not familiar with what the "tea party" movement stands for, you are not alone... the "tea party" folks seem to have the same problem:

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6.30- South Ave. Utility Work

Old Glory is secured to the bucket

Utility workers blocked off South Avenue between Wall St. and King St. for a while today while replacing a utility pole.

I arrived just as the worker in the bucket finished lashing the flag to the bucket... the flag was placed on the pole along with thousands of others throughout town and Pamlico County in anticipation of Independence Day.

The utility work caused severe traffic tie-ups in the downtown Oriental area...

I stood and watched for about ten minutes, and there must have been at least four or five cars in that time that had to turn around in the Oriental Inn parking lot in order to bypass the blockage (since Wall St. [off to the left in the picture] was the only way in or out) at this heavily-traveled intersection leading from greater downtown Oriental to the sprawling suburb of Neuse River Heights and to such popular tourist destinations as Lou-Mac Park, the fishing pier, the South Avenue waterfront (visible dead ahead in the photo), and Miniscule Beach.

The levels of driver frustration were palpable... as one fed-up driver rashly exclaimed in a fit of violent rage: "Well, I s'pose ah'll jes turn 'round 'bout hair, and go on back 'round t'other way." Really, that's about as accurate a quote as I can give him... that guy clearly needs to chill a bit, take a little BP med and relax ... ONC stylee! We don't appreciate that kind of reactionary threat around here...

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4.26- Crab and Shrimp Boil

Eating crabs by lamp-light
(Click on images for full size)

I went to a crab and shrimp boil & party at a friend's house here in Oriental tonight.

There were no nutcrackers or wooden mallets, so everyone improvised to get the crab meat out. The crab was delicious, and worth the struggle.

The shrimp were much easier to eat, and were also delicious.

The locally-caught (fewer food-miles and much more flavor) crabs (live) and local shrimp (de-headed) came fresh from Endurance Seafood, just across Smith't Creek from Oriental.

Both were cooked up in the same pot by our host, and seasoned with plenty of Old Bay (see pic at right... click to enlarge.)

As you can see, cooking live crabs is a matter of who has the bigger claws.


Yum.

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4.25- Tai Chi at Lou-Mac Park

Tai Chi in Lou-Mac Park, Oriental, NC, on the banks of the River Neuse

Found these folks this morning doing some peaceful exercise at the beginning of what proved to be a beautiful day.

Later on (about 6:00 this evening) I went sailing in the 10' Bauer Classic dinghy... I sailed upwind out of Raccoon Creek, then up into Smith's Creek, then out back under the briodge, into the River Neuse


I reached Oriental Marker No. 1 in the Neuse, then tacked onto a course towards Oriental No. 3...

On the way back towards the harbor and Raccoon Creek I was able to set long tacks on beam- and close-reaches towards Pecan Grove, then run wing-and-wing ROARING (3.8 knots?) into Oriental Harbor, then jibe through the four or five anchored sailboats, while avoiding running over kayakers and being run over by larger sports-fisher power-boats coming in and out of Raccoon Creek/Oriental Harbor.

I passed downwind of the OYC berth and buzzed Town Dock with an almost-but-not-quite-too-late jibe, then patiently tacked back up into "the teeth of the wind," as they say, back to the OYC finger-pier...

I can definitely confirm my respectful comments about the Capt. and crew of "Red Baron" in my prior posting. I had a great time mimicking their maneuvers, but can't say my efforts were quite so tight as "Red Baron."

... Now I have been reading a bit on-line about the philosophy of Tai-Chi related arts, I was struck by the parallelism of some of the core beliefs with my personal experiences on my short sailing journey today...

... yin-yang ... movement leads to tranquility... tranquility leads to movement, etc... water, fire, wood, metal and earth result, then become diffused ... Creating Harmony...

OR, AS WE SAY AROUND HERE: "ANY DAY ON THE WATER..."

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12.15- "And now for something we hope you'll really like"

A hungry squirrel approaches an ear of corn attached to the top of a pole

Yes, my photo today is of a squirrel... The ubiquitous, dirty, annoying squirrel.

And what squirrel doesn't like corn?

Problem is (for the squirrel), this corn is not just on the end of a pole... it is on the end of a pivoting pole:

I noticed this contraption spinning around on the side of the tree at the intersection of Second Avenue and Mildred Street here in Oriental and stopped to see what it could be...

This ingenious device not only tortures squirrels, but also provides humans with about the only amusing squirrel scenes I have ever encountered (not involving a moose, that is.) A squirrel will climb up to reach the corn, but the weight of the squirrel causes the pole to rotate around... the squirrel must then leap off or scramble back up the spinning platform to enjoy whatever kernels it was able to get and keep during the process:

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12.01- Look Out for Dog in Road!

An Oriental resident takes his dog for a walk along South Avenue

Golf carts and unleashed dogs are both common sights here in Oriental.

Dogs are not required to be leashed (unless they become "nuissance dogs" under a new ordinance passed this past year), and golf carts have been accepted street vehicles for a long time (and are now "legal" under recent state law and local Oriental ordinance, also passed this past year.)

I'm pretty sure I know who this guy is... I see him often with his golf cart and his dog... but since I am not 100% positive of his name, I'm not gonna say.

[Update... It is John Bond, one of the hosts of the annual Watermelon Feast, featured in this post here From August 11, 2008]

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11.21- Cheap Gas

A man rides his bicycle up Broad Street (NC Hwy. 55) past the "Town and Country" grocery store, where gasoline has just dropped below $2.00 per gallon

I rode my bike up to Town and Country to buy a Coke from the machines outside when an employee came out to change the price sign.

As she was flipping the numbers, several folks asked what the new price was going to be, and cheered when they learned it was just now breaking the $2.00 level.

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11.01- "Marine Consignment of Oriental "

Dinghies on display in front of "Marine Consignment of Oriental"

If you are boating down the ICW and have a list of boat parts you are looking for (a bit redundant, I know), you might want to drop by Oriental and visit "Marine Consignment of Oriental" on Broad Street (Hwy 55).

Outboard motors, hardware, sails, rigging... any parts, big or small... if it attaches to a boat, they probably have it here.

If you have some extra parts to sell, you can sell them here on consignment.

I like the mouse on the bow of this dinghy... I guess it's supposed to be terrified by the frightening speed this rowing/sailing dinghy can achieve.

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10.21- Cranky Grannies vote, too!

Cranky Grannies for Obama
(click on picture or here for full size)

Just a reminder that "One-Stop" EARLY VOTING HAS BEGUN here in North Carolina.

I will be working the Oriental precinct polling location on November 4, election day, but hopefully everyone will have voted by then.

So far, almost 17% of the approximately 6,000 registered voters now living in Pamlico County have voted!

At poll-worker training last night we were told to expect plenty of E-day voters, however... looks like this won't be your standard less-than-50%-turnout kind of election.

REMEMBER VOTERS:

MARKING THE "STRAIGHT TICKET" CHOICE ON YOUR BALLOT
WILL NOT RESULT IN A VOTE FOR PRESIDENT!!!

YOU MUST VOTE A CHOICE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION ON YOUR BALLOT for your vote to count in the Presidential race ...you can then ALSO select a "straight ticket" for North Carolina state candidates if you wish, but make sure you vote separately in the Presidential choice on your ballot.

This is true WHETHER YOU VOTE ON A MACHINE OR USE A PAPER BALLOT.

(Write your NC state legislators if you think that is screwy... It is so by NC statute, and only the legislature can change it)

Also, if you wish to vote for JUDICIAL CANDIDATES, they WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN A STRAIGHT TICKET VOTE, for the logical reason that judicial races are non-partisan in NC... since judges don't run by party affiliation, the straight party ticket selection will not affect these races.


Oh, and McCain supporters please remember that I have previously posted a picture of a McCain yard-sign, on October 3.

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10.5- Air supply

Compressed air hose at Village Hardware

Village Hardware, on Broad Street (Hwy. 55) is a great place for such things as nuts, bolts, mosquito control, mulch and boat parts.

Not everyone may know that it is also the place to go to fill your tires with air. Even when the store is closed.

An air hose protrudes from the south side of the building, ready for all your low-tire issues, free of cost. I suggest you bring your own pressure gauge, however, since the built-in one seems to be off by about 10 psi (they always are).

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9.18- Lonely Little Lost Lure

Fishing lure lies abandoned on picnic table at Oriental's Town Beach

While biking to the Silos for the "Captain's Meeting" (oh, and Thursday special dollar Yuengling beers) I stopped by the Oriental Town Beach on Neuse Drive, and found this fishing lure lying on the picnic table under the gazebo.

From the rust on the hooks, it looks like this fella has been lost for a while...

Maybe it was found in the sand by someone and left on the table for adoption.

I like to call this beach "Minuscule Beach"... I did not come up with that nickname for the place, but wish I had.

I hate to explain a joke, but visitors to Oriental Daily Photo who don't have Local Knowledge just won't get this one without background:

You see, there is a town about 12 miles away on the Neuse River called "Minnesott Beach" (where there is a ferry across the Neuse River)... With that in mind, understand also that the Oriental Town Beach is not exactly expansive... It is perhaps 100 feet wide, situated between two house lots.

Hence the joke... "Minuscule Beach"... get it? I know, it isn't funny when you have to explain it.

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8.10- Watermelon Rinds

Fay and John Bond hosted their annual watermelon feast today... They have been doing this for decades, offering free watermelon to all comers.

I got there a little after the crowd, as evidenced by the half-trailer-full of rinds, napkins and forks. I soon added my own contribution.

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