Mad Man
Arlington is a sacred place
The article in Sunday's edition of The Pilot about Abe Siemens' burial in Arlington National Cemetery brought back memories of my family's own experience in saying farewell to my father-in-law, CW4 William G. O'Brien a decade ago, not far from Seimens' resting place. The ceremony remains one of the most ...
Vince Gill puts on a great show
If you are still sitting on the fence about going to Vince Gill tomorrow night (weather permitting), rest assured that he puts on a very solid, professional act with an oh-so-talented band behind him. We had a chance to see him at Merlefest a couple of years ago, and I ...
Hopes and realizations
My brother sent me the following a few months ago, something he found among his keepsakes. It came as a yellowed newspaper clipping, without benefit of an author's name or date. For men who spent their childhood playing baseball, or even just dreaming big, it still rings true. Hopes and ...
South Pacific is fun
Temple Theatre's production of South Pacific is a delightful couple of hours. We went Sunday afternoon on a whim, after seeing an ad in the paper. Of course, South Pacific is one of the great stage shows ever, and was made into a movie around 1960. This local production is ...
How did credit scores become so important?
Thankfully, my wife and I both have very high credit scores. I understand that if you constantly don't pay bills on time, or skip mortgage payments and fall behind, or walk away from a credit card debt, it's going to hurt your ability to borrow money. You'll have to pay ...
Are there no golfers besides Tiger?
Good grief. I like Tiger. Really. Love to watch him play. I admire his ability. He's probably the best talent that golf has ever seen. But he's just a golfer, not the second coming. And when there's a golf tournament being played, there are a bunch of other guys playing ...
Alice really is in Wonderland now
If you haven't gotten 'round to it, go see Alice in Wonderland while it's still at the theatre and in 3D. It's a pretty accurate depiction of the mind's eye vision of the book, but these visual effects are stunning, particularly with those cool 50s black rimmed 3D glasses. There ...
Winning with a pencil
On occasion when playing in a golf tournament over the years, the winning scores are so low that I've wondered if the team that comes out on top didn't win with the aid of a pencil. I was on one of those teams this week, and the answer is it ...
Great Music, Great Venue
If you are looking for something to do this weekend, consider the Shakori Hills Festival up near Pittsboro, beginning tomorrow and running through Sunday. The music is first rate, headlined by Bela Fleck and his band, along with Donna the Buffalo, which put on one of the great sets I've ...
The cost of the census is outrageous
One of the first things President Obama did when he took office was pull the 2010 census under the control of the White House, rather than leave it as an independent government agency. In keeping with his policies to count government spending as a sign the economy is getting better, ...
Call to fish now
I've been trying to find someone who knows a lot about fishing to start a blog on Thepilot.com, but so far I've had no luck. Kind of like when I'm fishing. Fishing is one of my favorite things to do in the world, but to be good at it, they ...
One proud moment, fans
It was like nothing I've seen in a while, to be honest. We spent all day at the steeplechase, grilling, sipping, talking, laughing, and just generally having a big time. The last race is over, and it's time to go, so we head for our second car in the general ...
Stoneybrook has a field day
Whether you are a horse person or not, most folks would likely enjoy spending a day at the Stoneybrook Steeplechase. This year the weather was perfect and the crowd was large. Since moving to the Carolina Horse Park down NC 211, the annual running isn't quite as popular with local ...
Used more than enough
One of the little things that bugs me these days, as if I didn't have enough, is the misuse of the word "more". For some reason, the radio ads I hear are full of it. People say things like "It's going to get more hot tomorrow", instead of "It's going ...
A new amendment to the Constitution?
One of the more interesting emails I've gotten in the furor over the health care bill was one suggesting that an amendment be added to the Constitution of the U.S. The suggested wording was: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does ...
Deacons have weakened
Boy, I don't know what happened to the Demon Deacons in the past two months but they don't even look like the same team we were watching in mid-January. Never a good shooting team, they depended on the inside game to get revved up, and complimented it with a fast ...
Interesting story on cyclist
The Winston-Salem Journal will be publishing a story tomorrow on a friend of mine from college. His name was Keith Jackson, and he once rode a bicycle from Alaska to the southern tip of South America - alone. At age 18, prior to going to college. We lived together, but ...
News on the wing
Reports of two pairs of fairly rare birds, at least for this area, have been made in the Whispering Pines area recently. A pair of bald eagles have been spotted and may be looking for a nesting site. Likewise, a pair of muted swans have been seen in area lakes ...
Non event was still concerning
At the end of the day, the potential for widespread damage from a tsunami spawned via the earthquake in Chile turned out to be a couple of big waves across the Pacific, and not much more. But for most of the day, it was something to follow - especially if ...
Spring Can't Be Far
Several little experiences in the past few days have reminded me that, yes, there will be an end to this seemingly endless gray, colder-than-normal winter. I came home last Sunday night just at dark and out behind the dam where I live, there were thousands of little peeping frogs singing ...
