The news last week came as a surprise to me: “Gov. Cooper’s office announced on Thursday that Walter Gaskin, a retired three-star Marine Corps general who became secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs in 2021, is retiring from state government.”
Earlier this month, Southern Living named Poole’s Diner the best diner in North Carolina and praised it as follows: “Diners often feel frozen in time, and while Poole’s has the retro chrome edging, and red artificial leather stools and booths, you won’t find anyone in old-school waitress uniforms.”
“Why do you Mecklenburgers always act so high and mighty?” I still get this question every now and then even though I moved away years ago. Last week, I remembered the best answer to that question.
Coach Lefty Driesell died on February 17. I wanted to honor him now, but I have written so many columns about him, I thought it might be a better idea to let him speak for himself.
Count on Ron Rash to take his readers on a trip back in time, usually to some place in North Carolina. His latest book, “The Caretaker,” mostly takes place in and around the mountain town of Blowing Rock in 1950.
Fred Chappell, former North Carolina Poet Laureate and longtime professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. died on January 4 at age 87. To celebrate his contributions, I have revised a column I wrote in 2009 about his book of short stories, “Ancestors and Others: New and Selected Stories.”