D.G. Martin, Author at Chapelboro.com

Sealing family ties with dripping red wax

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 28, 2016 | D.G. Martin

On the second weekend of June, people in Louisville, Kentucky, laid to rest two leading citizens. One of them, of course, was Muhammad Ali, buried on June 10. The other, my cousin Boyce F. Martin Jr., was buried the next day....

Books for summer: Mountains and Military

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 21, 2016 | D.G. Martin

If you want some more tips for good summer reading from recent books by North Carolina authors, I have four suggestions, two set in the mountains, two about our military. An obvious choice if you are planning a trip to the...

Voting for the devil?

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 14, 2016 | D.G. Martin

“You would vote for the devil if he were a Democrat, wouldn’t you?” Thus begins an old story that makes fun of an old-time party-loyal, “yellow-dog” Democrat. His friend was teasing him about his unwillingness ever to stray from...

Putting Trump aside; remembering Ali and Patt Derian

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 7, 2016 | D.G. Martin

The death of Muhammad Ali last week took away Donald Trump’s monopoly of television news coverage, at least for a time. There was some irony, of course, as the “I am the greatest” clips from Ali replaced...

A jackass or a carpenter?

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 1, 2016 | D.G. Martin

“Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one.” Using a saying from UNC President Margaret Spellings’s native Texas, one attributed to Sam Rayburn, the long-time speaker of the U.S. House of...

Get to Ayden before it’s too late

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 24, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Can a Louisiana food writer tell us something about North Carolina barbecue that we did not already know? Rien Fertel gives it a good try in his new book, “The One True Barbecue: Fire, Smoke, and the Pitmasters Who Cook the...

The next big high-tech product: Why Concord?

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 17, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Why would Alevo, a European company seeking to develop and manufacture a powerful groundbreaking battery, choose Concord, North Carolina, as the site of its operations, rather than some other place anywhere in the world? There...

Finding our way out of a locked bathroom

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 10, 2016 | D.G. Martin

What can we do about House Bill 2? Polls show North Carolinians divided about the new law. Answers to polling questions depend upon how the questions are asked. Most North Carolinians, even supporters of transgender rights, do...

Summer reading and lessons about campus names and renaming

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 3, 2016 | D.G. Martin

What can Yale University teach UNC-Chapel Hill and other universities about naming and renaming college buildings and programs? What does Yale’s solution have to do with North Carolina and one of the books I recommend for early...

Groping and hoping: Why John Hart is so good and why the latest book took so long to write

Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 27, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Can’t we just find something that we can agree upon? Thrown into a silly unnecessary bathroom dispute that has brought unwelcome international attention, good North Carolinians of all ideological, religious, and political...

D.G. Martin

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