LKN State of Mind

We moved on to North Carolina for a two-week stay over the 4th of July to spend time with my brother Rick and his wife Denise.  We parked Opus at Ver-El Mobile Village near the Charlotte Motor Speedway. They offer a good rate of $125 a week when there are no events at the track.  We did have a couple of issues to deal with while we were there.  A fan motor on the rear air conditioner stopped blowing and a computer that keeps crashing.  We had a mobile repair service change the motor and have been on the phone with India a couple of times trying to fix the computer without going back to day one which would then mean everything would have to be reinstalled, but they still have not resolved the problem. Hopefully the next call will be the last. 

We did get to spend a few nights at Rick's place on Lake Norman and the wonderful view put us in the Lake Norman State of Mind.  That is Captain Rick's boat tied at the dock.

Looking from the dock at their condo which is the last one on the left.  They sure have a beautiful place.

This is how you get in the LKN state of mind.  Rick, Nanc and Denise floating under the hot sun in the warm water.  And, unlike the Carolina coast this year, we did not have to worry about sharks.

Our time there was like one long party with many friends and neighbors stopping by.  Denise, Nanc, Kelly and Charlene enjoying a toddy before dinner.  I was so distracted by the ladies I failed to get a picture of their husbands.

Over the weekend of the 4th the Antonettis, old friends from our hometown of Burgettstown, came down for a visit.  Marlene even cooked her famous lasagna.  It was great having time to get caught up with her and her family.  We were neighbors sixty years ago so Rick has known her his whole live.

It was a great meal enjoyed by all. Left is Marlene, her son John and grandkids BJ and Julie.  Top is Jim, Rick and Denise. Right is John's wife Kathy and Nanc.

 

Of course one of the fun things about coming here is getting to use all the adult toys.  Rick, BJ and Julie heading out on the Sea-Doo.

Nanc and I opted for the slower kayaks.  Their place is on a little cove so we were protected from the boats zipping around the main lake.

I even took a turn on the stand up paddle board and survived the experience without injury.  Not bad for an old guy.

There was also wine and board games for those who became bored with all the water sports.

Kathy and John.

BJ and Rick racing.  I think in this one the old guy ruled.

The kids showing off.  The reason I was not hurt was that I am smart enough not to try such a move.  All that talent wasted on youth.

The name of Rick's boat sure reflects that LKN State of Mind.  A couple of days near the water brings on a New Perspective and a whole new attitude.

We found this sand bar where we anchored and played.  It was less than knee deep in the middle but deep enough behind the boat that we could dive in.  We sent BJ to retrieve the anchor.

On the 4th we had big dinner with John manning the grill to cook the steaks.  They were done to perfection.

Friends and family gathered for the Independence Day feast. Nanc, Mary, Tim, Marlene, John, BJ, Julie, Kathy, Sally, Brent, Rick and Denise waiting to chow down.

Of course there was a bit of tomfoolery with buck teeth, moustaches and glow in the dark glasses to help us see the fireworks 

We had a great view with several neighbors shooting off fireworks as well as being able to see at least three communities along the lake shore lighting up the night sky to celebrate Happy Birthday USA.

On our last day we did a road trip to Asheville to explore the shops and have lunch in this funky little mountain town.  We even checked out one of the more than twenty breweries.  They claim to be Beer City USA, but while there are many breweries and the beer was great, they do not hold a candle to the West Coast brewing scene.  

This was the most time we have spent with Rick and Denise since we were here for Thanksgiving in 2007, our first year on the road.  We have seen them on the road and we always see them in PA but because they are working we don't get to spend that much time together. This was a great visit with all of us having time to get caught up with all that has been happening in our lives.

South Carolina Capitol, Tragedy & the Flag

After Georgia our next capitol tour was in Columbia, South Carolina.  We could not have picked a more historic time to be there with all the events surrounding the the tragic killing of nine people in a church in Charleston, including state Senator Clementa Pickney.  This shooting lead Governor Nikki Haley and many other politicians to call for the removal of the confederate flag from the capitol grounds.  We were not only able to tour the building and see the legislature in action on this issue, we were able to see and comment on the demonstrations related to the removal of the flag.   

Construction of the present capitol began in the 1850's.  In 1865 General Sherman's Union Army came through Columbia and burned much of the city and the old wooden capitol.  At that time only the foundation and stone walls of the new building had been completed and they survived the war.  Other than making it functional, little was done on the building between 1868 and 1885.  The interior was completed by 1895 and the exterior dome, porticos and steps were done by 1907.  The columns on the porticos are cut from a single piece of stone and are believed to be the largest such columns in the U.S.  The capitol is a traditional style with two chambers for the legislature and offices for the governor and other elected officials.  The dome is made of steel and wood that is covered with copper.  There is not a supporting rotunda under the dome like many other capitols. 

As with all capitols, the grounds have several monuments to honor various people in South Carolina history.  This is a statue of Strom Thurmond who was the only person to serve in Congress to be 100 years of age.  When he died he was the longest serving member, but has since been passed by two others for that honor.  Thurmond ran for president as a Dixiecrat in 1948.  That party believed in segregation and used the confederate battle flag as its symbol.  After the Democrats in Congress passed the 1964 civil rights bill, Thurmond left the party and became a Republican.     

The Law Enforcement Monument honors all police and correction officers who died in the line of duty.  I thought the "thin blue line" was the most unique feature of this monument. 

The African American History Monument traces 300 years of Black history in South Carolina.  Relief panels depict scenes from the time of slavery, through the Civil War and the Jim Crow period, to the civil rights movement and ends with the accomplishments of modern African Americans in many different endeavours. The model of the slave ship is a very powerful reminder of the terrible treatment of the slaves on the Middle Passage from Africa. 

 

The confederate Monument was erected in 1879 as a "proud remembrance of the men who died during the Civil War."  The confederate battle flag was placed there 15 years ago as a compromise to remove it from the capitol dome where it had been placed in 1965 to show resistance to the civil rights legislation that became the law of the land.  

The main lobby of the capitol.  The lobby has paintings, plaques and statues of historic importance.  It was packed with people because of the flag removal issue. 

Many of the paintings in the capitol show battles of the Revolutionary War.  There were more battles in South Carolina during that war than any other state.  The Patriots' victory at the battle of Cowpens in 1781 is considered the turning point of the war in the South and was an important step toward victory at Yorktown.  

Statue of John C. Calhoun who was a U. S. vice president under two presidents, secretary of state and war, and a member of the U. S. house and senate.  He was also an intense defender of slavery and set in motion policies that lead to secession 11 years after his death.    

A plaque with the articles of secession that was followed by the bombardment of Fort Sumter and started the Civil War.

The only Civil War painting we found was of confederate soldier Richard Kirkland who risked his life during the Battle of Fredericksburg to take water to wounded Union soldiers. 

The House of Representatives has 124 members.  The representatives were standing and applauding the passage of a resolution to begin talks about removing the confederate battle flag from the capitol grounds in response to the Charleston shootings.  The tally board shows the overwhelming support for the resolution. It was wonderful to be there on such a historic day.

Representatives from the Charleston area who spoke about there friend who had served with them, Clementa Pinckney.  There were many emotional and moving tributes. 

The South Carolina Senate has 46 members.  You can see the black draped desk of Senator Pinckney.  There were also many words of praise for their fallen colleague and a voice vote to begin talks about removing the flag.  While we missed his speech, the son of Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond joined the call to take it down. 

Around the monument there were many demonstrators calling for the flag to be removed and a few with signs saying it should stay.  While there is a great divide on this issue, there were many more people there who said the flag should come down.

The main lobby was packed with local and national media interviewing the senators and representatives after the votes had been taken.

Outside the media was interviewing cranky old white guys to get their opinion.  This guy obviously was all about keeping the flag where it is.......

......and this guy had a different opinion.  Yes, I was interviewed and shown on local TV a couple times.  They even spelled my name correctly.  While I think there is a place for the flag in museums and in teaching the history of the Civil War, the time where it is displayed on the grounds of a government building that represents ALL people has passed.  That said, if someone wants to fly it on their property or wear it that should allowed.  Years ago I had a friend, Herman, who had a plate on the front of his car with a little Johnny Reb, the stars and bars and the saying "Hell no I won't forget".  I had no problem with that, of course, Herman was Black.

Martin Luther King Jr. & Jimmy Carter-Atlanta

Since we had visited so many civil rights sites this spring, from Selma, to Montgomery, to Tuskegee, we did not want to miss the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta.  And, after touring the Jimmy Carter sites in Plains, we wanted to see the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum also in Atlanta. While the two sites are connected by a trail, it took too much time to do both in one day.      

The King site covers several blocks around Auburn Avenue where he was born.  In the King Center is a model of the statue erected at the King Memorial in Washington, DC.  At the entrance of the visitor center is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, whose nonviolent strategies King studied to use in the civil rights movement.

The mural outside the visitors center traces King's life.  From his birth in 1929, through the civil rights movement, to his assassination in Memphis in 1968. 

Nanc joins the marchers on Freedom Road.  It sure seemed appropriate, as we have been marching along so many civil rights sites this year. 

Behold, a statue of Kunta Kinta baptizing his daughter Kizzy.  Kunta Kinta was an African ancestor of author Alex Haley who traced his ancestors, who were slaves, back to Africa. Haley told the story of Kunta Kinta being captured in Africa, transported to the U.S., being sold into slavery, but always striving to pass the knowledge of his African ancestry on to the next generation. 

The Ebenezer Baptist Church was the spiritual center for the King family.  From M.L. King's maternal grandfather A.D, Williams, to his father M.L.King Sr., members of his family served as pastor of the church for nearly 80 years.  During the 1960's Dr. King was the co-pastor.

As part of the national historic site the church has been renovated and is considered the Ebenezer heritage sanctuary.  A new Ebenezer church has been built across the street.  After M.L. King Jr. was assassinated, his brother A.D. became co-pastor but he died suddenly in 1969.  Tragically, in 1974 King's mother Alberta was shot and killed in the church.

Stephan Ferguson gave a park service program about the history of Ebenezer that ended with a wonderful reading of the "I Have a Dream" speech from the 1963 March on Washington.  This is not to be missed if you visit this site. He left many people with tears in their eyes.

Just down Auburn Avenue from Ebenezer at 501 is the house (on left) where Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929.  He lived there until 1941.  The house has been restored to the time of King's childhood.  Tours are available with a free ticket, but we arrived there too late.

The visitors center has several exhibits with accompanying videos following the timeline of Dr.King's role in the civil rights movement.  It goes from his time as the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Church in Montgomery during the bus boycott in 1955 to his assassination in 1968 in Memphis.  Above is the mule wagon that was used to carry King's casket for his funeral procession.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dr. King in 1964 in recognition of his use of non-violent tactics in the movement for civil rights.  He was the youngest person to receive the peace prize.  The King Center has rooms dedicated to works of Gandhi and Rosa Parks, as well as, Martin and Coretta King. 

The tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.  The King historic site is a worthwhile stop to learn about the civil rights movement.  It was a walk down memory lane for me, as many of those events happened while I lived in Atlanta.

Near the King site we were able to continue to follow the life of Jimmy Carter at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.  These are some of the honors Carter has received, the Presidential Medal of Freedom was given to both Jimmy and Rosalynn in 1999, in 2006 he received a Grammy for Best Spoken Word (who knew?) and the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

The museum, which starts with Jimmy's childhood in Plains, covered many of the same things we had seen there.  They do have the Presidential highchair here.

Next is an exhibit of his time at the Naval Academy, his navy career in the nuclear sub program and then his resignation from the Navy in 1953 when his father died.  The model is USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23).  Carter is the only president to serve on a nuclear sub.

There is a replica of the Oval Office as it was furnish during his Presidency.  This is something that every Presidential Library and Museum we have visited has had.

Just a few of the events that happened during his term.  From Star Wars, to the first Apple computer, to the work of Mother Teresa.

I think this is really cool.  A baseball signed by all five living Presidents; Bush, Obama, Bush, Clinton and Carter.

A big part of the Museum is dedicated to the Camp David Accords that Carter negotiated in 1978.  He served as a go between with Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for twelve days before they signed an agreement.  As a result, those two countries have not had a war since.  Carter continues to work on trying to achieve permanent Middle East peace.  The sculpture is from the famous photograph of Sadat, Begin and Carter shaking hands after the signing of the accords.

The list of achievements during his presidency speaks for itself.

In the 35 years since Jimmy Carter left the Oval Office he has worked tirelessly around the world through the Carter Center.  He has served as a monitor for elections, worked to eradicate disease, provide better housing and achieve peace for all nations.  I don't think there has been a former president in my lifetime who has used the prestige of that office for so much good.  Jimmy Carter is a great human being and a visit to his museum should be on your to do list.