Merlefest, the Little Lummox, and the family....

Yesterday was a beautiful day as I drove up through the mountain pass where Mairead lives. Crystaline air, still chilled from the heights, with the bright lime-green of new leaves everywhere. Got the last of my work done and then came back down again. Both ways I saw all the traffic coming and going to the Merlefest. This morning as I peered through the fresh leaves blocking my office window I could see the top of Hill Fort Ridge, crusted with gleaming white RVs like icing sprinkles on a cake. Soon enough loud speaker cranked up and was going strong. Since the keepers of the Fest added $40,000 to beef up the amps over there I can hear the Merlefest music right in my front yard.

Last night, just as I sat down for Washington Week in Review, Mairead and her mother showed up. They had been across the creek at the Merlefest all day long and had come in to see us. Mairead was so happy to see the Little Lummox. We played for awhile while MHF and Mairead's mom talked. Then her Dad showed up with their two Irish friends. They had also been out at the Merlefest and were tired and a bit red from the sun. The Irish guys especially enjoyed it, I think. One mentioned how much like Irish music it all sounded!

Well, yes, when you think about it.

This morning I took the Little Lummox out for his usual walk down to the medical building and back up along Moravian Creek. He was in fine fettle. So many people now, so many tents and cars. We could hear the music perfectly as we walked, which he ignores. It was a very good day.

Oh Fuddle-Duddle (a Canadian joke) or Typical Kind of Weather (an American joke):

Virginia Foxx is at it again. She is in a dilemma, although I am not sure she understands that. She is all for job growth in her district, but seems increasingly hostile to Hispanic immigrants. Well, there goes the Wilkesboro chicken factory, last of the big spenders! Anyway, here is the story:

Winston-Salem Journal
On illegal immigration, 'Statistics are a real problem'
Some figures used in discussion about rising Hispanic population are based on hearsay, assumptions

'At a congressional-subcommittee hearing Wednesday, several speakers discussed how numbers show that illegal immigration is bringing immense problems to Forsyth County.
"When you put the numbers out there, then it puts a reality onto it that bolsters what people feel in their gut and what they know is a problem," said U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who is up for re-election and arranged the hearing in Winston-Salem.

"I'm a very logical person," she said. "I like to start with the facts."

The facts and figures she and other speakers cited, however, are chock full of questions.

Prosecution and arrest statistics can't prove that a certain group commits more crime, said Matthew Robinson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Appalachian State University.

"The thing you have to be careful about is not using those statistics to prove a problem," he said. "Those statistics are a function of the focus of our criminal-justice system as well."
For example, if a sheriff decided that prostitution was a problem, he could assign officers to make more arrests. Some might use the arrests to say that prostitution is increasing, but really it's an effect of increased enforcement, Robinson said.'

So here is a little experiment for you. Take the next issue of the Wilkes Journal-Patriot and read through all the crime stories, making careful note of how many Anglo names are cited and how many obviously Spanish names. Then add them up. Keep in mind that if the Hispanics are pulling their weight they should account for roughly 8 to 10% of the total. Repeat as needed for the next year or so.

The Little Lummox may have been wrong!

About the economy that is. Otherwise he is always right, as he tried to prove to an Irish American husky named Banshee the Easter Sunday (Lummox has just about gotten over it now).

But the latest word from the Asheville Citizen-Times:

Area economy loses momentum

BOONE — Following a sustained period of strong growth, the regional economy has lost some momentum in the past six months.

Economic activity increased by only 0.4 percent in the state’s western counties in February, according to data compiled in the Western North Carolina Economic Index.
“Job growth was slow to emerge in Western North Carolina after the 2001 recession and when it arrived it did not stay very long,” said Todd Cherry, an economist at Appalachian State University and author of the special report. “Job growth for the region has been flat in recent months.”

Only 12 of the 25 WNC counties had positive job growth in February. Job gains primarily emerged in the central counties, while job losses largely occurred in the foothill and far western counties. Watauga County had the lowest unemployment rate (2.94), while Rutherford County had the highest rate (8.17).

Me and the Little Lummox:
Or the Little Lummox and I? However. It was a beautiful day here in the land of Wilkes. Spring seems to have finally decided that it is really supposed to be here. So I packed the weird little beast up in the car and drove over to the site of one of our favorite walks - the hiking trail along the Reddies River in North Wilkesboro. I love the quiet and beauty out there even though it is right in the middle of the urban sprawl of the metropolis. We start out at the dam and walk until we come to Chocolate Pony's house. Today we passed a jogger, and bunches of bikers. Lummox would get off the trail and sit while they zoomed past. He loves this walk, partly because we don't go there often so it has time to collect a whole new set of odors to be explored.

Our friend Chocolate was there, but was up in the yard at the house. He didn't come down. I think he may have been tied in the backyard so someone could keep track of him. There was a tractor going up and down the trail with a drag, smoothing out the damage from the winter. We had a very nice trip.

But we have somewhat of a dilemma tomorrow. MHF, me, and Little Lummox have been invited up to Mairead's house for Easter dinner. I would like to take him but MHF thinks it would be a bad idea. The last time I tried it he attacked Banshee, a husky, and Guinness, a hound, as soon as he walked in. Even Mairead was getting a little upset and he managed to bite her dad. Banshee thought the cute little dog was trying to play, so she bounced along thinking it was funny. They all got along fine later, much later. Still, Lummox would like to go. What's a dog fight among friends.

The Buen Amigo: a new restaurant in town....
It is right across the street from the old Wilkesboro Courthouse. It bills itself as 'Latin American' and it is certainly not Mexican. The woman running the kitchen is Honduran while my waitress today was Dominican. The food then seems to be more Caribbean than Mexican.

Don't expect anything terribly fancy and I think you will enjoy it. It has only been opened a few days and service still is a bit slow, though polite. It's clearly a mom and pop type place. The food I had was excellent. First I had sopa de ris (beef soup) which turned out to be the meal in itself. Very good broth with big chunks of beef still on the bone, yucca, and carrots. It came with rice and tortillas that were slightly different style from what most Americans expect.

I also ordered Tostones, squashed fried plantain. It's a favorite at our house when MFH can find plantains that are green enough - they must be very green to fry right. These were not quite green enough but still good. I even took some to MFH while she worked and she liked them. Cubans make them, but call them tachinos.

Anyway, if you like Mexican food but would like to try something a bit different, give it a try. It deserves to be a success.

A Fortunate Meeting in the High Country...

Yesterday afternoon I went up to Boone. By chance ran into both my nieces: Mulan and Mairead. That almost never happens anymore. Mulan, a gymnast, started climbing a nearby stonewall; Mairead who is not yet four insisted on doing the same. Disaster was averted. We talked and played for awhile and then their parents took them off, but I was able to go with Mairead and her parents to an interesting Greek restaurant for dinner. I will have to go back some day soon. It all made me forget that my original reason for going up there was to get a lot of work done.

The Little Lummox scouts out the economy....

I took the Lummox for a walk today while MFH spent the day learning how to center herself with prayer. Sounds kind of Zen to me. Went all the way down to School Street and along Moravian Creek. Lummox loves to walk through the little industrial area there. Well, actually he loves to walk among the dumpsters of the restaurants we come to first, hoping that he will find something to pop into his mouth. Whether or not it is edible is a question he prefers to deal with later.

Today after we came through the UPS truck park, we found Builders Choice, makers of cabinets and countertops, once again going strong. Lots of cars in the workers lot, lots of saws sawing, blowers blowing and sawdust flying. The loading dock door was open and a truck was pulled in ready to be loaded. The workers' cars had dealers stickers on them from Statesville and Elkin and Jefferson. It was nice to see all of the activity, especially on a dreary Saturday morning. The workshop has been going like this for the last two or three days that Lummox has investigated. Good to know someone in Wilkes is getting orders, hiring people, and getting some money into the county.

And at the end of the month: MERLFEST! That usually brings in about $14 million.

Jerzy's is not gone at all....
despite what some folks in Miller's Creek seem to want. It has reopened in a little spot that used to be Jackson's Restaurant. No liquor, just wine and beer, and apparently the emphasis will be on food. In fact, the owner wants to put in a drive through window. There was some discussion of it on gowilkes.com. Some people were opposed to having it in Miller's Creek because the people in the community would not stand for it. Well, perhaps they know different folks in Miller's Creek than I do. When I dropped in to have a beer and some cajan chips while I read, there were several locals at the bar, commenting how glad they were that a good bar and grill had come to town.

So I still have a spot to go when I want to concentrate, read, write, or grade papers. No, really, it goes much better for me in a noisy bar.