Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:33:42 +0000

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1.           Lawmakers, Advocates Pleased With VA Budget Proposal. 

2.           VA, DOD Said To Be Committed To Mental Health Of Troops. 

3.           Agent Orange-Related Funding Seen Making War Bill A "Bigger Target." 

4.           Hospital, County To Discuss Leasing Land To VA. 

5.           Vets Home In Pennsylvania Receives Low Ranking. 

6.           Iraq Vet Says VA Hospital, Army Counselors Helped Him Recover From Injury. 

7.           VA Spreads Word About Student-Produced Film. 

8.           Four Veterans Honored With US Postage Stamps. 

9.           DOD Opens Investigation Of Complaints About Mental Healthcare At Camp Lejeune. 

10.       VA To Open New Clinic In Montana. 

11.       New VA Clinic In North Carolina To Provide 40 New Jobs. 

12.       VA Finds Site For New Clinic In West Virginia. 

13.       Four Sites In Minnesota Under Consideration For VA Clinic. 

14.       Large Crowd Attends Four Chaplains Ceremony At Big Spring VAMC. 

15.       St. Cloud VAMC To Celebrate National Salute To Veterans. 

16.       Students To Deliver Valentines To VA Hospital. 

17.       Biofeedback Being Used To Help Vets Suffering From PTSD. 

18.       VA System Hopes To Get Homeless Vets Off Streets And Into Treatment. 

19.       Fourth Freedom Honor Flight Set For May 8. 

20.       WWII Veteran Trained As Torpedo Gunner. 

21.       Heroes Of Freedom Memorial Goes Dark. 

22.       On the Hill for February 5, 2010:

23.       Today in History: 

 

 

1.      Lawmakers, Advocates Pleased With VA Budget Proposal. In continuing coverage, the Federal Times (2/5, Maze, 40K) reports, "Initial reviews are good for the Obama administration's proposed $125 billion veterans budget for 2011. The Democratic chairman and top Republican" on the House Veterans Affairs Committee "both used the word 'robust' to describe a budget proposal" that, according to the Times, also has pleased veterans advocates. The Times adds, "VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, appearing Thursday before the House committee, said the budget is designed to keep the department on a path that is more people-focused, results-oriented and forward-looking -- a process that continues to be difficult because the number of veterans and survivors seeking help from VA continues to grow."
     Budget Sets Aside Money For Electronic Record Systems. Federal Computer Week (2/5, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department is setting aside $157 million next year for the Defense-VA Interagency Program Office to develop a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) for all servicemembers, according to VA's fiscal 2011 budget request. The goal is to create a next-generation VLER system that will allow secure and seamless sharing of patients' medical data between the DOD and VA." The VA "also is budgeting $347 million in fiscal 2011 for its HealtheVet electronic health record system, which is the next-generation of the longstanding VistA (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) medical record system."
     Budget Also Calls For Five New Veterans Cemeteries. The Omaha (NE) World-Herald (2/4, Cordes) reported, "The federal budget that President Barack Obama unveiled Monday includes authorization and planning funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a new national veterans cemetery in the Omaha area," along with four others in various parts of the country. The World-Herald noted that the budget "also includes...money for a new VA hospital in Omaha, replacing the current one near 42nd Street and Woolworth Avenue." The North Platte (NE) Telegraph (2/4, 12K) published the same story.
     According to the WHEC-TV Rochester, NY (2/4, Stagnitti) website, one of the national cemeteries called for in Obama's budget is "designated for the Rochester-Buffalo area." WHC noted that US Rep. Louise Slaughter and US Rep. Eric Massa, both Democrats from New York, said veterans in the area deserve such a facility.
     County In Colorado A Possible Site For National Cemetery. The Wet Mountain Tribune (2/4, Drenner), a paper based in Westcliffe, Colorado, said, "Custer County seems to be one small step closer to its dream of a national veterans cemetery being established in the Wet Mountain Valley. Earlier this week," Obama "placed in the 2011 preliminary budget a line item that included the creation of a new national veterans cemetery in Southern Colorado. For three years, Custer County has been one of nine proposed sites for that cemetery."

 

 

 

2.      VA, DOD Said To Be Committed To Mental Health Of Troops. In an opinion piece on the Huffington Post (2/4), psychotherapist Belleruth Naparstek writes, "There's been a push to educate our troops and the general public about posttraumatic stress as well as TBI's (traumatic brain injury), thanks to a renewed commitment to the mental health of our troops, found in both" the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, with the current secretaries of both agencies "working hard at destigmatizing mental health problems, in ways never seen before." Naparstek goes on to say that she expects VA "will get more flexible in how it offers services. And there will hopefully be much more widespread use of self-administered guided imagery downloads."

 

3.      Agent Orange-Related Funding Seen Making War Bill A "Bigger Target." Politico (2/5, Rogers, 25K) reports, "Past and present are converging in an Afghanistan war funding bill as the White House seeks to add billions to pay medical claims owed to veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War." And, "with the wartime bill now approaching $55 billion, the higher costs make it a bigger target in Washington's latest firefight over deficits and debt. The new Agent Orange-related funding is striking in itself: $13.4 billion arising from a decision last October by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to expand the number of illnesses presumed to be service connected for Vietnam veterans."
     Veteran Exposed To Agent Orange Uncertain If He Will Qualify For VA Benefits. The Contra Costa Times (2/5, Simerman, 186K), a newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, says the cost of Shinseki's decision, which added Parkinson's and two other diseases "to the list of now 15 'presumed service-related' illnesses for Vietnam" veterans, "remains uncertain pending a final rule, but budget increases for 2010 and 2011 include nearly $30 billion to account for the ruling, including 4,000 new benefits positions to deal with an expected surge in claims." According to the Times, one veteran who has Parkinson's but does not know if he will qualify for Agent Orange-related benefits is 69-year-old Bob Decker. Decker "never fought in Vietnam" but he "volunteered for a small Army group that tested Agent Orange." The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (2/5) runs the same story.

 

4.      Hospital, County To Discuss Leasing Land To VA. The Decorah (IA) Journal (2/5, Greiner, 7K) reports Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC) is hoping Winneshiek County will consider leasing some land to the Department of Veterans Affairs. At Wednesday's "meeting of the WMC Board of Trustees, Chief Administrative Officer Dan Werner explained he and the Medical Center's legal team will meet with the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors Monday to discuss a lease to the VA for a community-based outpatient clinic on the Medical Center campus."

 

 

 

5.      Vets Home In Pennsylvania Receives Low Ranking. On its website, WJAC-TV Johnstown, PA (4/4) reported, "The Hollidaysburg Veterans Home is receiving statewide attention, and it's not good news. A report from the state Department of Health and Human Services found the facility rated below average when meeting inspection requirements." The home, therefore, "received the lowest possible ranking, one start out of five."

 

6.      Iraq Vet Says VA Hospital, Army Counselors Helped Him Recover From Injury. The Arkansas City (KS) Traveler (2/5, 5K) notes that during an interview it conducted Wednesday, veteran Zachary Gardner, who lost his right foot in Iraq, "said he gained 'full recovery,' thanks to Army counselors and help" from the Veterans Affairs hospital in Wichita.

 

7.      VA Spreads Word About Student-Produced Film. According to the lead item in "T-TOWN" for the Tuscaloosa (AL) News (2/4), a film "produced by students" at the University of Alabama (UA) "about the challenges faced by returning military veterans is being recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to a UA news release, students in the university's Documenting Justice filmmaking class produced the documentary film, 'Searching for Normal,'" which "features narrative comments from Dick Powers, an Iraq veteran and one of the UA students who produced the film." The News said VA "posted a link to the film on its Facebook page in late January, after Brandon Friedman, director of new media for the VA, met Powers at a conference" in Washington, DC.

 

8.      Four Veterans Honored With US Postage Stamps. According to the AP (2/4), two veterans who served during the Second World War, one who served in the first, and one who earned two Medals of Honor, are "being honored with new" US postage stamps. The Denver Post (2/5, Bunch, 282K) says one of the vets being honored with is Arleigh Albert Burke, a "famous World War II Navy commander" from Boulder, Colorado.

 

9.      DOD Opens Investigation Of Complaints About Mental Healthcare At Camp Lejeune. The AP (2/5, Maurer) reports, "The Defense Department will investigate complaints of substandard mental health care for Marines at Camp Lejeune, according" to US Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), who "asked for the probe amid reports of retaliation against a whistleblower. Public questions about the quality of mental health care provided by a private contractor at the base were raised last year by the September firing of Dr. Kernan Manion, a brain trauma specialist who had complained to commanders about poor facilities, inadequate care programs and weak security." The AP adds, "Jones said the Defense Department's Inspector General told him Wednesday that an investigation is open."

 

 

10.    VA To Open New Clinic In Montana. The Western News (4/4, Harbaugh), which is based Libby, Montana, reported, "Within two months, a local clinic is slated to begin providing primary care in Libby for Lincoln County veterans, said Chuck Marsden, executive assistant to the director" for the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Marsden "said the clinic will initially only provide primary care, but will eventually be equipped to offer mental health services."

 

11.    New VA Clinic In North Carolina To Provide 40 New Jobs. In continuing coverage, the WGHP-TV Greensboro, NC (2/4, Campbell) website reported, "The federal government has approved the opening of a second Piedmont" Veterans Affairs "medical clinic at Marketplace Mall in Winston-Salem." The VA "thinks that the mall's proximity to Interstate 40 and ample parking makes Marketplace Mall on Peters Creek Parkway the perfect location for the new facility, which will provide 40 new jobs."

 

12.    VA Finds Site For New Clinic In West Virginia. The Pocahontas Times (2/5, Hamill), a paper in Marlinton, West Virginia, reports, "After a long search, a project team with the Beckley Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) has found a site for a veterans clinic." Pocahontas County veterans "enrolled at the Beckley VAMC will reduce their travel for primary care by 50 miles if they elect to utilize" the new clinic, which "will be located in Maxwelton at 804 Industrial Park Road, next to the Lewisburg Airport off of Route 219."

 

13.    Four Sites In Minnesota Under Consideration For VA Clinic. The Elk River (MN) Star News (2/5, Nelson, 21K) reports, "Two sites in Elk River and two sites in Ramsey are now under consideration" by the Department of Veterans Affairs "to be the future home" of a new clinic. Ralph Heussner, a public affairs officer for the VA, "said the VA has nothing to report in terms of when a decision will be made."

 

14.    Large Crowd Attends Four Chaplains Ceremony At Big Spring VAMC. The Big Spring (TX) Herald (2/5, Reagan, 5K) reports, "About 200 people stepped in out of the rain Tuesday to pay homage to military veterans who have passed away in the past 12 months. Despite Wednesday's constant downpour," the Big Spring Veterans Affairs Medical Center's "annual Four Chaplains ceremony drew a large crowd to the First Baptist Church Chapel." The Herald notes that according to Dean Thomas, a chaplain at the hospital, four hospital volunteers were also honored during the ceremony.

 

 

 

15.    St. Cloud VAMC To Celebrate National Salute To Veterans. The St. Cloud (MN) Times (2/5, Petrie) reports the St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will celebrate National Salute to Veterans next week." The events, including an arts exhibit, are "part of a national celebration that honors veterans who receive care in VA medical centers and nursing homes."

 

16.    Students To Deliver Valentines To VA Hospital. The Goshen (NY) Chronicle (2/5) reports, "As they have done for the past several years, students from Chester Middle School have been busily creating valentines and other goodies for the veterans" at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Castle Point. The students "will be delivering their valentines in person on Thursday, Feb. 11."

 

17.    Biofeedback Being Used To Help Vets Suffering From PTSD. HealthDay (2/4, Thompson) reported that biofeedback, once "thought of as alternative therapy," now has become "a fully legitimized medical treatment" used to help "US soldiers returning from war...deal with post-traumatic stress disorder" and patients "suffering from chronic pain."

 

18.    VA System Hopes To Get Homeless Vets Off Streets And Into Treatment. The KTUU-TV Anchorage, AK (2/4, Goodell) website.

 

19.    Fourth Freedom Honor Flight Set For May 8. The La Crosse (WI) Tribune (2/5, Cahalan).

 

20.    WWII Veteran Trained As Torpedo Gunner. The Worthington (MN) Daily Globe (2/4, Buntjer, 9K).

 

21.    Heroes Of Freedom Memorial Goes Dark. The Gurnee (IL) Review (2/4, Sykora).

 

22.    On the Hill for February 5, 2010:

 

No legislative action is scheduled in either chamber.

 

House:  Convenes 9 a.m. for a pro forma session.

 

Senate:  Not in session.

 

            Hearing

Joint Economic hearing to receive unemployment data for January. 9:30 a.m., 216 Hart

 

As I write this, I am recovering from a head cold that I seem to get about once a year.  This year, it kept me out of work for 2 days, but the good news is that I am feeling better, but am certainly not 100% yet.  For those of you that emailed me or gave some encouragement over Facebook, thank you very much.

As I lied on the couch for the past two days, I have been thinking about my geographical heritage.  I think it has something to do with this new show on The History Channel called Madhouse.  Madhouse is about racing at a historical racetrack in Winston-Salem, North Carolina called Bowman Gray Stadium which was one of the very first tracks on the NASCAR circuit.[1]  Now, I’m not a big racing fan, but I did grow up in Hickory, North Carolina, about an hour away from Winston-Salem.  For some of you, that may surprise you.  I have found out recently that a lot of people think I’m from Michigan.  Well…I’m not.  I was born July 2, 1976 in Catawba Memorial Hospital in Hickory, North Carolina and remained there until June, 1995.

When I was a kid, I wanted to leave Hickory.  I looked around while I was in high school and figured out that if I wanted to be anything, I needed to leave Hickory.  That’s not to say that any of my friends that chose to stay are nothing; it’s just to say that, for me, I felt like I needed to leave.  Like that Bon Jovi song, I was “a home town boy born a rolling stone.”  For those of you that do not know about Hickory, my home town is named after a bar.  It was originally called “Hickory Tavern” after a log tavern that was built and after the railroad came through, the city’s name was changed to just “Hickory.” If you go downtown, you will see a number of bars.  It’s a product of a city culture that has German roots, including a Lutheran college and many Lutheran churches.  It is situated in the foothills section of the mountains, a short drive from the town of Boone and about an hour northwest of Charlotte. At one point in the country’s history, 60% of America’s furniture came out of Hickory.  I am not sure where I read that, but I have remembered that statistic for a long time.  When I was a kid, if your parents wanted a job, they could probably find one, as long as you were willing to work for a furniture factory. 

But let me back up a little further.  My mother grew up in North Tazwell, Virginia, a very rural Appalachian community in the northwestern part of the “panhandle” of Virginia, not too far from the West Virginia border.  As of the 2000 census, there were only about 45,000 people in the whole county.[2]  Going back even further, the Appalachian area was settled by the Scotch-Irish, a distinct culture that emerged when the province of Ulster, in Ireland, was settled by the Scotch.  Then called Ulster-Scotch, they soon re-settled in areas of Great Britain and in the United States, specifically in the area where my mother grew up.[3]  Ironically, my father’s heritage is much the same.  The name “McDowell” used to be spelled “MacDowell” (and indeed there are still some of those around), but the “a” was dropped in favor of sounding more Irish.  Having this Appalachian heritage on both sides of my family explains a lot about me.  It could explain my temper and my stubbornness.  My mother’s maiden name, “Witten”, is German, but my grandmother’s maiden name is “Byrd”, a distinct English name.  I have also been told, although I am unable to substantiate this claim, that my great-grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee Indian. This would explain my mother’s jet black hair as a child. So I am a Scotch-Irish German Indian or, as I like to call it, an “alcoholic in waiting.” 

Anyway, my Mom migrated to Hickory in the early 70’s to find work.  After moving around to a couple of jobs, she began to work at Century Furniture Company, where she retired a couple of years ago after working there for 35 years.  My father grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  His story is a long and complicated one, but he migrated north to Charlotte, North Carolina where he married and fathered two children.  I recently reunited via the internet with my half-brother.  It might surprise some of you that I have a brother.  I do, but he is about 25 years older than me.  I usually describe myself as an only child because that is how I was raised and the rest is too hard to explain.  Well, unfortunately my Dad’s first marriage did not go well.  I do not know all of the details, but I know that the marriage ended in divorce.  Eventually, my Dad migrated to Hickory to work on a railroad franchise earning him the nickname “Papa Piggyback.”  Apparently, this enterprise did not work out, but he remained in Hickory and was a member at Temple Baptist Church in Hickory, North Carolina, where he met my mother and eventually got her a job where he worked at Century Furniture Company. They married in 1973.

In addition to Hickory being a furniture town, it was also a racing town.  For those of you that do not know, NASCAR started unofficially during prohibition when moonshiners would soup up their car to transport their illegal products.  Even when Prohibition ended, they continued to run moonshine from the “revenuers” to avoid paying federal taxes.  The culture grew and soon they were racing those souped-up cars and ultimately NASCAR was born.  All of this happened, by the way, in the area that I grew up in or not too far from it.  Hickory is home to Hickory Motor Speedway, a track that used to be on the NASCAR circuit, but was dropped when the “Grand National Series” became sponsored by R.J. Reynolds and then known as the “Winston Cup.”  Racing is, by far, the most popular sport in my hometown, even bigger than the Super Bowl.  Tobacco sponsorship was taken for granted.  Tobacco use was, for the most part, acceptable, except in very conservative churches.  My father smoked (Winston’s by the way). Most of his friends smoked.  Many members of our church smoked.  I began smoking at 14 years old and smoked off and on until I was 21 years old, at one point smoking about a pack a day.  So, there’s the environment I grew up in.  At the time, Hickory was a very blue-collar town and that was all I saw.  There was much more to the city than I gave it credit for, but ultimately, all I saw was an endless life of working in a factory.  I wanted more.

There was something else I cannot leave out.  Hickory is divided by railroad tracks.  This may not be as true as it was when I was a kid, but the tracks divided the north and the south sides of town.  My school, both the public and private schools that I attended at any given time, were on the north side of the tracks.  Coming from the north, once you crossed the tracks on Sweetwater Road, the area became much more run down.  I didn’t live in the ghetto, but I did live in a trailer park.  Now, I know that some of you look down on others who choose to live this way.  For my family, we really could not afford anything else.  My Dad moved us out there when I was seven years old.  I’m not really sure why, but I think it was just because he wanted to own something of his own and a trailer was all that we could afford.  He passed away when I was ten years old, a product of the carton a week of Winston cigarettes that he smoked.  It was me and my Mom for nine more years in that trailer park.  There were times when I was ashamed, but I have to hand it to my friends at my Christian school, I was never made fun of for living there.  As a matter of fact, if anyone did, I remember a couple of my friends coming to my defense.  We were poor, but I didn’t know it.  I never missed a meal, although my Mom did.  She chose to feed me rather than herself on a few occasions.  She took on extra hours at work to make the ends meet.   Let me tell you guys, I had a great childhood.  My friend Angie, who used to live down the street from me in the same trailer park, reminded me of that recently.  I would go down there to play with her and her little sister, Becky.  We would look for “buried treasure” in the dumpster and play wiffle ball in her backyard.  One time, we had a neighborhood Olympics and I went at break-neck speeds down a hill on a skateboard with no helmet or pads.  Angie was one of my best friends growing up, even though I didn’t want to admit that one of my best friends was a girl. When we weren’t playing together, I would be in “the woods” letting my imagination wonder.  “The woods” were what I called a small wooded area, maybe 2 acres at the most, just down the hill from our trailer.  I loved that place.  As I am writing this, I am getting emotional just thinking about how I felt when I went back there and saw that the new owner razed it to make room for more mobile homes.  One time, me and a neighborhood boy named Johnny went sledding down a hill in the back of  “the woods” in one of those rare Carolina snowfalls.  We didn’t have a sled.  Very few people owned sleds in North Carolina because you were lucky to use them once a year.  Instead, on this particular occasion, we used an old piece of sheet metal that we found.  We got going so fast that we landed in the open sewer at the bottom of the hill, and thus ended my sledding career. The truth is that I had it better than most people I think, but I didn’t know it at the time and I’m only now realizing just how good it was.  I’m not so naïve as to think that everyone who lived in the park had it as good as I did.  In the mid 90’s, my friend Johnny that I just mentioned put a gun in his mouth over a girl that left him. 

I left Hickory for the first time in the fall of 1994 where I attended my one and only semester at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where I became a believer and met a guy by the name of Steve Sparks from the Detroit area who ultimately introduced me to William Tyndale College in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  I left for Michigan the first time in 1995.  After being there six months, I failed miserably, and after a short stint in the Army in 1996, I remained in Hickory for the next two years.  I grew there spiritually and finally decided to give Michigan another try in June of 1998.  This time, I stayed and remained there until September, 2005.

I have a strange love/hate relationship with Michigan, particularly Detroit.  The city has so much potential.  When I first moved there in 1995, I was naïve enough to think that most of Detroit looked like Northville, an upscale suburb of Detroit, near where I lived.  I knew there were bad parts, but thought that Detroit just got a bad rep.  But when I moved back in ’98 and met people from other parts of the metro area, I began to understand a lot more.  And Tyndale changed a lot in those three years.  Its enrollment dropped substantially and it began to struggle financially.  I heard many rumors about the ethics of the school from some decent sources, but I chose not to believe them since I had no proof.  The Detroit city government went from bad to worse and became more corrupt than ever.  Slowly, I felt a mental, physical, and economic depression descend on a city and a school that I really loved, but was watching struggle.  It was like watching a family member that was an addict.  You love that family member and you know they could be something if they could just get rid of that addiction.  Finally, it was announced that the school would close its doors at the end of 2004.  I was already set to graduate, but many of my friends were not.  Losing Tyndale was like losing an old friend.  Many people can go back to their alma mater to celebrate, but I cannot.  Tyndale died and so did my hopes for the city of Detroit.  When I decided to go to seminary in 2005, I left the city and I have only looked back to the few friends that I have remaining there, mostly from my old church and Tyndale.

Enter Ohio.  I am a Carolina basketball fan and, because of my time in Michigan, a Michigan football fan.  After living in both states, I can confidentially tell you that Michigan football fans don’t really like Ohio State football fans, but Ohio State football fans HATE Michigan football fans.  I had to learn that the hard way.  Moving to Ohio though, was like breathing fresh air.  The traffic is ten-times better, the people are a little-less intense, and the traffic is ten-times better.  Hey, did I mention the traffic was much better?  The cost of living is cheaper, the schools are better, and the people are, for the most part, much more laid back than people in Michigan.    I do not have as much to say about Ohio other than if you do not have at least an acquaintance with football, you are probably not going to like it here, especially if you live in Stark County, where I live, the home of the Canton Bulldogs and the Massillon Tigers, the biggest rivalry in high school football in the country and the only high school football game bet on in Vegas.  I am concerned, however, that the future of Canton, the biggest city in Stark County and the city that I work in, is troubled.  The economic downturn has hit Canton hard and things around here are looking bleak.  I currently working as a temp at a meat processing company, but I have continued to look for other permanent work and let me tell you, there is not much out there and it is certainly worse than it was a year ago.  I am left pondering my future and if God may be leading us away from this area.  It’s a decision that I have wrestled with for some time, not wanting to leave family and friends behind and certainly not wanting to move to an area where we have no connections at all, but this spring, I will graduate with my Masters and my “official” reason for moving here will be accomplished.  I am left wondering what will happen in 2010.  I honestly do not know.

So that’s my geographical heritage.  As I am now in my 30’s, there are times that I really miss Hickory.  It’s honestly hard for me to go back there because I’m hit with so many memories that it’s hard to take.  My Mom is still there, remarried and no longer living in a trailer park.  Of course, I still have many friends there, but much has changed.  The furniture industry has taken a major hit and the economy of Hickory has been permanently altered, but the city has grown and diversified and has an awesome future ahead of it.  If you find yourself in Hickory, you need to find a few places.  You need to check out McGuire’s Pub in Hickory, next to the community theatre, near downtown.  I love the atmosphere and the fact that not that many people know about it.  Also, go around the corner and check out the Olde Hickory Tap Room, another great place to hang out.  You also got to check out Dante’s Pizza.  It used to be in the mall before they remodeled and it just has excellent New York style pizza that floods my head with memories of my days as a mall rat eating pizza and playing video games and flirting with the girls that worked at Sears.  And for Pete’s sake, find some place to get some BBQ!  North Carolina has the best BBQ in the world, bar none, and you have to check out Bennett’s or Shell’s which in my opinion, are the best in town.  If you can, take a day and ride up to Blowing Rock and Boone, two great cities in the mountains that have lots to do.  Find the Valle Crucis General Store and enjoy a nice Coca-Cola in a glass bottle and pick you up some barrel candy.  Get over to Wilmington, about a 6 hour drive from Hickory on the other side of the state and go to the beach.  I recommend Oak Island….and please…get some seafood while you are there….awesome Calabash shrimp.

If you are ever in the great state of Michigan, it isn’t all bad.  After all, it’s the state where I met my wife and there are still a few things you need to see.  You should try and see the North American Auto Show, usually held at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit.  It is the biggest auto show in North America!  While you’re there, go down to Lafayette Street and get yourself some Coney dogs, the best I’ve ever eaten or go down to Mexican Town and go to Xochimilco’s (pronounced “Sosheemilco’s”) and try a Super Burrito.  I dare you!  Or, if you are extremely brave, check out the White Castle in the shadow of old Tigers stadium.  Just be prepared to wait a while.  If you go during the fall, try to get out to a cider mill.  The cider and the doughnuts are always good and the atmosphere is very romantic. 

If you are ever in Ohio, one of my favorite things to do is to go out to Amish country and just walk around.  There is a lot there to do, particularly in Berlin.  You can also drop by Wilmot and eat at the Amish Door.  If you are in Navarre, the town that I live in, be sure to stop by at Anderson’s In The Village.  The coffee is great!  If you are in Canton, check out the Pro-Football Hall of Fame.  It’s quite a sight, but go early; it does get crowded.  Head up to Cleveland and check out the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame.  Try eating at the Flats.  Ask the locals which side to go to, because I forget.  If you are in Shelby on a Sunday morning, you can check out my former church, CORE Community Church.

As time has gone on, I have learned to embrace my heritage, particularly my southern heritage, because it has made me the person that I am today.  There was a time in my life when I didn’t like having to be home on Sunday afternoon for lunch to eat fried chicken and drink sweet tea.  I didn’t want to go to church three times a week and I thought that living in a trailer park was something to be ashamed of.  Now, there are days, particularly on a cold February day in Ohio, when I would give anything to be playing wiffle ball in my friend’s backyard next to that stinky dumpster.  We didn’t have much, but we certainly had all we needed and more.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman_Gray_Stadium

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tazewell_County,_Virginia

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch-Irish_American