Meet Lucie

For the past month, Beau and I have had a house guest in the form of the sweetest black dog ever. Her name is Lucie, and I have served as foster parent to her for Carolina Animal Rescue and Adoption. Around the first of June, Abbey from CARA called me wondering if Lucie could come stay with Beau and I in our backyard. Lucie is quite the athlete, full of energy, and was getting cramped up in the shelter. I jumped at the chance to have a guest for the summer for Beau, who had began to get restless in the backyard all day while I was at work — and began digging holes everywhere and tearing things, like my porch and garden, hose up.

Lucie looks to be about a year old and has been spayed. Her shot record is up-to-date and she has no health problems that I am aware of. She looks like an Blue Healer/German Sheppard/lab/border collie mix. But it don’t matter what she is. She’s very cute and loving, showing no signs of aggression whatsoever toward dogs or people. Abbey said she lived her first 9 months of life in a home with a family with kids. So she’s used to that. And she is housebroken from what I can tell.

She has been a pure joy this month. She is so much more loving and better behaved than Beau. I love my dog, but I wish he would act more like Lucie some time. Unlike Beau, when she fetches the frisbee, she brings it back and actually sits it down at your feet. She knows several commands and is well-behaved in the house as well — when Beau leaves her alone.

But she is too athletic to be cooped up in a backyard all day, and I don’t have the money to adopt her outright. She needs an owner who loves to run and be outside all day with her, or at least a big farm to run on by herself. If you are interested, contact me at owens@sanfordherald.com. I’d hate to see her go, but I would be happy if she found a home with people who love her. If not, she can just stay with us.

My first commercial

It started out as half-brained idea from my boss, Billy Liggett. But in the end, I think it came out beautifully. Look for this commercial on a public access channel near you soon!

Not really. Sorry, Conan.

I’m going bald…

for charity. As I stated on The Rant last month, I will donate my beautiful locks of hair to charity on July 11. Help me out by donating to this worthy cause or coming by to watch me cry.

To donate, click here

Where trouble melts like lemondrops…

It still isn’t fair.

This weekend has been one of the most bizarre and sad ones I’ve ever been through. If you’ll scroll down to my last post, you’ll know that my cousin, Kimberly, died on Tuesday after a car wreck while on her way to her capping ceremony for high school graduation. Just 18. Beautiful. Happy. It just wasn’t fair. It still isn’t.

On Friday, our family all gathered in Eden to pay our last respects. To say it was a sad day is an understatement. As I admitted earlier, I lost touch with Kimberly for a long time. After thinking about her all weekend, I can see I am going to regret that — much the same way I regret not making my grandpa teach me how to make pottery or saying thank you to my grandma for those countless pieces of barbecued chicken and chocolate gravy.

Kimberly’s life was obviously felt all over Eden, a town a little smaller than Sanford. The church was filled on Friday, as was a spillover room where the service was broadcast via closed-circuit TV. All her female classmates wore high heels to the service in her honor. Her mother, Robin, and father, Ricky, stayed strong throughout the day and showed a resolve I know I could never muster. There were even a few laughs along the way as people shared their favorite memories of her life.

The service was beautiful. Kimberly was in the choir at school, and the ensemble opened the service beautifully with “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” after which there was not a dry eye in the room. A perfect tribute.

Then at the graveside service, the most amazing thing happened. The preacher asked everyone to bow their heads for the final prayer of the day, and as I looked down, just before I shut my eyes, something caught my eye. It was a four-leaf clover. And it was the only clover in my immediate area, like it had been put there specifically for me to find.

It was eerie and comforting at the same time. I picked it, and after the service I took it up and placed it next to Kimberly (she had been cremated). My uncle told me later that they put it in the ground with her. I’m not really sure what finding it meant. Maybe Kimberly is looking out for us now?

So as a last tribute to Kim, here is my favorite version of that song. I love you Kim, and I wish I had been there for more of your life.

Isn’t she lovely?

My mother’s family are all very close to one another, and when tragedy strikes, it grips us all. And nothing could be more tragic than what happened over the past two days.

But let me back up a second. My cousin, Kimberly, was born on Christmas Day, 1990, to my uncle Ricky, who is the youngest of my mom’s eight siblings. My grandparents had nine kids, so inevitably that means a lot of grandchildren. Of about 30 grandkids, Kim was the second-to-last (only her brother, Jake, is younger. I was fourth to youngest) And as the younger kids are, usually, we were the favorites. I like to think, at least.

I can remember well when Kimberly was born. She was the first baby I ever held. We all used to go to the beach together on the Fourth of July, and I always remember everyone being very protective over her, because not long after she was born she had an intestinal problem that nearly took her life. Because she came so close to death, and because she was about the cutest little girl of all time, she held a special place in everyone’s hearts.

But she lived in Eden, N.C., north of Greensboro near Reidsville, so I didn’t really get to see her that much, especially in the last 5-10 years. She was always frozen in time in my mind as that little toddler.

The last time I saw Kim was at Christmas two years ago, and she was all grown up. It was great. Then a few months ago I got a friend request on Facebook from the incredibly beautiful girl, and was shocked when I read the name ‘Kim Shea Norris.’ Seriously, she could have been a model or an actress.

She had turned into a beautiful young woman that seemed ready to tackle the world after graduating from high school this month. But it was not meant to be. Kim and her brother were driving home from school Monday when she wrecked and was thrown from her car. She died early this morning. Her brother survived.

I honestly do not really understand why bad things happen to such good people. And it seems tragedies like this always happen right around this time of the year, around graduation. In 1999, just a few months before my graduation, two girls from my class (Hannah Seawell and Ashley LeGrande) died in a car wreck. A few years later two more died. Just recently a young girl in Pinehurst died.

Maybe our young people drive more in the summer months? Maybe the have more time on their hands? I don’t know, but it just doesn’t seem fair right now.

So be careful with your kids this summer. Hug ‘em and tell them you love them. Because you never know.

Oh the fun we could have…

So my terror of a dog, Beauregard, and I went to Martin Park, a 50-acre dog park in Pinehurst on Sunday, and he had a blast. There were so many dogs there, and he was surprisingly well-behaved. He didn’t jump on any strangers or tear up any trash cans. He got snapped at more than once because he was too playful for the older and smaller dogs, but all in all, he didn’t run away and he even made a girlfriend – a blonde, of course – a golden retriever-border collie mix named Abby.

Sanford needs a dog park. The nearest ones are at least 30 miles away from here, in Cary, Chapel Hill, Pinehurst and Fayetteville. A dog park would bring in people from all over, add to the quality of life for Sanford residents and add to the economy as well. Think about it, city council. Use some of that stimulus money on a dog park along one section of the greenway.

Here are some photos of Beau with his girlfriend.

Anyway, I think it may have been the best day of his life so far, because when we got home, he went to sleep at around 7 p.m. and I had to wake him up the next morning. He forgot all about it by Monday evening though.

The time is nigh

Last Thursday, Billy, Gordon, Lee County Emergency Management Director Eric Griffin and I went down to Carolina Trace for a nice round of golf. And, being just the second time I had played this year, let’s just say it was not pretty.

On 16 I ripped a drive that had to be one of my best ever. driving up to the ball, I looked up at the sky and said, “God, just let me finish this whole strong and salvage what little dignity I have left on this course.” Then I immediately thought, ‘you know, I probably shouldn’t be using up my prayers on something as meaningless as golf. There will more than likely be many more important times that I need divine intervention.’ So I looked back up and said, “God, nevermind. I’ll handle it. Go fix the economy or something important.”

God listened, because I promptly hit one of the worst shots of the day.

But today, I’m using that prayer. Why? Because the Heels are you one win away from the national championship. And I want it bad.

It’ll be a damn shame if Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington and the rest of this cast has to leave Chapel Hill without a title. Sure, they are the heavy favorites, but I must admit that I am less-than confident about a win. Michigan State is playing a home game against a team that destroyed them in the regular season. Tom Izzo is one of the best in-game coaches in college basketball, and the team has a huge chip on their shoulders because they feel they are playing for the entire state, ravaged by job losses from the auto industry’s woes.

But we can do this! I’ll update the blog throughout the day with thoughts on the game. I can usually tell when I wake up whether the Heels are going to have a cakewalk that night. I don’t feel like that today. Right now I think it is going to be a hard-fought game, but I am hopeful we can do it.

My prediction: North Carolina 79, Michigan State 73

Please God, help!

A real hero

I grew up in northern Moore County. My grandmother was a Garner, and everyone in the Robbins area seems related in some way. But I don’t think I know Justin Garner (left), the true hero who stopped a gunman (on the right) before he could kill more residents at Pinelake nursing home in Carthage Sunday morning.

Right now I would love the chance just to shake his hand. This is a hero in every sense of the word. Still not sold? Listen to the 911 tapes obtained by The Pilot of Southern Pines Monday.

Officer Garner — the only officer on duty Sunday morning in the sleepy little town I spent much of my life in — did not hesitate. It would have been perfectly acceptable for him to wait on back-up before going in to stop Robert Stewart.

That probably would have resulted in many more deaths, as the patients and staff at the rest home were almost completely powerless. Instead, Garner went in and did his job, singlehandedly stopping Stewart.

I can’t say I would have the same courage. And I’m glad we have men like Garner out there on our side.

As for the attack itself, I have to say I am still pretty shocked. I never thought I would see Carthage on the front page of the New York Times.

What a horrible person and a horrific event. That is the only way to describe someone who would kill seven elderly people – one of whom, Louise De Kler, was 98 years old. Imagine what she had seen in her life – both world wars, the Great Depression, the moon landing, 9/11 – everything in the last century. And now, because of some lovesick crazy man, she is dead. Another victim, Tessie Garner, 89, lived near my father’s pottery shop in Robbins and was a great and kind lady.

What a coward in Stewart. It doesn’t take much to go in to a nursing home and pick off victims – some in their wheelchairs, no less.

And what a hero in Garner. Or as we say in Robbins, “It takes all kinds,” a comment that is usually followed with, “no, we just got all kinds.”

Thank God we have kinds like Justin Garner on our side.

2009 NCAA printable bracket

Office pool time again. Enjoy:

2009 NCAA printable bracket

Review: Cinderella Man

Last night, while rearranging some stuff in my house, I found a coupon for a free pay-per-view movie from Charter. The only problem was, it was for a movie that was $4.99, but all the new releases are $5.99, so I had to pick an older movie. That’s not a problem, since there’s a lot of movies I haven’t seen out there, though I kinda wanted to see “Zack & Miri Make a Porno” or “W.”

I scrolled through the older new releases and came upon “Cinderella Man,” a 2005 film made by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger. Since I also have DVR, I thought I would rent it, save it and watch it later. It was already 12:30 a.m. when I bought it. But I couldn’t figure out how to save On Demand movies, so I was forced to watch the whole thing straight through.

I’m glad I did. Wow, what a movie! How Million Dollar Baby won best picture over this one I don’t understand. Million Dollar Baby was not even the best boxing movie made in 2005.

Honestly, I have been accused of having rather cheesey tastes in movies over the years, and I know it is a story that has been told in virtually every boxing – or sports, for that matter – movie ever. But this one really happened, making it 1,000 times better.

It’s like the first ”Rocky”, which won best picture, if “Rocky” really happened. But better. It was more like “Rocky” with Rocky IV’s villain – Similarly to Ivan Drago, Max Baer had killed a man or two in the ring before the finale fight with Jimmy Braddock. Cinderella Man is actually a good depiction of what Rocky would have been if it were made today. The figth scenes were amazing. I especially liked the scenes where they showed the x-rays of Braddock’s ribs as he was getting punched.

You may know the real life Max Baer’s son – Max Baer Jr. He played Jethro in The Beverly Hillbillies. Honestly, it was a little tough to see Baer as a murdering viscious boxer when you’re thinking of Jethro. They should have had Dolph Lungren play him.

And there were other flaws with the movie. Although the acting was superb, I thought Russell Crowe’s accent was a little overplayed. But there’s no way you won’t fall in love with the family and characters as they struggle through the Great Depression. Which leads me to my next thought on the movie. It didn’t perform wonderfully at the box office, but I can almost guarantee it would have done much better in 2009 than 2005, given the current economic crisis. We haven’t got it nearly as bad as the Braddocks and the rest of the people in the film, yet.

All-in-all, it was a great, uplifting film and certainly worth my coupon and the 3 a.m. bedtime. In fact, I’ll say it was the best movie I have seen in at least two years.