We went to the Apple Festival yesterday. North Carolina, it seems, is the nation's 7th largest producer of apples. And this region is the largest apple-producing region in North Carolina. So we went to the apple festival, ate sliced apples dipped in caramel, tried to wash off the caramel on Adara's shirt by wiping chocolate ice cream on it, all while watching some incredible clogging. The performers simultaneously fiddled their fiddles while flashing their feet faster than you could blink.
The endless booths of crafts, concessions, and sidewalk sales, however, were just a smidgen different than other festivals I've been to. We saw a booth for the Republican party, and several people were sporting paper "I'm an Obama Fan" cooling devices. Then, apparently as a counter-response for the political booths, there were religious doomsday preachers with banners and signs.
My favorite part on that end was the post card we picked up from one of the preachers. The heading was WWJD: Who Will Jesus Destroy? That was followed by a list, complete with scripture references, of the various sins for which a person will be destroyed by Jesus when He comes again. Of course, on the back of the card, it explained that you can repent and then Jesus won't destroy you. But the author of the card, covering his bases, reiterated that unrepentant sinners would be destroyed. Just in case you missed the message earlier.
I'm not sure why I didn't feel motivated to go home and repent after reading that card. But I did go to church the next day, and we talked about performing service for your fellowman. ". . . the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience . . ." indeed. Or, in modern terms, "to each his own". Whatever else the Apple Festival was, it wasn't boring.
Here's a picture of a goat. I don't know why there was a goat. Actually, we saw 3 or 4 of these painted goats. Just another unique local tradition.
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P.S. I got a phone call the other day concerning my grandmother's birthday party. All of my family members want me to be there: so they've donated to the cost of an airplane ticket, making it affordable for Adara and me to come to Salt Lake at the end of September. Hope to see some of you then.
Yea! You're coming home for a visit!! Make sure you tell me where and when so I can see you. Good thing it's close to your b-day, too, so it can be your birthday present coming home.
There's a teacher at school that has a bumper sticker than says "who would Jesus bomb?" but I think it's just anti-W. Your story's funnier.
Oh, and I expect that what you saw was actually Appalachian clogging, then? No sloppy clog, right?
Gee, I'm glad George didn't make us fiddle while we danced. I'm not sure even Billy could've managed that. Maybe, though. He was rather talented.
Goodness! I need to e-mail that boy! It's been way over a year since I last contacted him.
Writer - it is a great birthday present for grandma and me.
Clogging: I'm no clog expert, and having to fiddle while clogging surely altered how they danced. But it looked amazing to my casual eye.
Okay, I promise not to tell George you can't remember the differences among Appalachian, Smoky Mountain, Western (sloppy clog), and buck step clogging, but we'd better have a little chat on this subject when you visit in case he ever finds out.....
(Appalachian has the back drag, like we used to do. Smoky Mountain is the oldest kind, with no shuffle. Did you ever learn that one? Western/sloppy has a ball-change instead of a back drag. And buck stepping is really hard to explain without a visual demo, but it involves a three-beat heel walk in between shuffles. does any of that make sense?)
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