A shout out to Matt de Lloyd for introducing me to his cousin and her family during my stay. Last night they took me out in Chapel Hill on Franklin St. This is a thoroughfare that is very reminiscent of State St. in Santa Barbara. It is lined with boutiquey eateries, apparel shops and various incarnations of honky tonks, saloons, lounges and karaoke joints. Though it is only about 25 miles from where I am living, it took me nearly an hour and ten minutes to get there because of the traffic. When I was sitting in my truck in the snail-paced stream of automobiles, I started making phone calls to family and friends to catch up a bit. And I started texting some people and checking my email, all while slowly progressing down the highway. Somewhere in the middle of the trip I looked up and smiled, because it was one of the first times since I have been that I felt like I was at home.
We went to the "Top of the Hill." A 3rd story tavern and restaurant with a an outdoor patio. At 9:30 last night it was about 78 degrees and clear as a test tube, which made being on the patio a real delight. We sat inside for dinner and I had a wonderfully prepared tilapia over risotto. No fry or pig for this guy tonight and I was beginning to get that feeling of being at home again. De Lloyd's cousin's in-laws have been living in Chapel Hill for generations. Consequently, my hosts knew everyone in the place and kind introductions were made, including the proprietor of the establishment and his wife. Everyone is very nice here.
One of my new friends was out on the patio and she texted me to come outside. That day UNC had a matchup between the current UNC squad and alumni that were currently in the NBA. I headed out to the patio to see what was up and seated at the most prime position on the top floor, roofless patio looking over Franklin Street was MJ himself, who had come to attend the game. He was seated with his nameless cronies forming a barricade between him and the growing crowd of admirers. Earlier in the day, one of my host's buddies who works at the airport snapped the attached picture of Jordan's plane just after it landed. Apparently this guy really loved his time at Chapel Hill. I can't blame him, its a really great place, and I wasn't even winning NCAA championships.
It was rush. So the streets were flooded by underage, naive youngsters following their all knowing superiors in single file lines to and from the nearby sorority houses. My host smiled, winked at me and said that it was just a typical Friday night in Chapel Hill. I noted that in the pages of my mind. I also noted that Matt de Lloyd is affectionately referred to as "Maf" within his family, a tradition that started years ago due to some cousins speech impediment or something. I told them the story of when Maf dragged Nolz, Cody and me out of bed at 445 am on Sunday morning, after a Saturday night of drinking, to watch a Rugby game between two teams that us Americans had never heard of, one of which was the Welsh national team. Maf was the first person I ever met from the land of Whales and when I asked him to prove it by producing his blowhole, I was scarred by what I saw. Turns out he's not really a Whale.
I am starting to make some really nice friends here. Today I am attending the UNC/Citadel tailgate and then I am off to the Duke/Richmond football game. Life ain't too bad in this here state of North Carolina. But I have been advised by those in the know that I am better off wearing a Citadel jersey or a Richmond sweatshirt than wearing UNC or Duke garb to both matches. If I did, I was likely to get "an old-fashioned butt-kickin'." I guess not everyone is as nice as the folks that I have been meeting. Noted.
Thanks to Maf, Gary, Angela, Caroline and Scott.
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