Pam Nelson's Blog

"SNL" spoofs "Mad Men"

I love "Mad Men." I don't know how I feel about the spoofs on "Saturday Night Live," except that I am really glad that Jon Hamm was on the show and that "Mad Men" is getting attention.

Here is a clip:

We voted

Chris and I went to an early voting site in Clayton this morning and cast our ballots. (Jake voted earlier in the week.) I think early voting is a wonderful development. I am glad to do my civic duty any time, but I'd rather vote on a Saturday when I am off than on a Tuesday when I need to get to work. We had to wait in line this morning, but the line moved pretty fast. We were in and out in less than an hour. Plus, because we went together, we had someone to talk to. That made the time pass faster.

Still, I will be on pins and needles until I see how the race between Barack Obama and John McCain comes out. We have some interesting races here in North Carolina, too. Beverly Perdue could become the first female governor in the state, and Elizabeth Dole could lose her U.S. Senate seat. I almost feel like volunteering to work Election Night, but I'd rather be home watching the returns on TV with Chris.

Gee, I should write more often

I'm ready to vote. Early voting has begun in North Carolina, and an early-voting site opens Tuesday near my house. I printed out the sample ballot, and I know who will get my vote, even on the judicial races. I plan to cast the real ballot one day this week.

A trip and a music festival

Chris and I went to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia Oct. 8-11. Our 21st wedding anniversary was Oct. 10. The colors were pretty. Click on the photo at right. We walked down to a waterfall, but I didn't get all the way to the bottom. I am fat and woefully out of shape. We stayed at the Big Meadows Lodge, built by the CCC in the 1930s. We had stayed once before at the Skyland Lodge, just up Skyland Drive. We saw lots of wildlife this time: many deer, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks and three bears (a mother and cubs, it appeared). We also drove down to Luray and to some other towns near the park, including the Civil War battlefield at New Market.

On the way to Virginia, we went to Mount Airy, the hometown of Andy Griffith and the model for Mayberry. We had pork chop sandwiches at Snappy Lunch, a place I had heard about for years. Mount Airy is filled with touristy stuff. I'm glad that Andy's success on TV trickled down to his hometown. Without that connection, there would not be much reason for people to come from all over the country to visit Mount Airy.

We came back on Oct. 11 and went to the Shakori Hills Festival. We saw one of our favorite acts, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The Del McCoury Band put on a very entertaining set. McCoury forgot the words to one of his songs, and nobody on stage could remember, so the guys kep playing while he ran backstaget and checked the lyrics. It was charming. We also saw jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, who was lovely and in fine voice. The festival drew a big crowd that night. For the first time, we had to park in the overflow field.

In other news

At work, we are proceeding with the CCI project. We are to begin with producing one daily Life section on CCI on the week of Nov. 17. We should have all the Features sections on CCI before the end of the year. We hope.

Other stuff I just want to note:

• We are switching from cable to satellite TV because Chris is fed up with the new software from the cable company. (It rebooted twice right in the middle of Colin Powell's appearance on "Meet The Press" today.) The installation is scheduled for Oct. 28.
• Jake plans to go to the State Fair this week, probably on Thursday.Chris and I don't have any plans to go this year.
• Chris and I saw W. yesterday. The movie is much more sympathetic than you'd think an Oliver Stone film would be. The cast was very good, especially Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney.
• We had dinner at the relatively new T.G.I.Friday's in Garner.

Catching up

Jake turned 20 on Sept. 26. Boy, those 20 years have gone by in a flash. It really seems like just yesterday when he was born. Now he's grown. It makes me hurt a little to think how fast the years went by. He is still not quite an adult, but I am proud of how he keeps working at it. I know that the world is hard for him, and I wish I could do more to make it easier, but everyone has to find his own way. He always has my love.

We visited with the Blackburns at my parents' house on Sept. 27. My father's brother, Jacob Floyd Blackburn, was there with his wife, Beverley. Their son, Gregg, his wife, Karen, and Gregg and Karen's grandson, Henry, visited too. It was great to see everyone and to meet Henry, who is just turning 4. My cousin Pat and her husband, Jim Erdman, were there, too, along with my cousin Bruce Blackburn and his wife, Cynthia. Chris, Jake and I missed the birthday dinner for my dad on Thursday night. My brother Richard gave the after-dinner talk; I heard it was very touching. I am so happy that Uncle Jake is able to come down every year. He will be 90 in November. He's a remarkable man.

I am working full time on the CCI project at work. I have learn a lot of new stuff. It's exciting but a bit stressful. I am glad to be on vacation most of this week. I am doing some posts on the grammar blog.

Friday, Oct. 3, was the last day for the folks at The N&O who were taking the buyout or being laid off. We had a potluck in Features. It's all so sad and unreal. I told one of my colleagues that we don't even know what the company will look like in six months, so we just have to keep our heads down and our noses to the grindstone. We could all be out of jobs next year if the economy and the company's fortunes don't turn around soon. We're in for a rough ride.

I've discovered a new singer. Actually, she's not new -- just new to me. Her name is Eva Cassidy and she died 12 years ago, but her music is still being released. I have her album "Somewhere." I also downloaded some songs from Amazon. Lovely, expressive voice. 

Departures

I know of at least 15 of my newsroom colleagues who will be leaving their jobs on Oct. 3. Two of them are my copy editing colleagues in Features, Chuck Small and Marcy Smith. This makes me sad and worried about the future. I don't even have any idea how the work will be done with our diminished staff.

Something I noticed today

The News & Observer is doing buyouts and we expect layoffs next week. I noticed something today as I walked over to Nash Square, the park across from the office. A statue of N&O founder Josephus Daniels stands in the park. The pose makes it look as if Josephus is saying goodbye. I wonder how long the newspaper he founded will last.

This whole situation makes me sad and mad. I didn't take the buyout because the company didn't give me credit for my first 13 years with the company, before I left for seven months to work at Howstuffworks.com. Instead, the company considers my start date Jan. 3, 2001, meaning that I would receive less severance pay (16 weeks instead of the maximum 26 weeks). Besides, I am in the middle of the CCI implementation and I would like to see that through. Some of my colleagues will be leaving, though. The last day for the people taking the buyout or being laid off will be Oct. 3.

Double trouble

The Nelsons have had car troubles two weekends in a row. First, on Sunday, Aug. 17, as Chris, Jake and I were on our way to brother Garry Nelson's house in Raleigh, we had a flat tire on the minivan. We were on the Beltline (I-440 West) when it happened. We got over to the right shoulder on this very busy, high-speed highway. Chris tried to change the tire, but the lugnuts were on so tight that he could not get them off. As he tried, one of the bolts broke off. We had called AAA for help, and when the driver finally arrived, he said he couldn't fix the flat. Then we had to call for a tow. That took even more time. We were beside the highway at least 90 minutes. Joan and Laura, sister-in-law and niece, came to rescue us, and we followed the tow truck driver to the Firestone place near our office, where we get our cars' tires and other maintenance. Then we went on to the other Nelsons' house. Joan took us home later. She also had to pick up her mother, who was having dizziness symptoms. It turned out to be severe vertigo, but they found that out only after a trip to the emergency room. What a day for them!

This weekend, Saturday, Aug. 23, was my turn for car problems. My station wagon wouldn't start at home, and I thought it just needed a jump start. We did that, and I drove the car around for a while before I went to the grocery store. Of course, when I came out of the store, the car wouldn't start. Chris came to rescue me, but the car wouldn't take a jump this time. So I called AAA. We were supposed to go to a concert at the N.C. Museum of Art, and we thought we might still be able to make it. I stayed with the disabled car in front of the Food Lion on U.S. 70 in Clayton, while Chris went home with the groceries, packed our concert picnic and went to gas up his car. The AAA said it would be about an hour until the tow truck came; it turned out to be about 2 hours. By the time we deposited the car at the Firestone lot, it was too late to get to the concert. (We also had to pay for the tow because it was more than 3-mile limit on our AAA tow.) Chris and I ended up having dinner downtown at the Raleigh Times Bar and ice cream at Crema. It turned out to be pleasant, but, boy, what a hassle. I felt particularly stupid for having insisted on driving the car to the store.

Chris' bill was about $500 because he had to get new tires and he had an overdue tuneup. I have no idea, of course, what is wrong with my car (maybe an alternator?), but I am sure that it will be at least $500. When it rains, it pours. I was glad, though, that the car trouble was on Saturday afternoon and not Monday morning. This way I can ride to work with Chris and not be late for CCI superuser training. I am sorry I missed the Tift Merritt concert, though -- not heartbroken, but slightly disappointed.

UPDATE: My car needed a new battery (battery was under warranty so I didn't have to pay full price for a new one) and I had some scheduled maintenance done. The bill was about $350.

A pottery festival and August break

My August break is over, and I have to go back to work Monday (tomorrow). I didn't accomplish much except some work on the grammar blog, which got good traffic.

Chris, Jake and I went to my folks' house in Catawba County for a pottery festival that my brother Tim Blackburn thought of and helped organize with the congregation at Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, which is my family's home church. It was billed as "A Day at the Wheel" and all went well Saturday. The weather was perfect -- a little warm but sunny. The exhibition included about nine area potters including Steve Abee, who is shown at right above working on a piece at the exhibition. He is a very fine potter who follows the Catawba Valley tradition. A group of local musicians, Rosie and the Flattops played old-time and bluegrass music. The group includes my lifelong friend Janice Richard Ford and her husband, Cecil.

Tim, pictured at left, has a special interest in North Carolina pottery, and he has a renowned collection of old and rare pottery from the Catawba Valley tradition. He is also president of the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove. The church has a strong connection to the early pottery tradition in the area. Many of the leading potters are buried in the church cemetery. The church produced a booklet that catalogues all the graves, and made a special note of the potters. including my great-grandfather Henry Blackburn and his brother Cornelius. The speaker for the opening ceremony was Charles "Terry" Zug III, who wrote the book  "Turners and Burners" about North Carolina folk potters. He also had some nice things to say about Tim and the great efforts Tim has made to keep the pottery center going in tough financial times.

Chris made a batch of iced tea that we sold and donated the money to the church. He wanted to see how the tea would sell. We've often thought that this could be a side business for us -- selling home-brewed tea at street fairs. We sold 16-ounce cups for $1; we donated $42 to the church, which included what we sold plus a bit extra. He bought some piggy banks, shown at right, made by B.R. Hilton, also someone I've known all my life and a member of a well-known potter family.

The church sold food and some of the church ladies' crafts, and they took in a good amount of money for a first time event. I hope they keep it going.

Time to catch up

We have had an eventful few weeks. Chris' family gathered Monday (July 28) at Haymount United Methodist Church in Fayetteville for the memorial service for Chris' mother, Bette. It was a nice service. The very young associate pastor of the church gave the meditation. He had talked to George, my father-in-law, and to Joan, Chris' sister-in-law, and he was able to talk about Bette's life. He emphasized the right things: that Bette loved little children and took care of her family. Those are the qualities I will remember about Bette. The first hymn we sang during the service was "How Great Thou Art," a hymn that always moves me deeply. It was my grandmother Blackburn's favorite hymn and a soloist sang it at her funeral. I always tear up when I hear it. I will miss Bette, but I am glad she isn't suffering from dementia any more.

Everyone in the immediate family was at the memorial service except for Greg's son, Alex. [Amendment: As Chris noted in a comment below, I neglected to say that Patrick, Chris' youngest brother, who is bedridden, also was not at the memorial service.] Jake was glad to see his girl cousins, and they seemed happy to see him, too. After the memorial service, everyone went to Zorba's restaurant in Fayetteville. We ate and talked. We later dropped by George's house.

On Tuesday, Chris left for the mountains with his brother Tim and Tim's wife, Tara. I had to work, so I didn't go. They are staying through Sunday at a cottage between Franklin and Sylva. Tim and Tara live in Alabama.

We spent time with David, Chris' oldest brother, and his wife, Martha, who were here from Mumbai, India. They were scheduled for home leave and meetings in the U.S. anyway, so that's why the memorial service was scheduled for July 28. David and Martha and I went to a concert-movie at the N.C. Museum of Art. The Carolina Chocolate Drops played, and the movie was "The Great Debaters." Martha and David were impressed with Rhiannon Giddens of the Chocolate Drops. Rhiannon sang "Hit 'Em Up Style." Wonderful! She is a marvelous singer and a charismatic performer.

Today, Jake and I took advantage of tax-free weekend to buy his textbooks and some supplies for this semester. The tab was about $500, even with used books.

I am on vacation now. I will go to Catawba County late next week to help my brother Tim and my parents put on a pottery festival at the church that's beside my parents' house. This is a special project for Tim, and I want to do what I can to help. The ladies of the church are going to sell food, and I will help with that. Jake and Chris will help. too.

I still have a job, by the way. Our revenue numbers are terrible, though, so who knows what will happen? In a few weeks, I begin superuser training for the new publishing system, CCI, I look forward to getting away from my usual duties for a while. I am, to say the least, burned out.

Here is a YouTube video of the Chocolate Drops doing "Him 'Em Up Style." If you ever gets the chance to see them in person, take it.

Links to the quizzes on my grammar blog

Quiz No. 1	Quiz No. 2	Quiz No. 3
Quiz No. 4	Quiz No. 5	Quiz No. 6
Quiz No. 7	Quiz No. 8	Quiz No. 9
Quiz No. 10	Quiz No. 11	Quiz No. 12
quiz No. 13	Quiz No. 14	Quiz No. 15
Quiz No. 16	Quiz No. 17	Quiz No. 18
Quiz No. 19	Quiz No. 20	Quiz No. 21
Quiz No. 22	Quiz No. 23	Quiz No. 24
Quiz No. 25	Quiz No. 26	Quiz No. 27
Quiz No. 28	Quiz No. 29	Quiz No. 30
Quiz No. 31	Quiz No. 32	Quiz No. 33