Off To North Carolina...plus a whole lot more
- Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Aug 17
- 4 min read
Okay, so I’m starting a new adventure today. In early 2025, we headed off to North Carolina, specifically to Durham-Raleigh, and even more specifically, to visit our friend Vincent.
We’ve known Vincent for, like, well, ever. Martha has known him longer than I have. There was a teaching connection. They never worked in the same school, but they were both teachers for a time and met through a mutual teacher friend. (Vincent left teaching eventually, which is sad because he was a natural at it. But, he has kept his hand in by being a educator in other ways...volunteering at museums and historical sites, and working with young people.)
ABOUT THE PHOTOS: First, a snap of Mr. Vincent. This is actually from a couple of years back, but he hasn’t changed a bit. (Dang! The man is ageless.)
Second, you remember I did an AI video of Martha getting nuzzled by the Bull from Bull Durham? Well, here’s the original photo I took and subsequently animated. Not so freaky when they’re not moving, but I like the shot.
And, finally, something kind of artsy. I’ve been experimenting with close up shots of, well, fruits and vegetables. Here’s one I took of some green peppers in Durham.
He is actually a member of our family, albeit in the “friends are the family you choose for yourself” sense. He is our son David’s godfather, and I credit Vincent (along with Martha) with first getting David interested in cooking. We have pictures of a very, very young David, proudly showing us the cookies he baked with his Uncle Vincent one evening not long before Christmas. Three and a half decades later, David is a formidable chef. He could have gone pro anytime, but he prefers to cook as a hobby. And that was greatly Vincent’s doing.
For a long time, Vincent lived in Boston...actually on Beacon Hill. Yes, *the* Beacon Hill...Boston’s storied neighborhood...though he lived in a tiny, fourth floor condominium there. I helped him move into it. Going up and down those stairs was not one of my favorite recreations...even though I was much, much younger then.
Anyway, Martha, David, and I spent many happy evenings there. Vincent is a good cook, and an excellent host, and I must confess I looked forward to getting his dinner invitations.
About the time we left Massachusetts, so did he. He had worked for many decades in Boston, and while he loved the city, it was time for him to retire and go someplace new. He picked Durham, North Carolina. This surprised his friends, and even alarmed us a little. How would a Boston/New York Boy manage in, well, the South.
The answer was very well, thank you very much. He already had friends in Raleigh, people he knew who had lived in New England and New York but then fled harsh winters and high prices for the Carolinas. And some of his relatives had moved near there as well.
And besides, as Martha and I discovered when we first went to visit him there, Durham-Raleigh is a happening place. It is full of students from the Universities--Duke University is in Durham, for instance.
And, of course, Raleigh-Durham is in the Research Triangle. High-tech companies of every sort are coming into the area. That means that interesting people, and interesting ideas, are also coming into the city at all times. It’s no wonder that Vincent is comfortable there.
In fact, on this particular trip, it struck me that the area combines the best of two worlds. It has a city’s youth and energy, without its crowding and expense. Yet, some of its neighborhoods have a bucolic feel, but without the monotony that sometimes come with the suburbs.
So, all in all, it’s a great town to visit. But, this time, we had a particular reason to go--Vincent was turning 75
And the whole clan...everybody...us, David, Emily, and the G’kids...Vincent’s sisters and a brother-in-law, his local friends...and the entire New England crowd (Tom and Jim, Patty, and Michelle) ... would be there as well.
It would be the first occasion we’d all been together in a single place at a single time since Martha and I had moved to New Mexico to look after my Mom and Dad, nearly ten years ago now.
Which meant...this was going to be important.
And we made our preparations accordingly. This time...we said...this time...absolutely nothing would be allowed to go wrong.
For once, just to surprise us, nothing did.
More to come.
Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker
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~mjt
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