One of the great things about vacationing with a fly rod is that mountain folks like us have the opportunity to fish salt water, but there are extra precautions for maintaining your gear. Salt water will wreak havoc on your fly reel, so I clean my gear every time it’s exposed to the stuff. Here’s […]
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The Practical Fly
It may take awhile, but neophytes eventually figure out where to go fishing locally. Over time, fisherfolk generally find each other and exchange information, but establishing such a network doesn’t happen overnight, and it does take some work. You spot a Trout Unlimited bumper sticker on somebody’s truck and strike up a conversation in a […]
The Dirt: The natives among us
When someone asks where I’m from and I say, “Born and bred here,” the usual response is, “Oh, I rarely meet natives.” Perhaps you should visit Cherokee, I often want to quip. Those folks are certainly more native than I, even if my family roots do go back several generations in Western North Carolina. Wild […]
Community approach to gang prevention
The "Gangland" cover story ["Putting in Work, May 6] unfortunately almost completely overlooked Asheville's actual response to the threat of gang violence. Juxtaposing the outlook of only one youth-service provider (and Asheville GO is a great one) with the law-enforcement response has the potential to completely skew the public's perception, if the inference is that […]
Commit to caring about teens
In your title article for the "Gangland" issue ["Putting in Work," May 6], DeWayne Barton made an astute comment about how we can engage young teens in the life of our community. He said, "Find the things the kids want to do." For over a year, the Asheville City Schools Foundation has led a community-wide […]
Appalachia: a big subject
Regarding the recent hubbub around the stereotyping of mountain people – specifically the Molton cartoon ["Pigdemic," May 6] and the eloquent commentary by Ms. Wallace ["Fighting Back," May 6] on Bill O'Reilly's typically ignorant statements about Appalachian folk: I am a mountain person, born and raised, and I agree with O'Reilly's comment that Appalachian children […]
Which comes first, the chicken or the city?
Students of North Carolina history may know we have an official state motto. First adopted in 1893, "Esse quam videri – To be, rather than to seem," offers a stark contrast between the North Carolina formed in 1775 and the 2009 version. A search for the difference might easily land on Asheville's $1 billion water […]
Life-giving land
Once upon a time, in this very land, our “yards” were forest. The plot of ground now known to many of us as “the lawn” once provided food, water and shelter for numerous creatures great and small. And since these spaces were contiguous with other forested areas, animals could move through them without confronting pavement, […]
Through the doughnut hole
I recently received a form letter by e-mail from Congressman Heath Shuler regarding HR 1646 – the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act. I sent an e-mail response, and the answer I got was typical of our government: unable to deliver to shuler@mail.house.gov. This is what I wanted the congressman to know: HR 1646, the […]
Making a joyful noise
I am moved to comment on a (local?) musician in a classy Panama hat, whom I've been enjoying lately performing on the streets of downtown Asheville. As he sings and plays the ukulele and kazoo, I've noticed – to the delight of children, teens and adults – that his heartfelt music makes people want to […]
"Have a nice night."
In the past two months, I have been pulled over four times in the Haywood Road vicinity in West Asheville, and I'm wondering: What is the deal?! I drive a Nissan Sentra – no weird bumper stickers (not that that should be probable cause, but we all know that it sometimes is), tail and brake […]
Get out now
America is lessening the chance for peace in the Middle East by killing even one more Moslem. Only by withdrawing all our troops and arms from Iraq and Afghanistan now can we increase chances for peace. There's no good reason to wait a day longer. Every new news nuance is diversion from these facts. The […]
Fighting familiar hazards
The stark contrast between our frenzied reaction to unfamiliar hazards and our reckless tolerance of familiar ones never ceases to amaze me. The current incidence of swine flu – which has killed five Americans – has captured the headlines, canceled public events and closed dozens of schools. At the same time, we have blithely continued […]
Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association
Left to right: CNPA member Bob Pazden joins Asheville coordinators Linda Deaton and Everette Robinson on Hawksbill Mountain. Photo by Bob Pazden Western North Carolina contains some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States. With such a backdrop, the area is a magnet for nature photographers. These photographers have an outlet with the […]
Weekly Asheville Disclaimer Page: 05/27/09
• Briefs
• Kid Care with Arnold
• The dirt
• Naked jogging
Askville
Xam Xam, chocolate-shop worker How has the recession affected you? “Well, yesterday I was completely broke and out of food stamps, so I had to borrow some food from a neighbor.” What are you doing to deal with it? “I just got a job, at Kilwin’s Chocolates. I’m living as cheaply as I can, finding […]
The one who “transfigures American music”
Will Oldham, the Palace/Palace Music/Palace Brothers chameleon, who has been releasing a series of stunning albums and weird EPs since 1999’s I See A Darkness under the Bonnie Prince Billy moniker, will be making a rare Asheville stop in support of his excellent new album, Beware (Drag City). Someday Bonnie Prince will come: Fans have […]
Artillery
The Urban Loft + Art Tour sponsored by the Asheville Art Museum last week provided an interesting glimpse at the lifestyles and interiors of Asheville’s downtown dwellers. The apartments and condos that rise above this little city provide some breathtaking views, and it’s hard to not feel a hint of envy at the plebian’s limited […]
Seeking nonviolent solutions to gangs
I am responding to the article featured on your “Gangland” cover [“Putting in Work,” May 6]. The article pointed out that the shared “knowledge factor” of crime among gang members on a national level makes them more of a problem than individuals because they help to train one another with a best-method approach. We should […]
Espalier: the Frenchman’s bonsai
I’ve always had a fascination with plants that have been manipulated by man. At one time in my life, I had a collection of at least 25 shallowly rooted plants, procured in the wild and at nurseries and chosen as the most grotesque and malformed specimens I could find for bonsai culture. Well-trained and fruitful: […]
Threatening Guastavino’s rose
The power brokers of Asheville are at work again. If you thought the only indignities left to tarnish the most important building remaining in the city consist of graffiti, traffic, bad condo design and poor sanitation, take a look at the out-sized hotel under construction on the former Chamber of Commerce site, just down the […]