It was a beautiful 22nd day of January. A clear, sunny sky and warm enough to get away with just wearing a light jacket or sweater. I was attending church with my in-laws and it seemed as if all the parishioners were arriving at the same time. The foyer and outside of First Baptist Church was swaying with traffic. It's always fun to see people gathered together; smiling, laughing, talking. OK, truth is I'm not sure what day it was, could have been December, but it was beautiful outside.
Did I mention it was beautiful outside? Still fresh off the boat from Michigan, the weather was definite and welcoming. For many nights following, I would have to bite my tongue when talking to my wife on the phone. She was still back home scraping the frost off her car windows every morning. It's amazing how shivering cold it can get in the mid-west. And it becomes normal. Normal to go about every day bundled up in layers of clothing. Trying to ignore the chill of Old-Man Winter. Pretending not to be depressed, stressed. Pressing on through every freezing day, tormented by the fact that he'll be there waiting for you. It's an abusive relationship. So, we decided to get out. We weren't gonna take it anymore. We love Michigan, but we had to get away. Start anew.
To my surprise, I moved on with the quickness. I forgot about Old-Man Winter immediately. The weather here felt like spring. It was a new beginning! I could ride my bike, jog and walk my dog without trying to "make it quick". It was warmth to my Michigan blood.
The weather wasn't the only thing warm here in North Carolina. So were the people. Everybody, it seemed, spoke to me or acknowledged me in some way. I mean, one has to be ready for it. It's like how motor cyclists or Jeep owners do when they pass each other on the roads. Discreet, but real. And that's how warm they were at First Baptist.
I get real comfortable in situations like that and I felt comfortable there. So much so that I begin to get a little cocky with it. Like I was the most interesting man in the world and could share inside jokes with complete strangers. All of a sudden I was speaking to everybody. Doing the "cool kid at school" and finger pistoling people as I passed by.
Then, I spotted the NC State jacket-wearing old man with his back to me. "Hey, Wolf Pack!" I cheered as I patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, Howdy Doody Day!" he replied with a familiar grin. "Howdy Doody Day!?", I retorted with a staggered smile. What is this Howdy Doody Day he speaks of? I thought to myself. Did I miss that page in my North Carolina culture studies? "Yeah, I wasn't able to watch the whole game..." he was saying. "Ohh! How'd they do today?!" I say, recoiled and laughing, embarrassed by my miscommunication. All of a sudden I wasn't THE most interesting man in the world, and he wasn't laughing. In fact, I gather to think he was a bit put out by my silliness.
I apologized and moved on. "What a dumb Yankee!" I cursed to myself. But that was enough to realize I was in a new world. That the weather wasn't the only thing I was going to have to get used to. The language, the culture, there's real history down here! The ugly truth, too. But, I like it and I'm excited to meet it's acquaintance. I'll just keep my inside jokes to a minimum. Still, every now and then when a co-worker greets me with a smile, or once when one complained about the rain, I leave them with a personal message and something to think about. "Howdy Doody Day!", I say as I walk away with a smile. An inside joke from a man, still fresh off the boat.
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