The Debt  (Rated R)  Three Stars

The Debt(113 minutes) is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film never released in U.S. theaters. It’s not bad, but since there are no zombies, plagues, explosions, offensive humor or Harry Potters, it is a little outside my normal preferences. I guess it was okay. A little boring and hard to follow, but Helen Mirren is a good actor, and Jessica Chastain does this really cool hand-to-hand combat thing.

For those who haven’t been keeping track, Mossad is the Israeli version of the CIA. The events of the film take place half in 1966 and half in 1997. One drawback is figuring out which 1966 character grows up to be the 1997 equivalent. It is fairly obvious that Chastain grows up to be Mirren, but figuring out which one David is (Sam Worthington/Ciaran Hinds) and which one Stephan is (Marton Csokas/Tom Wilkinson) becomes a bit of a challenge. The problem exists due to some poor camera work and weirdly timed flashbacks that don’t re-veal details needed in the beginning of the film.

Drawback number two is the complete lack of moral com-plexity developed in the villain. Sure, Nazis make great villains because they are an obvious evil. The problem is creating believable Nazis whose dialogue is more complex than repeating various sections of Mein Kampfverbatim. I guess Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen) starts off believable, he just ends up as a caricature. And I refuse to believe he could get the better of either Chastain or Mirren, even on a bad day.

In 1966, Mossad agent Rachel Singer (Chastain) arrives in East Berlin. She is met by David Perezt (Worthington) and Stephan Gold (Csokas). They are assigned to capture Dieter Vogel, Surgeon of Birkenau and bring him back to Israel alive to face trial. Mixed in with this vitally important mission, Rachel works on getting a boyfriend. Because women make bad secret agents because they get emotional and stuff and distract men from doing secret agent missions with their big eyes and need for love. And then the men fall in love with them and blow the mission trying to save them because women are not capable of get-ting out of tight situations even with their presumably intense training. Or something. The subplot was distractingly annoy-ing and unnecessary so I tried to tune it out.

Vogel is currently working as an OB/GYN, and the plan is for Rachel to pose as David’s fertility challenged wife. By the third visit things have gotten as creepy and inappropriate as they possibly can, so Rachel takes him out with a sedative injected into his neck. Posing as ambulance drivers, David and Stephan scoop up Vogel and attempt to smuggle him out of the country.

That works out just as well as it ever does in action mov-ies, so the three drag Vogel back to their apartment and hide out. Personalities end up falling along the continuum of care about how you would expect (guess which characters want to jam food down his throat and who respects the human dignity of the prisoner). And guess who is watching the prisoner when he makes his big move?

The years pass, and the agents have gone their separate ways. Rachel’s daughter Sarah (Romi Aboulafia) writes an account of the 1966 events. The book’s account serves as a Macguffin of sorts, spurring the characters to action.

Overall, if you like this sort of movie you’ll get caught up in the good parts while finding it easier to ignore the bad parts.

North Carolinians outside the Research Triangle region (“Triangle”) envy its economic suc-cess and cultural assets.

But don’t get too jealous.

The very success of the Triangle brings chal-lenges that, if unmet, will topple the Triangle’s place as North Carolina’s capstone example of successful economic development.

The Triangle’s dilemmas are the focus of The Research Triangle: From Tobacco Road to Global Prominence, a new book by William Rohe, director of the Center for Urban & Regional Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The story of the Research Triangle Park is a part of the state’s defining his-tory or myth, just as much as the Lost Colony or the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

You know the short version. In the 1950s North Carolina’s visionary gov-ernment and business leaders saw the pending demise of the state’s traditional low-wage industries and the potential for using the resources and reputations of Duke, N.C. State, and UNC-Chapel Hill to attract research-related businesses to an open area of worn-out farmland near all three universities. Thousands of acres of land were acquired and, over time, the research-related business filled them. In less than a generation, the Triangle moved from economic laggard to national leader.

This “myth” is mostly true. There were a few bumps in the road. Lots of tenacious people fought through roadblocks and disappointments before the Triangle achieved the success that makes it widely admired and envied.

Rohe tells in rich detail how the Research Triangle Park (“Park”) came about, including the 200 years of history of the region that put it in position to take advantage of the opportunities the Park made possible.

Rohe enthusiastically catalogues the benefits the Park brought to the region, including the high-value businesses, the high paying jobs, and the leveraged eco-nomic activity that results from them.

However, Rohe’s most important message to North Carolinians is like that of Professor Hill in The Music Man, who asserted to complacent townspeople, “We got trouble right here in River City.”

Much of the trouble in the Triangle is a result of the region’s success. The low-density sprawling housing patterns and crowded traffic routes cannot sustain the projected population growth of the re-gion. ”It’s so crowded, nobody goes there anymore,” the saying attributed to Yogi Berra, could be pro-phetic for the Triangle region.

These kinds of problems face every growing metropolitan region. Rohe details a long list of strategies and tactics that could be used to absorb the projected growth without destroying the region’s quality of life. For example, Rohe suggests for consideration:

• More high-density housing, even within the Park itself.

• Light rail connections to get a substantial number of cars off the highways, but Rohe concedes that much more high-density housing has to be in place be-fore rail can be successful.

• Limiting new residential development by requiring, before approval of a new project, a showing of the readiness of the community or region (schools, roads, and other infrastructure) to accommodate the proposed additional popula-tion.

Even if these kinds of approaches would work if they were applied region-wide, getting a coordinated approach in the region is almost impossible. Rohe says that there are 43 jurisdictions in the region that have some responsibility for land-use and transportation planning. Getting even one government to adopt such restrictions would be ambitious. Getting 43 of them to act in a unified man-ner would be a miracle.

Various regional organizations that coordinate activities of governmental or planning units have been successful in many areas. But it is unlikely that any of them could gain enough power to bring about the kind of trans-portation and housing development plans that Rohe says are needed.

Without a unified approach in the Triangle, Rohe says, like Professor Hill, “We got trouble.”

Turning Resistance into Assistance

The Senior Corner topic in the Sept. 14-20, issue of Up & Coming Weekly was “When Seniors Say ‘No’ to help”. We shared many reasons why a senior might say they do not want help in their home.

When there are concerns about safety, it is reasonable for family caregivers to express the desire for assistance for their loved one. Safety issues might involve poor nutri-tion, eating expired foods, mismanagement of medications, opening the door to strangers, unwelcome phone solicita-tions, being a fall risk or many other issues. Having con-cerns are always the reason help in the home is offered to a senior.

Following are strategies from Home Instead Senior Care and Dr. D’Aprix, a family caregiver consultant, to help family caregivers turn resistance into assistance.

• Understand where the resistance is coming from. Ask a senior parent or loved one why he or she is resisting.

• Explain your goals. Remind an older adult that you both want the same thing. Explain that a little extra help can keep them at home longer and will help put your mind at ease as well.

• Bring in outside help. If a relationship with a senior is deteriorating, ask a professional, such as a geriatric care manager, for an assessment. A third-party professional can provide valuable input.

Also, go to www.4070talk.com for tips on how to talk with a loved one. If you are having problems getting through to your older adult, consider asking an-other family member or close friend to intervene. If you’re not making headway, perhaps there’s someone better to talk to that older adult.

• Research options to find the best resources for a senior in the community. The local Area Agency on Aging or geriatric care managers are great community resources.

Or go to www.homeinstead.com and click on the re-sources tab for The Home Care solution, a guide for family caregivers to help them find the best in-home care for their loved ones. If you decide outside help is needed, reassure your parents and tell them you have researched caregivers and you are confident you have found the best you can find to come into the home to help.

• Respect a senior’s decisions. Sometimes you won’t agree with an older adult’s decisions and that’s okay — as long as that senior is of sound mind, he or she should have the final say.

Please remember that if a senior has dementia, a doctor or geriatric care manager should be consulted. Using logic often will not work with the senior so other strategies must be used.

Once again, unless a senior has dementia, he or she has a right to make the final decision about care, even if a family caregiver or professional doesn’t agree. The flip side is that family caregivers have the right to suggest limits on behaviors that they think are risky.

Without additional resources and education, the desire to be a perfect fam-ily caregiver can lead to burn-out. Perspective can come from friends, support groups and professional or informal support networks.

The battle to turn resistance into assistance can be fierce, like seniors who call police when a professional care-giver shows up. Education can help arm family caregivers with the tools they need to cre-ate a win-win everyone.

Photo: When there are concerns about safety, it is reasonable for family caregivers to express the desire for assistance for their loved one. 

Surfboarding penguins, a sunfl ower draped Iron Mike and a Jim Morrison-inspired cowboy are a just a few of the visual delights that await you when the doors to Wet Willie’s opens in early October.

But as much as the new entertainment venue in historic downtown Fayetteville is a visual delight, its trademark daquiries are a tasty delight that Josh and Tonia Collins believe will help keep summer hanging on all year round.

Years in the making, Wet Willie’s is the third restaurant the couple has opened in downtown Fayetteville, and if their past successes are any indicator, Wet Willie’s will soon become Fayetteville’s nightlife destination.

The restaurant, part of a Wet Willie’s 17-store chain, is a natural progression for the folks at Huske. Collins recounts that their first foray into the restaurant world was at Blue Moon. When Huske Hardware came up for sale, Collins thought it was an opportunity not to be missed. But Tonia thought otherwise.

“I told Tonia I wanted to do Huske, and she said, ‘No, I want to do a Wet Willie’s,’” recounted Josh. “So I said let’s do Huske fi rst, and then we will do Wet Willie’s. That was the negotiation.”

After getting Huske on a solid status. The duo and their partners began laying the ground work for Wet Willie’s, purchasing the franchise in 2007. As Huske took off in late 2008-2009, they started working harder on Wet Willie’s and then the economy crashed.

“We were working through the small business loans, but money was hard to come by,” said Josh. “We were on our third bank, and our business was in a five inch binder before we got fi nal approval — and that was a nine-month process.”

“Quite a few things were happening downtown at that time. Businesses were closing, but were were doing okay,” he said.

When the Wet Willie’s executives came to town, the Collins’ took them to a variety of locations where they thought to put the restaurant. “We went all over the community, and the CEO wouldn’t even get out and look at some of the locations,” he said. “When we showed them Huske, the CEO said, ‘Son, this is a homerun.’”

“And then he said, ‘If you don’t do it here, I am,’” added Tonia.

The idea is that the two businesses, Huske and Wet Willie’s will complement each other, creating a nightlife destination for downtown.

As mentioned earlier, Wet Willie’s is a daiquiri restaurant. It was originally started in 1988 by a small group of friends. The group began the research required to fuse the daiquiri concept with a casual, upbeat atmosphere, yielding the right mix of fl avor, fun and success. The goal was to exceed our guests’ expectation of a bar and a party, and to become an institution.

The Collins’ hope to meet that goal in Fayetteville. “We will make the world’s greatest daiquiris,” said Josh.

The restaurant serves a variety of exotic as well as classic frozen daiquiris with names like Attitude Improvement, Bahama Mama, Chocloate Thunder and the classic Call A Cab. It will also offer aclohol-free drinks known as Weak Willie’s

.Along with the drinks, there will also be great food. The restaurant will feature some of the chain’s menu, but will also offer an expanded menu.

“We are taking it up a notch,” he said.

The same can be said of the nightlife. Just as Huske has become a destination for dancing and live music, Wet Willie’s will also offer quality night time entertainment in a safe and healthy environment.

As construction is ongoing at the facility, adjacent to Huske, excitement is beginning to grow. Frequent hits to the establishment’s website, www.wetwillies.com/locations/fayetteville, have resulted in the still unopen restaurant being in the top three for VIP memberships within the chain.

“We aren’t planning on a big grand opening, we think people have waited long enough,” said Tonia. “We just want to get the doors open and let the people enjoy it.”

Bringing the World to

Our Backyard

Fayetteville, much like the United States, is a melting pot. The city’s population is drawn from all 50 states and countries from all over the world. This diversity brings a rich fabric to the life of our community. It creates a tapestry of customs, ideas and cultures. It intoduces us to new ways of doing things, new music, new food, new ideas. Unlike other communities that struggle with diversity, Cumberland County embraces it, even more, it celebrates it.

For 33 years, the county residents have come together to experience the cornucopia of cultures that make up their community, and it’s one party you are not going to want to miss.

The 33rd Annual International Folk Fesival kicks-off on Friday, Sept. 23 during the monthly celebration of 4th Friday. While 4th Friday is always a visual delight, this month’s activities will be beyond belief. Join the crowds along Hay Street as our neighbors and friends bring the Parade of Nations to the heart of the city at 7 p.m.

The parade is a time-honored tradition in Fayetteville, and is one of the big draws of the weekend. Groups representing more than 30 countries will march through the city center in costume with banners, music and dancing. The spirit of the parade embodies a quote from a Trinidad poet that is often associated with the International Folk Festival — “When we dance in the streets, we dance together, regardless of color, race, status, enjoying ourselves and sharing a love for great music, food and fun!”

Mary Kinney, the marketing director at the Arts Council is excited about bringing the Parade of Nations to 4th Friday.

“This is a really big change for us,” said Kinney. “In the past, the Parade of Nations has been on Saturday morning and kicked-off the event. By integrating it with 4th Friday, we are really building the excitement.”

“There is so much pageantry and color to the parade,” she said. “It’s very high energy, and people look forward to it every year.”

This year, the Army Ground Forces Band will lead the parade. The band made the move to Fayetteville as part of BRAC and is quickly integrating itself into the community. The band is very large but is divided into smaller elements. Kinney said the Dixie Land band will play during the festival on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, the festival goes into high gear as activities move to Festival Park. The festival opens at noon, with six full hours of music, dance, art, food and fun.

According to Kinney, there are four performance stages and there will also be strolling artists throughout both days of the festival. All eyes will be on the International Stage as performers from the cultural groups will take the stage to share their culture through music and dance.

New this year to the festival is an expanded area for children. Kinney explained that all of the artists performing on the children’s stage are from the artists in the school program.

“Adjacent to the performance stage is a tent for the children to do hands-on, interactive art projects,” said Kinney. “The artists will rotate from the stage to the tent, so there will be several educational components going on simultaneously.”

Another new event is an area that is dedicated to Native-American crafts. This component is supported by the Cumberland County Schools’ Native American Program. This activity will complement the Native American Cultural Showcase in Linear Park that focuses on the element of pow Wow.

Once you’ve taken in the sights and sounds, you might want to get a taste of the festival at the International Café. The café is a unique way for the community’s cultural groups to showcase their cuisine, but also raise money. So come hungry and prepare for a smorgasbord for your taste buds.

You will probably have worked up a thirst along with your appetite, so you can stop by the beer tent, which is featuring North Carolina brews.

And don’t forget that the festival is a great place to shop. Vendors will display arts and crafts with an international flair.

“The festival itself is free,” said Kinney. “But you are going to want to bring money to eat the delicious food and to shop.”

The festival runs from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit www.theartscouncil.com.

Come out to Cypress Lakes Golf Course on Sept. 29 at 12:30 p.m. and watch the first tee-off at the 14th Annual Kiwanis Care for Kids Golf Tournament.

“Fourteen years ago, we had a couple of members of our club who either had a child or a grandchild that was affected by brain tumors and we decided we were going to do a golf tournament to benefit pediatric brain tumor research,” said Gary Cooper, chairman of the Kiwanis Club Golf Tournament. “We did eight years for that particular cause, and the last six years we’ve been doing the tournament to benefi t the Child Advocacy Center.”

Before the first tee off, at 12:15 p.m., the Army’s premier parachute team, The Golden Knights, will jump into the event.

“It will be literally at 12:15 because that’s how good they are,” explained Cooper. “They will start jumping from the sky earlier than that and there will probably be a team of about 8. If you’ve never seen that you ought to come out and see it. It’s pretty cool!”

Aside from The Golden Knights and the tournament itself, there will also be prizes raffl d off at the tournament.

“Kiwanis is all about children,” said Cooper. “Whether it’s helping the abused, as in the case of the Child Advocacy Center, it’s providing funds for brain tumor research, or it’s reading at local schools and providing books and certifi cates to kids for being good students, everything we do revolvesaround children.”

Aside from the adults who have volunteered to come participate in the golf tournament, the Kiwanis Club has also invited a foursome of wounded warriors to come out and play.

While the Kiwanis Care for Kids Golf Tournament has always had a good turnout, Cooper is confi dent that this year will be no different.

“The most we can have is 128 golfers, and we’ll have 128 golfers,” he said. The entry fee to play in the tournament is $100 player. If there is a team of four, the fee is $400, but if you are a hole sponsor the fee is $475.

“Typically a whole sponsor will be $100, but because you have a team we lower the price,” said Cooper.

In the previous five years that the Kiwanis Club has teamed up with the Child Advocacy Center, the golf tournament has donated an average of at least $15,000 a year, and this year promises to be even better.

“We are very thankful for some of our biggest sponsors like Beasley Broadcast, who provides awareness of what we’re doing by bringing their WKML bus out every year and doing a remote while we’re all getting ready to play,” said Cooper. “Cape Fear Valley Hospital is also a platinum sponsor, and we have a lot of other very good corporate citizens, both locally-owned companies and national companies, that have participated year after year.”

Dust-off those resumes and break out the business suit, there is a job fair at the Fort Bragg Club on Sept. 28. The Army Career & Alumni Program (ACAP) along with the ACS Employment Readiness Program are teaming up to host the semi-annual Fort Bragg Employment and Career Fair, and you don’t have to be affi liated with the military to attend — it’s open to the public.

Both ACS and ACAP are in the employment readiness business. Between the two organizations, they help soldiers who are retiring or separating from the Army and their spouses. The job fairs are open to the public though, because it’s clear to the event organizers that having a strong work-force is good for everyone.

“Of course, one of the purposes of ACAP is to decrease the unemployment rate among retirees and those leaving the service. This fair is also one of the things Fort Bragg does to help combat the local unemployment rate, so anything we do to combat that is good,” said ACAP Counselor Morgan Kirby. “Besides, if employers come and hire people and find the perfect person for different positions, they are more apt to come back next time. There is not a target population for this event, we just want to help people find jobs.”

The prospects are looking good with more than 50 employers coming out to court the attendees. Look for government agencies, members of the healthcare industry, intelligence careers, aviation careers, federal contractors, information technology, security agencies, law enforcement, human resources, retail, financial services, school systems and colleges among the vendors at the job fair.

“Bring your resumes — a number of different copies and business cards if you have any,” said Kirby. “Wear your best business attire, however, if you are in the military it is acceptable to wear your ACUs.”

A typical turn out for these job fairs is about 3,000, according to Kirby. Since they’ve joined forces with ACS, it could be quite a bit more this year.

It’s no secret that the economy hasn’t been the best lately and matching up people with employers is something that Kirby really enjoys. A lot of the soldiers who come through ACAP have been in the military for several years, even decades, so a lot of them don’t have experience with job fairs.

“So we put on a job fair preparation seminar and we sit down and talk with them about their resumes and the interview process. You see how excited people are and start getting excited for them,” said Kirby. “We go over how to present themselves, and things like that. To see people excited to fi nd jobs outside the military, and then actually fi nd something, is very rewarding.”

There is still time to get ready. Visit the ACAP website at www.acap.army.mil or the ACS Employment Readiness website at www.fortbraggmwr.com/erp.php to find information about resume writing and other resources that are available to help prepare for the big event.

The job fair starts at 9 a.m. and lasts until 2 p.m. Find out more at 396-2227 or 396-1425.

Bernard is a lonely American living in Paris. His friends don’t like to see him lonely, so theyintroduce him to some nice ladies. The ladies in question are all stewardesses. So what happens when a lonely American in Paris begins juggling three jet-setting ladies of the air? Pure comedic genius, or at least that’s what Bo Thorp, the director of Boeing, Boeing, hopes happens as the Cape Fear Regional Theatre brings this French farce to stage this month.

Boeing, Boeing by Marc Carmoletti “shines with slamming doors, delicious innuendo and spectacularly improbable situations,” all designed to tell the story of how much can go wrong in just a short time.

As mentioned, Bernard is something of a Lothario. His chaotic love life is guided by the flight schedules in and out of Paris, and his maid, played by the ever entertaining Patricia Cucco, is the air-traffic controller who keeps it all going.

R. Bruce Connelly, a well-known visiting actor, plays Bernard’s American friend who comes to visit just when everything falls apart.

“I arrive from Wisconsin early in the first act,” explains Connelly. “I play a very shy man — the kind who has never been kissed — who comes to visit his good friend. I am surrounded by these beautiful women. I am not a player, not a liar, but I’m left all alone when all this action starts happening. So my character is the the one who is left to invent the stories and keep the women separated. It all falls apart and goes crazy very rapidly.”

Connelly is not a stranger to the production, having done it earlier this year with his co-star Gil Brady. He is excited to be reprising the role.

“I got the call about a week and half ago to do the show, and we’ve been here about a week in rehearsals,” he said.

Brady explained that the show is more of a dance than a play in the sense that it is very complicated and it all has to do with timing.

“This is kind of unheard of to put up a show this diffi cult in such a short period of time,” he said. “The good news is we’ve done it before; Bo knows what she is doing — and she was smart enough to cast a great cast.”

“Rehearsals have been great so far. We are still in early stages of working out timing and relationships. I’ve been trying to communicate to everyone that it’s more of a dance than a play. It’s so intricate,” he explained. “Boeing, Boeingis easily one of the most technical plays I’ve done in my life. Bo is taking it in a different direction than in the last production I did. What’s great is we are going for more of the emotional truth, while the last one was more zaney/mad cap

.”He said he was “happy for the change.”

“There really is no challenge to go into the theatre and do carbon copy of a play you’ve done before. It is very unsatisfying for an artist. I did Grease four times and by the end, you sort of go on autopilot and collect your paycheck.”

That won’t be the case when you see Boeing, Boeing look for a great night of laughs interspersed with some emotional truths.

For tickets, times and reservations, visit the website at www.cfrt.org.

Photo: When you see Boeing, Boeing look for a great night of laughs interspersed with some emotional truths.

Doing the right thing means making difficult choices.

American history is full of examples. Whether it be the impositions of the Stamp Act, the injustices of slavery or the intrusions of eugenics, Americans have had to decide how best to respond to tyrants in power — and sometimes to tyrants next door.

Far too many people have made the wrong choice. Afraid to sacrifice their reputations, their ambitions, their property or their personal liberty, they have chosen to look the other way.

Here in North Carolina, for example, the state operated a eugenics pro-gram for decades that sterilized thousands of North Carolinians against their will — on the grounds that their mental or physical infirmities made them unfit to reproduce. Rather than speak out against this practice, many of the state’s most-influential citizens either ignored or participated in it.

The 18th century Virginia planter and Quaker leader John Pleasants chose differently when faced with his own era’s injustices. As early as the 1760s, John Pleasants and his son Robert had concluded that the institution of slavery was abhorrent to God and inconsistent with the principles of a free society. They resolved to do something about it.

On the matter of slavery, John and Robert Pleasants were not bystanders. They were among the biggest slaveholders in Virginia’s Henrico County, near Richmond. Their Curles Neck Plantation was home to hundreds of slaves. Although the Pleasants family had long treated their slaves kindly, as they thought their Quaker faith demanded, it wasn’t until sometime in the 1760s that they fully embraced abolition.

The problem with “doing something about it” was that at the time, it was illegal for Virginians to manumit, or free, their slaves. If John Pleasants had simply declared the workers at Curles Neck free and sought to pay them, he would have been subjected to punishment and his workers to re-enslavement.

Perhaps such an act of civil disobedience might have advanced the cause of abolition a bit, but at great cost — particularly to the slaves themselves.

Pleasants had other options, however. He could have attempted to take his slaves out of Virginia and then free them elsewhere. Or I suppose he could have attempted to organize a broad-scale insurrection against the Virginia government. But neither option had much prospect of success.

Pleasants opted for a different course. Recognizing that there was growing sentiment among influential young Virginians such as Thomas Jefferson to at least limit the scope of slavery by prohibiting importation of new slaves and legalizing manumission, Pleasants rewrote his will. It now contained a provision that would free all of his slaves if Virginia ever legal-ized manumission.

Pleasants died in 1771. His son Robert Pleasants then became one of the founders of the abolition movement in Virginia. He wrote frequent letters to prominent citizens such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry exhorting them to support manumission, the education of slaves and freed blacks and the legal abolition of slavery itself.

Right after the American Revolution, there was a burst of anti-slavery sentiment in Virginia. It didn’t last, unfortunately, but a 1782 law legalized the manumission of slaves for a time. Robert Pleasants immediately liberated the slaves he had inherited from his father, and built one of the first schools for free blacks. The Gravel Hill community soon grew up around the school — one of the first communities of free blacks in the South.

But other relatives refused to follow suit. So Robert Pleasants, the execu-tor of his father’s estate, went to court in the 1790s to carry out his father’s wishes. His attorney in the resulting case of Pleasants v. Pleasants was none other than John Marshall, the future chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

They were successful. In 1799, the slaves at Curles Neck were freed, and joined the growing Gravel Hill community.

John Pleasants was my sixth great-grandfather. When faced with injustice, he chose a middle course — to challenge it through moral suasion and the courts, rather than ignoring it or resorting to insurrection.

What would you do?

I had to read the news story twice, and then I scanned it again.

Former President Bill Clinton, a quintessential Southern boy if ever there was one, has become a vegan.

It was almost as stunning as if, in his mid-60s, he had suddenly announced he were gay. I had an immediate fl ashback of the day early in his first term as Leader of the Free World when Clinton led a contingent of fit and toned Secret Service agents on a morning jog and popped into a McDonalds for a quick burger and fries. We Americans and everyone else were treated to the fi rst and only known sighting of Presidential short shorts in the history of the world.

What about all that barbeque on the campaign trail? What about shrimp and Hollandaise at state dinners and steaks and mac and cheese in the White House’s family dining room? Ice cream and TV with Hillary and Chelsea?

I know many people who flirt on and off with some degree of vegetarianism, and truth be told, I eat far less meat than I once did. I also know folks who refer to themselves as “fl exatarians,” meaning that they eat mostly plants and grains but enjoy occasional doses of meat, seafood and dairy products. For some people, such choices are health related —they want to keep their arteries clear and their weight and cholesterol under control. For others, it is a philosophical, environmental or ethical issue regarding treatment of animals by human beings, especially the industrial farming of animals. For others, all of those issues play into their decisions about what to eat.

Vegans eschew all animal products, including diary, in their diets, and some vegans eliminate the use of all animal products from their lives, including leather, fur, wool, honey and all consumer products tested on animals.

So intrigued was I by the former President’s dietary decision — not to mention his 24 pound weight loss — I searched and found an interview he did with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on the subject. His decision, Clinton said, was health related. After heart-bypass surgery and the implanting of stents, his cholesterol continued to build. Using that Rhodes Scholar brain of his, Clinton studied up on the issue and found that 82 percent of people who change to a “plant-based diet” are able to control heart-related health issues. No dairy for him these days, but he did own up to the occasional piece of fi sh but never meat of any sort.

I have to admit, the former President looks terrific, especially in what appeared to be a good-looking silk tie.

…

The massive fall issues of women’s fashions magazines are out, exploding with advertisements for everything from clothes to face creams and weighing down tote bags of fashionistas and those who would like to be around the world.

The fall issues are the biggest of the year, hundreds of pages thick with more ads than editorial content, and what editorial content is there often refl ects which designers and companies bought ad pages and which did not.

As a concession to tough economic times, several of them go out of their ways to include articles on fashionable items under $50 or under $100, generally toward the back of the magazine, but the prime pages are full of items that cost hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. It is hard to imagine who spends that kind of money on clothes, some of which are decidedly odd-looking, but clearly someone does or they would not be created or advertised.

Nevertheless, I was fl abbergasted recently as a friend and I toured the Mint Museum in Charlotte to learn that some haute couture creations by designers like Chanel cost as much as a jaw dropping $100,000 — maybe more. The curator who had organized an exhibit of Chanel clothing dropped that stunning fact and added that the entire industry is supported by about 1,000 women around the world who are willing and able to commission and purchase these duds.

I do not think I have ever met a woman who could — or would.

…

New polling released last week finds that Americans have the lowest opinion of Congress ever recorded by Rasmussen, hitting the single digit mark and rendering Congress about as popular as Casey Anthony.

Only 9 — yes, 9 percent — of us think that Congress is doing a good or excellent job while a full 52 percent of voters responding say Congress is doing a poor job, a number which ties the highest number recorded in that category.

Certainly, the state of our economy and the constant name-calling, fi nger-pointing and partisan bickering are behind these historic and troubling findings.

What is hard to fathom, though, is why members of Congress do not quit digging themselves deeper into the hole of public disgust while the issues facing our nation become ever more pressing.

To paraphrase Rodney King, why can’t we all just get along and get going?

Photo: Former President Bill Clinton has shocked the world by becoming a vegan.

Contagion (Rated R) 5 Stars

The creepy children in the Tyson’s chicken commercial that has been attached to movies for the last few weeks can no longer go unmentioned. It might be the weirdly hostile smiling, or it might be the supernatural rings of white light in their beady little eyes, but either way I am getting a real Children of the Damned vibe off the precious little tots.

So, onto the plagues! Contagion(105 minutes) opens with a sickly looking Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) on what the ominously red locator stamp helpfully tells us is Day 2. Beth is talking to someone on the phone, and she seems a bit under the weather. She blissfully sticks her virus covered hands into pub-licly shared bowls of food, passes germy money around the bar, and makes sure to fondle pens and chairs to share the bacterial goodness as much as possible. I resolve to start wearing plastic gloves everywhere I go and to stock up gallons of water and medical-grade sterilizing equipment. Do you think we could get out of our economic slump if everyone went out and bought a ton of hand sanitizer?

Once Beth has coughed and sneezed on several hundred people or so, she heads home to pass it along to her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and son Clark (Griffin Kane). After establishing that the infection is fast moving and pretty deadly, the focus shifts to Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), working at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He identifies a cluster of deaths in Minneapolis, and sends Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to figure out what they are dealing with. The scene shifts in between these major players and Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) from the World Health Organization

.Dr. Orantes travels to Hong Kong in an attempt to trace the origins of the mystery disease. She manages to trace it to this one guy who refuses to wash his hands after going to the bathroom. She makes a lot of new friends in Hong Kong, all of whom are very reluctant for her to leave. Not that there’s any major exploration of this, or any real payoff to the plot point.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) begins try-ing to sequence the virus so a vaccine can be manufactured. Remember how in Outbreak that took about 15 minutes? Well, Dr. Hextall suggests the timeline to produce a vaccine will be more like 15 months. Good thing she is overestimating quite a bit, since engaging in unethical experimentation on herself ap-parently speeds up the FDA approval process quite a bit. If only this were a different kind of movie, all this casual injecting would have turned half the population into brain-starved zombies. Oh well. This is almost as good!

While the good doctor works on prevention strategies, con-spiracy blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) finds a measure of credibility in attacking Dr. Cheever and Big Pharm frequently, publicly and, if we’re being fair, sort of accurately. He wanders the streets in a home-made bio-containment suit leaving flyers under windshield wipers, which seems to be a little pointless. After all, in state of medical emergency where most of the popu-lation is sick or scared of getting sick, and there is nowhere to go even if you could find gas, how many people are checking their cars?

As is common with Soderbergh, there is a documentary feeling to the film. The action occurs on a realistic timeline, and the cold scientific terminol-ogy, though adding emotional distance, serves to underscore the real risk of a deadly global pandemic. The only real flaw with the film is the lack of character development and the speed with which some of the characters are dispatched. Obviously, not everyone in an ensemble cast of this size and quality will get equal screen time. But when the audience is left wondering about character motivation, that signals the need to either increase the length of the film or decrease the number of characters.

By now it is no secret that bikers have big hearts — especially our local bikers. On Oct. 8, come out to Cape Fear Harley-Davidson and help support Harley’s Heroes, an event sponsored by the Harley Davidson Foundation and the Disabled American Veterans.

The connection between the two groups makes perfect sense when you take into consideration the number of military members who ride. Throw in the fact that Harley’s are about as American as apple pie and the flag that our service men and women so selflessly protect, and it’s a no-brainer. In 2010 a $1 million grant was made by the Harley-Davidson n Foundation to the DAV.

Via a mobile service office, Harley’s Heroes brings benefits, education and counseling to veterans across the country. The mobile offices are able to visit thousands of locations each year and provide counseling and assis-tance to veterans and their families.

The organization helps make sure that these veteran’s are receiv-ing benefits owed to them by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the Department of Defense and other agencies.

“The MSOs are staffed by highly trained professional DAV counselors who are skilled experts in developing and prosecuting veterans’ claims,” said Duke Durham, event spokesman.

“Both Harley-Davidson and DAV have a rich history and long legacy of working with our nation’s military and veterans,” he continued.

Harley-Davidson’s commitment to the U.S. military dates back almost 100 years. After use in the Mexican Expedition, the U.S. military commis-sioned nearly one-third of all Harley-Davidson motorcycles produced in 1917 to support efforts during World War I, and nearly half of the motor company’s production in 1918.

Proceeds raised throughout the day will benefit Harley’s Heroes. The day will be packed with fun events including a ride and an auction. There will also be a raffle of lap blankets made from Harley-Davidson T-shirts. Stick around for the free cook-out and enjoy some food and fellwoship. Local veterans are invited to come and speak with the DAV representatives who will be at the event, too.

The event begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Find out more at the Harley’s Heroes website www.dav.org/HarleysHeroes or the Cape Fear Harley site www.capefearhd.com

Hard to find dirt on this politician

Every politician is the object of critical, unfriendly, and just plain bad com-ments. That is the rule.

But retired journalist and biographer Ned Cline may have found an exception.

He had to look long and hard to find any dirt on the subject of his latest book, The Man from Mount Gilead: Bob Jordan Helped Give Public Service a Good Name.

The closest thing to dirt about Jordan was during his campaign against incumbent governor Jim Martin in 1988. His consultants prepared a television ad that showed a bunch of real monkeys dressed in tuxedos but acting wildly.

They were, the ad implied, as ineffective as Governor Martin’s staff. It was funny and made an important point. But in the minds of some people, it was tasteless and un-fair. So, Jordan quickly pulled the ad.

Democratic Party Executive Director Ken Eudy had pushed for more attack ads and told Cline later, “Bob just didn’t have the stomach for that kind of campaigning. He would have been a great governor, but he was not a great campaigner on things like that. I don’t think he wanted to win that badly.”

Cline found one other time during the 1988 campaign when Jordan drew a few critical remarks. Explaining to black newspaper editors why he was not more forthcoming on some issues that were important to their readers, Jordan said, “I can’t publicly say some of the things you are asking because I need all the votes I can get, including the redneck votes in Eastern North Carolina.”

White conservatives, racial minorities, and Republicans jumped on Jordan for a few days.

But for Jordan, “redneck” was not necessarily a negative term. He identified with the farmers and working people like many of his friends in Montgomery County. In this respect Cline compares Jordan to Jim Hunt. “Both are products of a rural upbringing.”

Both thought their rural and small town upbringings were assets, not liabili-ties. They understood and appreciated the conservative attitudes, as well as the aspirations and challenges, of the people who were their friends, schoolmates, and co-workers when they were growing up. Those kinds of connections can be important advantages for political leaders who otherwise might be too liberal for the North Carolina conservative rural and small town voters.

Cline points out that Jordan and former governor Jim Hunt have much else in common. In addition to their rural upbringing, “…Both are top graduates of N.C. State University, where their devotion and loyalty are legendary. Both have served the state in multiple capacities of public service….Both were raised by highly respected, fiscally conservative, yet socially conscious parents… who focused on the goodness of people and taught their children to focus on the do-able rather than negatively on the difficult.”

The differences, Cline says, are in approach, with Hunt “more like a hard changing fullback crashing through the line just to prove he can score while Jordan, more like a nimble quarterback, is more methodical in scoring by avoid-ing tacklers rather than knocking them down.”

Jordan and Hunt were political allies, but Cline’s book leaves its readers speculating whether or not they might have found themselves running against each other for governor in 1992 if Jordan passed by the 1988 campaign and waited until 1992 to make his run for governor.

Hunt told Cline, “I really don’t know what I would have done if (Jordan) had waited until then and run…But it would have been hard for me to be a can-didate if Bob Jordan were a candidate.”

We may be left to wonder about that possible 1992 contest, but Cline’s cataloguing of Jordan’s contributions to political and public life leaves no doubt that his service and example have been a great blessing to North Carolina.

You are now reading one of the most sought after and enjoyed editions of Up & Coming Weekly. It’s our biggest and best read issue of the entire year: The 2011 Best of Fayetteville.

Every September for the last 14 years, we have honored and recognized the “best of the best” people, businesses and organizations that have shaped, impacted and defi ned our community’s unique, award-winning quality of life. So, read, enjoy and use this special edition all year as your reference for where to shop, eat and play. Get to know and become familiar with local community businesses and organizations that have, by their actions and attention to detail, proven themselves to have mastered the art of good service and good ole fashioned southern hospitality. To all the winners we want to say thank you and congratulations!

Also, I want to thank our long time sponsors Lee Utley of Utley & Knowles, CPAs, Jimmy Keefe of Clark’s Sporting Goods/The Trophy House and Rodney Chamberlin of Lido’s Restaurant in downtown Fayetteville. Without their understanding, support, assistance and expertise we would not be able to maintain the success, prestige and integrity of this important program.

As you travel throughout the community, look for the Best of Fayetteville plaques and certifi cates on display at the businesses you frequent. Look for the BOF logo in their ads or as a symbol of excellence posted on their websites. Speaking of websites, this year Up & Coming Weekly is showcasing the entire BOF issue on our website and in every electronic online edition at www.upandcomingweekly.com. The Best of Fayetteville edition will be sent out with every edition of Up & Coming Weekly for the entire year. Each winner will be linked back to their home website for easy access to valuable information. Read it, use it and send it to a friend with confi dence. After all, you are sending them the best of the best.

Last, and certainly not least, I want to thank the professional staff of Up & Coming Weekly. In a time when traditional newspapers nationally are challenged and tasked with maintaining their relevance as a media source with many still struggling for survival, weekly community newspapers like Fayetteville’s Up & Coming Weekly continue to grow and prosper. Our dedicated and professional staff is in touch with this community and has serving the community and telling its story as their #1 priority. Nobody does it better.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. We are extremely proud to be your community newspaper. After all, you are the best of the best. 

Don't be Afraid of the Dark (Rated R) Three Stars

Oh, darling Guillermo … we have been here before. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (99 minutes) deals with themes you have been working with your whole life. It is clear from Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone(among others) that you love your little dark haired innocents. You love to torture them, anyway. The jury is still out on Director Troy Nixey. I’m gonna go ahead and give him credit for producing genuine scares here, since the film did not suffer from lack of atmosphere, just plot holes.

The film begins by borrowing some cheap sadistic thrills from Marathon Man. Feel free to show up late to the theater if you hate amateur dentistry, since the prologue is a bit unnecessary thanks to a later in the film recap. There are, at least, some interesting shots that are, oddly enough, reminding me of Neil Marshall’s 2005 film The Descent, if that film featured an inexplicable tooth fetish.

The prologue over, the scene changes to (and this is the weird part) some unidentified year, possibly 1973, the year of the original telefilm. Did they have such generic clothes in 1973 that they still look modern today? Or are the characters actually in the present day, but choosing to use dead photographic tech-nology involving flashbulbs? But wait. Do they still make flashbulbs? Did flash-bulbs in 1973 last through several dozen flashes? Because the ones I used in the mid-eighties were like, six flashes and done. And by the millennium, everything was digital anyway. Who is responsible for including the helpful place/time tag on period movies? Fire him. He did not do his job.

But I digress. Whenever the film is placed, children are allowed to take cross country trips alone. Sally (Bailee Madison) is going to stay with her Daddy Alex (Guy Pearce) and Daddy’s little sister…what was that? That’s not his sister? Oh dear. Well, born in ‘78 does not jailbait make. So, she’s staying with Daddy and Daddy’s young, hot, girlfriend in the thin-walled mansion they are redecorating. Good thing Sally is already taking medication because a ways down the road she is probably going to need therapy.

For some reason, Sally does not want to make friends with Kim (Katie Holmes). And, after all the trouble Kim took to put her in the bedroom right next door to Daddy’s bedroom! But there is someone Sally does want to make friends with. The creepy disembodied voices that like to bite the heads off Barbie dolls. To this end, she wanders around with feet exposed so that the monster under the bed can more easily grab her little pink ankles and drag her screaming into the darkness. Also, she does not sleep with her lights on even after it becomes clear that the creatures attached to the creepy disembodied voices flee from bright light. Not that there is any consistency to their fleeing, since they seem pretty comfortable as long as they are shaded by flowers, even if they are in a brightly lit entry hall.

It’s not as though Sally’s caretakers are willing to humor her, either. While Daddy is away she is sent alone into a vast bathroom bigger than my kitchen while the housekeeper heads down a couple flights of stairs to the other side of the house. This, even in 1973, would seem to teeter on the edge of child en-dangerment. Luckily for Sally, that flimsy shower curtain evidently has creature repelling powers because when the inevitable child endangerment occurs, she emerges without a scratch on her.

There are several major plot points that get dropped (evidence of the crea-tures that is never followed up on, what governs their emergence, their obsession with children’s teeth), but overall, a decently scary flick with some good moments.

Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

While the music scene can be competitive and frustrating for performers, songwriters quite often have even fewer oppor-tunities to shine locally. Some innovation, can-do spirit and a down-right tenacious attitude can go a long way in making strides in a songwriter’s career. Throw in some encourage-ment and support from local music venues and, oh yeah, some cash, and sud-denly the possibilities are endless.

Greg Biltz had no idea what was going to happen on the day he walked into Huske Hardware hoping to land a paying gig. After talking with Huske owner, Josh Collins, a different op-portunity presented itself and Biltz reached out and grabbed it.

Beginning on Sept. 14, Huske Hardware is hosting Huske Unplugged Writer’s Night. From 8-11 p.m. Local songwriters are invited to come and share their work with each other and with the public.

According to the event host Greg Biltz, who is also a songwriter, there is no need to go out and find a band to perform your pieces. Just bring your songs, and whatever means you use to express them and share your creations.

It’s not just a chance to be heard, it’s an opportunity to network, con-nect with other talented artists and, depending on how the judges feel about your work, maybe walk away with a little extra cash.

“There will not be back-up bands, or writing jams or anything like that. It’s strictly going to be an opportunity for local writers to get their material heard... one mic/one guitar. Also, there will not be any catego-ries as in “Country,” “Folk,” or the like,” said Biltz.

Depending on the turnout, Biltz hopes to see Huske Unplugged con-tinue for 6-8 weeks and then bring the winners for a showdown.

“This is something that I’ve tried in Columbus, Ga., and Dayton, Ohio, and it was very well received,” said Biltz. “The songwriters all en-joyed it and it worked well for the venues where we performed.”

It is too easy to get lost in the music that is played on the radio, and Biltz believes that there is much more talent than what can be heard on the airwaves. Creative energy, self expression and solid musical talent are often over looked because they don’t fit the formula that media execs use to decide what gets played, so venues like this become even more valuable, not just to the artists, but to audiences looking for original music and new ideas about music.

Events like this can really create an artistic synergy and a motiva-tion in artists that results in a surge in their work. “If someone comes to one of these and hears what other people are playing, they can get really inspired,” said Biltz. “It’s also really motivating to hear other people and to go home and think ‘Okay, this is the quality of work that I have to pro-duce to win.’”

Biltz will be hosting the event and prizes will be awarded to the 1st through 3rd place winners. The final four weeks of the event promise to be exciting. The line-up will go from 24 finalists down to one winner who will receive a grand prize of $2,000, plus some fantastic expo-sure. Find out more at Huske’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/HuskeHardware.

Photo: Huske Hardware is adding an exciting new event to their fall calendar. Huske Unplugged-Singer/Songwriter Night starts Sept. 14. 

If you are new to Fayetteville, you probably know Rocky Horror Picture Show best from late night cable TV airings. If you’ve been in Fayetteville for the past few years, you no doubt equate Rocky Horror with the Gilbert Theater.

Originally produced on stage in London, Rocky Horror became a cult hit after the 1975 release of the fi lm starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. Part rock opera, part horror movie, part sci-fi flick, Rocky Horror rolls a lot of personality into one story.

“There is a reason why that movie has been around for so long. You’ve got so many people that are drawn to it. I go back to that every once in a while and try to fi nd some pieces to incorporate onto the stage,” said Rhonda Brocki, Gilbert Theater Director and Choreographer.

With a fan-base that has been loyal for 36 years and continues to grow, Brocki says the appeal of Rocky Horror is because it’s a one-of-a-kind production. “It’s so campy. In the 70s it was probably seen as even more bizarre, but it has a charm about it. It’s fun, it’s nothing to take seriously. It’s just bizarre enough to get your attention. There hasn’t been anything like Rocky Horror since it’s opening.“

The story remains the same, but audiences rarely tire of the dalliances of Dr. Frank-N-Furter and crew. It all starts on a stormy night in November when Brad and his fiancé Janet seek shelter at a castle where they stumble upon Frank with his minions Riff Raff, the handyman; Magenta, the domestic; and Columbia, the tap dancing groupie. Rocky Horror, the Charles Atlas inspired creation of Frank, is born this night. It is a night filled with catchy songs, deception, activities that might be deemed romance in exotic cultures and murderous intentions.

The fourth production of The Rocky Horror Show at the Gilbert Theater will run from Sept. 22 through Oct. 9. The curtain rises at 8 p.m. every night except for Sundays, which is at 6 p.m. There is a special midnight show on Friday, Oct. 7.

“I’ve gone to see other productions just to compare and I’m really happy with what we’ve come up with as our interpretation. We have a very good production. I’m proud of it,” said Brocki.

Brocki was the driving force to bring Rocky Horror to the Gilbert. Not only is this her fourth production of Rocky Horror, but it’s also the fourth production for cast members Steve Jones, James Johnson, Ralph Tappan and Breann Garner. Bill Barker, Efrain Colon, Kathleen Zahran, Cary Mundell and Terry Levitt are returning from last year’s highly successful production. Dr. Gail Morfesis is returning as the musical director along with Adita Harless and the stage band.

The Gilbert Theater production of Rocky Horror has been named Best Play/Musical in Up & Coming Weekly’s Best of Fayetteville 2011 poll. Steve Jones, as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, received the nod for Best Male Actor.

“He’s the ultimate Frank-N-Furter. He has just the right qualities. The women love him, the men love him. He’s just perfect. We’re really fortunate to have him,” said Brocki. “

He surprises people too. When I went up to Charlotte to see Rocky Horror, a friend asked ‘Who in Fayetteville can be the role of Frank-N-Furter?’ My response was, ‘Well, you need to come and see.’”

Leave your newspapers and rice at the door, Rocky Horrorveterans. Prop bags will be available at the show. Order tickets early at gilberttheater.com. Because when it comes to The Rocky Horror Show at the Gilbert Theater, “you’re lucky, he’s lucky, I’m lucky, we’re all lucky!”

When Seniors Say “No” to Help

A family caregiver’s job, by definition, is already a dif-ficult one. Time away from work and family, and the worry of caring for a senior adult all can take a toll. But when you consider that many seniors often resist help, that job becomes overwhelming for so many caregivers in our own area.

A study of family caregivers conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network revealed that more than half of the respondents (51 percent) said that their aging relative was very resistant to care. These seniors often object to help whether it’s from a family caregiver or a professional who tries to come into their homes to assist.

This is a real problem for family caregivers worried about the safety of a senior loved one who might be forget-ting food on the stove or neglecting to take their medications. Some seniors are so resistant they have been known to call the police when their family members have arranged for a caregiver to visit their home.

Experts say that keeping fiercely independent seniors safe at home isn’t a lost cause. There are solutions for them and their family caregivers. That’s why the Home Instead Senior Care network launched Caring for Your Parents: Education for the Family Caregiver. This family caregiver support series addresses senior resistance to care and features a variety of topics. Among those issues are choosing an in-home care provider, the signs of aging, long distance caregiving and com-municating with aging parents. Materials and videos are available at www.caregiver-stress.com so please check that out. These materials offer a great referral resource for senior care professionals who work with older adults and their families each day.

Resistance is at the root of many senior-care issues. Why? If seniors admit they need help, they feel their independence is in question. Seniors believe that once they acknowledge they need help, they’ll lose control of their affairs. They are trying to maintain dignity. Unless they feel they can trust someone, they resist change. It’s also the fear that life as they’ve known it will be taken away from them. Sometimes seniors only want help from a son or daughter, which can put undue pressure on that family caregiver.

Most caregivers can go into “crisis mode” to rally around a loved one in the short-term, but you can’t be totally immersed in a crisis mode long-term without their family, work and health suffering. That’s according to family caregiving consultant Dr. Amy D’Aprix and author of From Surviving to Thriving: Transforming Your Caregiving Experience. The strain can take a particular toll on work-ing family caregivers. The Home Instead Senior Care study revealed that 42 percent of caregivers spend more than 30 hours a week caregiving. That’s the equivalent of a second full-time job.

In the study, family caregivers also stated that their own personal health and job were affected bycaregiving. Fifty-eight percent say they are getting ill more frequently and that caregiving is taking a toll on their jobs. Furthermore, 81 percent say their loved ones’ needs are becoming overwhelming compared with 73 percent who thought so just four years earlier. That’s what makes countering that resistance to assistance so important. Many times family caregivers make assumptions but never ask: “Mom, I’ve noticed that every time I bring up hav-ing someone come in to assist, you don’t want help. Why is that?” Sometimes the parent doesn’t realize they’re being resistant. Also, reassuring a senior loved one that you have the same goal in mind will help. Start with: “My goal for you is to be in-dependent, too. You know I can’t be here all the time. A little extra assistance will help you stay at home.”

Please read SENIOR CORNER on September 28, for some sugges-tions for turning resistance into acceptance.

Photo: Most caregivers can go into “crisis mode” to rally around a loved one in the short-term.

Our Common Bonds

Americans know exactly where we were and what we were doing at the moments which stun and transform our nation and us as a people.

I was changing classes at Alexander Graham Junior High School in downtown Fayetteville when word came that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. Two days later I was riding beside my sister in the back seat of our family car on the way home from church when a radio newsman broke in to say that Jack Ruby had just shot and killed Kennedy’s murderer, Lee Harvey Oswald. Americans, even young ones, understood immediately that while we might come to understand how our President died, Ruby’s deed meant that we would very likely never know exactly why.

I remember the eerie quiet that pervaded my college campus the day four students died and nine others were wounded in a hail of National Guard gunfire that lasted less than 15 seconds at Kent State University. We understood that if it could happen to American college students in Ohio, it could happen to American college students on another campus.

More than a decade later, I was picking up a Precious Jewel at a neighborhood church pre-school when we learned that the Challenger space shuttle had exploded a minute into its fl ght, blowing up the lives of seven astronauts and Americans’ belief that our space program was invincible.

On the lovely morning of September 11, 2001, I was in Washington, D.C., on the second floor of the Cannon Office Building, the oldest legislative office building next door to the United States Capitol. Ten other colleagues and friends from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce were also there, enjoying a continental breakfast as we waited for a briefing on transportation infrastructure to Chamber representatives from around the nation from US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.

The Secretary never showed.

He, like everyone else in Washington, New York, and throughout our country, was suddenly and astoundingly dealing with the reality that terrorists had just crashed two commercial airliners fi lled with human cargo into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan.

One member of our little band of Fayetteville Chamber folks received a call from home about the first plane and then another about the second. We quickly gathered our party to leave the building and were on the way out when the order was given to evacuate the entire building and others around it. We were all too close to the Capitol, and no one knew what was coming next.

Near chaos reigned on the sidewalk outside.

Thousands of people had been turned out of thousands of offi ces, and no one knew where to go. Public transportation was shut down and no one knew what to do. Go one way and a terrorist event might occur. Go the other way and the same thing could happen.

Our group somehow got a cab to go back to the hotel we had checked out of before breakfast, and we piled in — three of us in the front and five or six in the back. Washington ordinances did not allow this, of course, but the cabbie said nothing. Soon it was clear that gridlock would not permit any movement at all, so we all piled out again. No one paid the fare. Nor did the cabbie ask for payment. In hindsight, he was as shell-shocked as we were.

I remember less about this than other Chamber travelers, because I was not focused on us but on the Precious Jewel who had started college in New York City just two weeks to the day before what we now call 9-11. Her college was far uptown, and I had no reason to think she was downtown on a weekday morning, but I did not know and could not know. Cell phones did not work because their towers were down or their systems overloaded.

By this time, we could see smothering clouds of dark smoke across the Potomac, and we knew it billowed from the Pentagon. Then came the news of the crash in Pennsylvania, and the immediate speculation that the US Capitol had been the target — a target that was within shouting distance of where, only hours before, we were chatting over juice and coffee.

Blessedly, by late that afternoon, I knew that Precious Jewel had indeed been on her uptown campus and was safe, and the Fayetteville Chamber delegation was homeward bound past the smoldering Pentagon in a van navigated by then Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Tad Davis whose arrival and guidance was awaited by several Military Police cars.

Surrounding the 10th anniversary of the day Americans suddenly and irrevocably understood what terrorism means, it is remarkable to hear diverse and poignant recountings of the day that continues to shape our national conversation and our common future.

No matter where we were or what we saw, none of us are the same Americans we were on the lovely and bright morning of September 11, 2001.

Photo: Americans know exactly where we were and what we were doing at the moments which stun and transform our nation and us as a people.

Every community has its gems — the people and organizations that strive to meet the needs of the public and improve the quality of life in an area. Some of them are around for just a season, to meet a particular need, and then their purpose is complete. Others are in it for the long haul and have real staying power — like Fayetteville Technical Community College.

It was in 1961 that local visionaries sought to fill a gap in the community. It was clear to them that there was a need for an institution offering job training and other educational opportunities. That is how (then) Fayetteville Area Industrial Education Center was born. From the beginning, the school served a large area including Cumberland, Bladen, Harnett, Hoke, Robeson, Sampson and Scotland counties as well as Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, and over the years their scope of infl uence has expanded.

Always on the cutting edge, even from its inception, FTCC predates the founding of the North Carolina Community College System in 1963. Not only is the establishment a long-term educator, it is the third largest community college in the state, with a student base of more than 38,000.

As this fine institution celebrates 50 years of education and meeting the community needs, they’ve got a year-long celebration planned.

On Sept. 16, the public is invited to the Fall Convocation to celebrate FTCC’s 50th anniversary at Horace Sisk Gym at 1 p.m. The guest speaker is Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, Chair of the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges.

In October, don’t miss the kick-off of the FTCC Foundation’s Forever Gold Community Fund Drive and the student Fall Festival. The FTCC Foundation’s mission is to help students by assisting them with funds for books and tuition.

There will be an art competition hosted by the Art’s Council Fayetteville/ Cumberland County with an FTCC theme in November. Stay tuned for more details as they become available. This is also the month that the FTCC Foundation holds its annual dinner theater and play. The theme this year will be Vietnam.

Look for the military appreciation tribute in January followed by the ribbon-cutting for FTCC’s new general classroom building in February.

The spring will be filled with events like the Student and Family Spring Fling Celebration, the Foundations Silent Auction and dinner, the foundation’s annual golf tournament and of course the graduation ceremony in May.

FTCC President, Dr. Larry Keene is passionate about FTCC’s role in the community and is looking forward to not only celebrating this milestone, but also reflecting on the path that led to the current successes of the college and reaching forward to meet whatever opportunities the future holds.

“We’re so pleased that we are coming up our 50th anniversary,” said Keen. “The thing that is so remarkable to me is that when I meet people who were here when it started or before the campuses were started and they come through and see what it is now compared to what it was then, they just shake their heads and always — without exception — express how proud they are of the institution and what we have been able to do for the community through the years.”

That success didn’t just happen, it took a lot of planning and a lot of work on the part of many selfl ess and hard-working individuals.

“It really is pleasing to know that the visionaries who saw the opportunity back in the 50s and 60s, and that the ones who were brave enough to move forward with the concept, each successive generation has built on the success of the previous generations,” said Keene. “We celebrate our 50th knowing that we are literally standing on the foundation built by the people who preceded us. We are grateful to them for their leadership and the courage that they provided for the community.”

Look for more information about where FTCC is headed in the next 50 years in our Oct. 5 edition.

Once upon a time I foolishly believed that I was smarter than Gayle, my GPS. I am not. Never, ever turn off your GPS when in Utah. Not only will you get lost, but you will make your GPS mad. She Who Must be Obeyed will then send you to the land of cannibals. It was early August, our biennial collection of cousins had broken camp in Yellowstone and scattered like dust in the wind to go back to what passes for reality. My wife and I headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for an evening of western culture. The town square of Jackson features four arches consisting solely of interwoven elk antlers that tower about thirty feet in the air. It gives the town a certain boney feel with a touch of weirdness that leads you to believe that the movie Cowboys and Aliens was based on actual events.

Jackson is full of art galleries, tee shirt emporiums and French tourists. We had supper at the Cadillac Grill which introduced me to elk meat loaf. Elk meat loaf sounds better than it tastes. On our way back to the Grand Teton Lodge after dinner I almost ran into a herd of elk standing in the middle of the road doing elkish things. Elk are large robust critters. They would spoil your day if they entered your car through its windshield. I was happy that they didn’t know that I had eaten their cousin Earl for supper. It could have made them cranky. I am not sure how elk feel about being eaten, but it is probably not on the top of their list of priorities.

The next day we set out for the beautiful town of Vernal, Utah which is famous for its life size statue of a Tyrannosaurus Rex wearing a cowboy hat and carrying a lasso. It’s a long way from the Grand Tetons to Vernal. It’s even longer if you miss a turn and drive 50 miles in the wrong direction. For reasons known only to the Gods of Stupidity I had turned off Gayle the GPS, mistakenly believing I could follow a highway. When I fi nally concluded I was making really good time in the wrong direction, I turned Gayle back on. She was bitter and decided to punish me for forsaking her. She admonished me to “turn around as soon as possible.” Chastened, I did so and vowed to follow her every whim and instruction.

At this point Gayle decided to display her cruel side. She directed us to turn onto a small paved road that led off the main road. She knew the name of the road so, like Flounder in Animal House, I screwed up. I trusted her. The farther we drove, the narrower the road became. The canyon walls crowded closer to the road. Piles of antlers danced in my head. When the going gets weird, the weird go to Utah. After about five miles, the pavement turned to dirt. Oh, great, thought I. The walls of the canyon became steeper still and shadows darkened the road. The Utah sky shrank to a rock bound narrow slit high above us. My level of unease grew like the national debt, but I had to trust Gayle. She was a GPS and must know some back road across the mountains that would save us many miles. I had not considered the possibility that Hell hath no fury like a GPS scorned.

After about two miles of increasingly diffi cult dirt road I felt like we were in the semi-classic horror movie, The Hills Have Eyes, which features a bunch of cannibal mutants hanging out in the desert chowing down on hapless strangers. There was not enough room to turn around so I kept going. Rounding a curve, I saw a sign pointing to the Bates Resort across a rickety bridge. The dirt road opened up in a beautiful box canyon with a large green lawn with ten little tourist cabins scattered around the perimeter. It was unrelenting peaceful perfection. It was totally out of place. The cliff walls went straight up all around it. We were a pastoral verdant island in a wilderness of stone. What was this place?

I asked the nice grandmotherly lady swinging a child if there were a way back to the road other than how we came in. She sweetly said she didn’t know but I could inquire at the main house. I knocked on the door and was invited in by two children and Frankie the dog. Frankie was torn between loving me or having me for lunch. The owner lady kindly advised that the only way out was the way we came. I thanked her and headed back to the car.

The place was beautiful. The isolation was complete. I noticed on their bulletin board that the croquet match was that afternoon and the human sacrifi ce would be Thursday night before supper. I shivered and headed back to civilization.

Moral: Don’t irritate your GPS or you could be lunch.

Looking for something fun to do with the family? Well, don’t worry about gassing up the car or packing your bags; you can enjoy a ‘stay-cation’ right here in Fayetteville.

If you haven’t heard of 4th Friday, an event held on the fourth Friday of each month in downtown Fayetteville, it’s not too late to see what all the excitement is about and get in on the action.

Did someone say Dogwood Festival? No, no, it’s not the Dogwood Festival — but it is something like a miniature version, with a dose of the arts and some creativity thrown in for good measure. 4th Friday brings a sense of fun and community to the city, filling up the streets of downtown Fayetteville, month after month.

Art, entertainment, shopping, wine tasting, delectable dishes and desserts? Several businesses and vendors, along with the Art Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County pull out all the stops every month to make each 4th Friday more memorable than the last.

Calling all artists! If you paint, bead, write, dance or have any other creative talent that you want to display, this is defi nitely your time to shine. Cindy Whitehead, one of the many artists who frequent the downtown event month after month, has been coming to 4th Friday for four years.

“4th Friday is a true celebration of the arts and downtown Fayetteville. People of all ages can come out and enjoy art, entertainment, bistros and shops to find unique items.” Whitehead said.

This celebration of the arts is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in downtown Fayetteville. From Hay Street to Gillespie Street and all the points in between, door prizes and colorful exhibits are likely to steal the show, that is, if the miniature train ride around downtown Fayetteville doesn’t.

Choo-Choo... The Cotton Exchange Express seats four to six people and takes off from The Cotton Exchange at 226 Donaldson St. in downtown Fayetteville.

Sheri Collins, 4th Friday coordinator with the Fayetteville Downtown Alliance, feels 4th Fridays are a great idea that get residents to come out, walk around, and get an idea of what Fayetteville has to offer.

“Many people are new to our community, brought here by Ft. Bragg, and are not familiar with the heart of our city. 4th Friday gives them a reason to come downtown,” says Collins. “Among the favorites are the belly dancers and the drum circle, which invites everyone to participate. This year the Downtown Alliance has a different theme and activities for 4th Friday each month. That will continue in 2012 and the events are expected to grow and become even better.”

Mary Kinney, of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, says the city is gearing up for a special twist to 4th Friday for the month of September.

“This September, 4th Friday is going to be different from any other Friday. It will kick off the Art Council’s 33rd International Folks Festival, a three day event that includes the Parade of Nations. This parade represents different cultures and will begin at 7 p.m.” said Kinney.

Whitehead, an avid lover of all things art and the opportunities available with the Arts Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County, sums it up best when she says “4th Friday brings an evening of fun and camaraderie for everyone. Seeing all kinds of folks get together for a fun filled evening is what I like the most.”

Find out more about 4th Fridays at http://www.theartscouncil.com/fourthmain.php or http://www.fayettevillealliance.com/4th_friday.aspx.

Photo: Cindy Whitehead is one of the many artists who frequent the downtown 4th Friday event. Photo by Yuliya Atabay.

Travel back to the medieval times with Fort Bragg’s first Renaissance Fair on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Smith Lake Recreation Area. “This is our first year, but we are hoping it will be an annual event,” says Pearlita Price, Fort Bragg’s Special Event Coordinator. “We were just trying to brainstorm new event ideas and one of our colleagues suggested a Renaissance Fair, so we surveyed some other customers at events that we were doing it and we had a very positive response that customers did want to see a Renaissance Fair.” The gates will open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and will close at 6 p.m. on Saturday and the fair finale will take place at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

“There will be a lot of different things that are all Renaissance and Elizabethan era themed,” says Price. Watch live Paragon jousting tournaments, go on a Unicorn or Warhorse ride, and get educated with the living history exhibits and role players. There will also be armor and combat demonstrations by knights, belly dancing shows, live musicians and games such as axe throwing and archery. Some of the child-friendly events will include knighting ceremonies, and some arts and crafts where they can make their own shields and head pieces.

Aside from the medieval games and performances that will take place, there will also be a Masquerade Ball on Saturday from 5-6 p.m. where participants will be teaching customers how to do authentic dances from this time period.

The Renaissance Fair is free of cost and open to the general public. “Everybody and anybody is welcome,” says Price, “You’ve got the hardcore people that really live for the Renaissance Fairs, subscribe to the magazines and travel around to the different Fairs, you have the families with the younger kids that would think it’d be cool to get knighted or little girls that want to be a princess and ride on the unicorn and you have the people that maybe don’t think they’ll enjoy it, but they don’t have anything else to do that weekend and we can just get them out and show them a different side of Fort Bragg and the Army.”

While the admission, the performances, and the exhibits are all free of charge, there will be food and beverages on site for purchase and some of the games are going to have a minimal cost of a dollar for three tries at the archery or three axe throws. So come out to the Smith Lake Recreation Area, chow down on a roasted turkey leg, watch some live middle-age entertainment and help Fort Bragg welcome their first Renaissance Fair to Fayetteville.

Photo: Come out to the Smith Lake Recreation Area, chow down on a roasted turkey leg, watch some live entertainment and help Fort Bragg welcome their first Renaissance Fair too Fayetteville.

Chances are you know of someone that has Lupus or has been affected in some way. Or perhaps you have only heard of the disease in passing and feel that the subject in general has nothing to do with you personally.

But consider this, there are at least 4,000 people in Cumberland County alone who have been diagnosed with lupus. They are your neighbors, your co-workers, the cashier at the gas station or even one of your classmates at school. They are an integral segment of the 45,000 people in the state of North Carolina living with lupus today.

That’s an awful lot of people.

Lupus is a disease of which there is no known cure and no known cause; a chronic disease that can literally destroy the skin, tissues and organs within the body. With lupus, the immune system confuses germs and bacteria with healthy tissues and organs. In response, the body creates auto antibodies that attack normal and healthy tissues; this can cause pain and harm to essential parts of the body like the kidneys, joints and even the blood.

Unbelievably, there has not been an approved FDA drug to come on the market in more than 50 years, that is, until now. In March of this year, the FDA approved Benlysta, an injectable drug designed to relieve symptoms like flare-ups and pain that are associated with lupus.

On Sept. 17, at Festival Park in Fayetteville, at least 700 walkers are going to attend the Third Annual Walk for Lupus Now: Fayetteville, in order to celebrate the latest development in treatment for lupus and bring about awareness of the disease. A one to three mile walk around downtown Fayetteville and Festival Park, family fun, food and activities are just a few of the things that will be on the agenda.

Karen McLeod is one of the many faces that will be in attendance, and one of the many faces of those whose lives have been affected by lupus. Mcleod was diagnosed with lupus six years ago, when she was only 20-years-old and in her sophomore year in college. Her participation and support for the event stems from her desire to increase awareness about lupus and other chronic diseases.

“I support Walk for Lupus because it gives me a chance to encourage, inspire and educate friends, coworkers, family and others within my community about lupus. Supporting the walk also allows me to become a face to others that have recently been diagnosed.” McLeod said.

The latest breakthrough in medical treatment is just cause for celebration for those who have been diagnosed with lupus in the past, present, and even in the future. Benlysta gives hope that more research will be made to eventually produce a cure for lupus.

But until then, Christine John-Fuller, president and CEO of The Lupus Foundation of America, Piedmont Chapter, wants to make sure that this year’s walk proceeds top last year’s goal of $32,000. All monies raised during the Walk for Lupus Now: Fayettevillewill go to benefit the Lupus Foundation of America.

“Every year our walk sees incredible growth as public awareness about lupus increases. The result are proceeds that are critical to fund our national research initiatives, free patient services, including workshops, support groups, teleconferences, financial assistance, phone support and our patient-navigation program,” said John-Fuller.

Lupus is a complicated disease that is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed within the medical field. It affects women more often than men, and women of color are more likely to be struck with lupus than any other.

“I think it’s important to remember that when it comes to lupus there is a misconception that no one that we know has it. With 1.5 million Americans currently living with lupus, it’s a lot more common than people think,”she continued.

Living with lupus doesn’t mean that life is over. Keeping a positive attitude and having a good support system goes a long way when it comes to managing a disease that remains to be one of the least researched, least acknowledged and least funded conditions to date.

McLeod sums it up best when she comments on how she has overcome many of the challenges that come with a diagnosis of lupus.

“As a 26-year-old woman, I don’t look at having lupus as a handicap, but as a stepping stone that has allowed me to accomplish incredible things.”

To find out more information about lupus and how you can register and participate in the Walk for Lupus Now: Fayetteville, call 1-877-849-82

In 1962, a group of Fayetteville actors got together to put on a show. Much like the movies of old, the whole gang got together and staged the courtroom drama The Night of January 16th. They performed the play at the old Fayetteville Courthouse. Everything from props to lights was borrowed. And from that humble beginning, the Cape Fear Regional Theatre was born.

It seems fitting that the theatre kicks-off its Golden Anniversary 50th Season by restaging that first show. For one weekend only, The Night of January 16th will be on stage at the historic Cumberland County Courthouse, under the direction of Mayon Weeks, who directed the first show.

The play, written by Ayn Rand, was inspired by the death of the “Match King,” Ivar Kreuger. First produced in 1934, it takes place entirely in a court room and is centered on a murder trial. It was a hit of the 1935-36 Broadway season. The play deals with issues of a man’s ability to regard oneself as important and exist in a society where moral decay is ever prevalent. It also deals with issues of love, loyalty and betrayal.

One particularly interesting feature of the play is that members of the audience are picked to take on the role of jury members each night. Depending on whether the “jury” finds the defendant in the play, guilty or not guilty, the play has a different ending. Another unique feature of the play is that it does not state what the true events were on the night of January 16, forcing the actors performing the show to decide how much of their character’s testimony is actually true. Since several witnesses contradict each other, it is almost certain that some of them are lying.

The play features many well known Fayetteville actors, including attorney Coy Brewer and Judge Robert Stiehl, who will bring some reality to the drama.

The show runs from Thursday, Sept. 8 to Sunday, Sept. 10. Thursday through Saturday, shows are at 8 p.m. Sunday’s show is at 2 p.m. Tickets range in price from $12 to $40.For more information, visit the CFRT website at www.cfrt.org.