A Cyclist Loses His Life on S. Salem Street

A very sad report about a cyclist losing his life in a car accident yesterday, Saturday July 11th on South Salem Street at the intersection with Apex Peakway. I was in the car heading towards S. Salem Street right around noon when we saw there had been an accident. Cyclists, an ambulance and police. We had to turn around and travel back to Olive Chapel to get to 55 again. We didn't know what had happened until later, when reading the WRAL account.

How strange it is that we happened upon the scene from afar, not know what happened exactly until later, went about our day. But just beyond our not knowing was a well of grief and suffering. Life is just that mysterious, just that unpredictable, just that dangerous. One minute we're alive and breathing and then suddenly, we're not. Very sad.

WRAL has the report.

Blog Anniversary: April 30, 2009 - 1 Year

On April 30th, 2009, this little blog that could, reached a full year's worth:

177 posts
4,000 visitors

Friends of Nancy Cooper Started Nancy's Butterfly Fund

Nancy's Butterfly Fund was announced in an April 20, 2009 press release published on a blog for Nancy Cooper. The fund will be administered by Interact, the Wake County agency for safety, support and awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Nancy's friends got together and created this fund to help other women and children leave their abusive relationships.

The press release includes information about how to contribute to the fund, including an upcoming event in Cary

"The inaugural event to raise money for Nancy’s Butterfly Fund will be held on June 13, 2009 at Life Time Fitness in Cary, North Carolina. Cooper, an avid runner, was a member of the club. [...]

Information will be released soon about how to get tickets to the upcoming fundraiser. To donate, visit Interact and select "Nancy's Butterfly Fund" from the drop-down list."

[The down down list is not yet available on the site.]

Per the release, the Fund's advisory board members are:

Hannah Prichard
Susan Crook
Jessica Adam
Diana Duncan

They can be reached through butterflyfund@gmail.com.

They requested that all media inquiries be directed to 919-760-9321.

Domestic violence is in the news almost every day in North Carolina, whether it is that a couple fought and hurt each other, or that a woman has died at the hands of her current or former partner. Very prominent cases have made national news all too many times in recent years.

There are domestic violence shelters and/or organizations in many of North Carolina's 100 counties. They are frequently full, though many of them try to help displaced women move on with their lives, and thus make room for others.

Your generosity is encouraged.

If you know of someone who is an abusive relationship, invite them to call one of Interact's 24 hour hotlines. Victims and survivors of domestic abuse are welcome to come to Interact between 9am and 5pm for free counseling Monday through Friday.

InteractofWake.org

Crisis Line for Domestic Violence

919-828-7740 | 866-291-0855 toll-free

Crisis Line for Sexual Assault

919-828-3005 | 866-291-0853 toll-free

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is:

1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.

For Spanish speaking:

Ayuda por la violencia domestica en Espanol

Si usted habla espanol, puede llamar a la Línea Nacional Sobre la Violencia Doméstica al 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) o al 1-800-787-3224 para sordos.

Interact Family Empowerment Center's Grand Opening

At Town Hall in Apex

In an ordinary town hall meeting in Apex, with Mayor and Councilmen presiding, about fifty people attended in various roles, some from the town's planning office, some from developers, a bunch from two local residential areas affected by a development plan, and a few others unidentied.

A beautiful hill top home and horse stable at the corner of the rural Olive Chapel Road and the new stretch of Apex Peakway is zoned office and industrial, and a developer has plans to significantly level the hill and replace the home with a high end office park. It has left residents behind the property and directly across the street from the property feeling betrayed that the residential feel of the neighborhood is being neglected for business interests. When there are so many empty business spaces around and the economy is seriously impaired, why anyone would propose to build another office building is beyond common sense. Not even two blocks a way a high end home and condo development lays in disrepair, 3/4 never built, half a dozen homes unfinished and a few with rotting wood and mold growing.

The concern of the neighbors was in part because the developer was requesting opening up the restrictiveness of the zoning to allow small commercial retail stores on the Olive Chapel side. While there is a shopping center across the street, it is so nicely landscaped that it doesn't deter from the non-commercial feel of Olive Chapel. Further, no retail opens directly onto Olive Chapel.

Reassuringly, several of the councilmen expressed concern about the requested zone change, the need for it, and the reduction in buffering that was being requested for the Apex Peakway corner of the property. It was acknowledged by residents as well as councilmen, that in these times, there is no guarantee that a medical building will be built, and any flipping of the property with relaxed zoning could result in a completely different land use.

The council offered the developer two weeks to reconsider his request, yet allowed residents to speak their minds in concern about this project. Water management was a concern, as was traffic cutting through the ever so small one block wide and deep neighborhood. The planned exit and entry for the Medical plaza would be in two roads that line up exactly with the two roads in the Peakway Village center.

With such a succesful and vast stretch of commerce along highway 55, why the town would want to extend commercial zoning into the very rural and neighborhood quality of Olive Chapel Road is a mystery.

More to come in two weeks.

Downtown Carrboro

Downtown Carrboro in the Spring. Tulips in a brick sidewalk bed. A wild metal horse sculpture. Reflections in and out of a restaurant window. The wall of round lights at Carr Mill.

Ishmael, the Eleven Year Old Drummer at the NC Fairgrounds

Dandelions at the Dump

Recycling was the first post I wrote when I started this blog a year ago, so it is fitting to come back again to this topic. Because it is easier to take cardboard and chipboard and white paper to the dump than prepare it for the door to door recycling, I took a trip to the Cary dump next to the railroad tracks. The first brown container takes the cardboard and chipboard. You don't have to cut the carboard down to size, and you can just fold the chipboard in. The last brown container on the left takes the newspaper, white paper and magazines.

Just after I cleared all my bags or recycling I noticed a little slope covered with dandelions overlooking the part of the dump where organic matter is collected - plant clippings etc.
It's the little beautiful moments that make a day feel special.

Cary Crime Alert: Report Any Suspicious Activity to your Police Station

– CRIME ALERT – From an email from the Cary Police Department on 3/20/09

Since the end of February 2009, the Town of Cary has received five reports of home burglaries in northern Cary near Dynasty Drive and North Harrison Avenue. Most of the crimes occurred while residents were away from home between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Targeted items included: televisions, musical instruments, computers, video game players and games, and currency.

The suspects in the burglaries are described as three black males or two black males and a white male. Witnesses report that the suspects were driving a white mini-van, similar to a Chrysler Town and Country or a Dodge Caravan.

To help prevent these types of crimes, the Town of Cary Police Department reminds citizens to contact police to report any suspicious persons or activity near their homes.

For more crime prevention tips, see the Police Department section of www.townofcary. org or call (919) 469-4324.

Town of Cary Crime Alerts are intended to quickly raise public awareness of a potential or emerging crime issue so that citizens can take preventative action. Crime Alerts are typically issued before substantial information or evidence exists to point to a particular suspect or warrant a full news release.

###

PRIMARY CONTACTS: Randy Byrd, Police Sergeant - General Investigations, (919) 380-2133
April Raphiou, Deputy Public Information Officer, (919) 481-5091
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951

The North Carolina Blogger's Camera is Broken

My camera slipped out of my hands the other day, bounced onto the landing of the second floor, then bounced cheerily down the carpeted stairs to the bottom, where it landed upside down on the wood floor.

I didn't do it intentionally.

It still took pictures, but the latch to the battery area won't close, so it's very hard to clamp it shut and still take a photo.

So all these beautiful pictures I'm seeing this early spring and slipping by.

The swan in flight over Lake Pine, beautiful wide stretched white wings, awesome.
The little bursts of green on brown branches and through brown leaves.
The tiny little purple flowers, wild flowers, that carpet random areas along roadsides.
The beautiful burst of white covering whole trees.
The rasberry colored blossoms on a tree without a name.
The fresh yellow of forsythia, like the Florida sun.
Pansies in front of stores for sale. Oh the adorable velvety faces of pansies.

The new birds I see at the bird feeder. The bluebird that was closer than any I'd seen before.

So it is I have to be at peace without being able to capture for the googlers of the world, the photos of places round about apex, north carolina.

Apex Massage for Women is Open for Business

A new massage studio for women has opened up in Apex, by appointment. Offering an oasis from the hustle and hassles of life, Apex Massage for Women specializes in the 90 minute retreat session, where you will get 90 minutes to focus on nothing but your breath, your well-being, your chance to let all your cares drift off and any discomfort in your body dissolves.

North Carolina trained and licensed massage therapist, Anora McGaha, LMBT NC 5886, is a graduate of The Body Therapy Institute in Siler City, one of the excellent schools for massage therapy in this state. Anora's training was supplemented with structural bodywork in the Kinesis Myofascial Integration tradition founded by Tom Myers of Maine; classes in trauma release by Michael Shea of Florida; and Somatic Meditative Inquiry (SMI) founded by Cynthia and Mike Flowers of Chapel Hill, NC.

This era is not only the era of the internet, a time of renaissance and such creative endeavors, it is also the era of bodywork, when there are literally hundreds of fine traditions in practice and more in development, each adding a dimension ignored or unemphasized in another tradition.

Apex Massage for Women is dedicated to helping women focus on their own well-being, since we tend to be the ones supporting others. Tending to our own relaxation, the re-establishment of our deep comfortable breath, the releasing of tension and discomfort is essential to staying well.

Visit the Apex Massage for Women Website for more information and call to make your appointment today.

Anora McGaha has worked with clients from Chapel Hill, Durham, Pittsboro, North Raleigh, Raleigh, Garner and Cary, and is in reasonable driving distance from Holly Springs and Fuquay Varina.

The Business Networking Center in Cary, NC

The Business Networking Center in Cary, also known as the BNC, is a lively center for all kinds of activities for business owners.

Business Networking International Meetings are held there. The Dancing Elephants Achievement Group has classes there. Martin Brossman often leads classes with local experts in social media and business in what could be called a "Learn with the Experts" series.

You can also get your business printing, designing and custom business gifts at the Marketing Depot USA which is also housed there.

If you're familiar with this great venue, visit the Zvents site link below and leave a recommendation!

http://www.zvents.com/cary-nc/venues/show/1071906-the-business-networking-center-bnc

The Fragrance of Spring Beginning

Propeller Plane in the Air, Deer on the Ground in Chapel Hill

The Fountain at 751 and the Road to SouthPoint, Durham

The First Daffodils of Spring, Chapel Hill

Stacey Cochran Hosts Authors at Quail Ridge Books

Stacey Cochran's a gracious, intelligent and prolific host to author and publisher events in the Triangle. The driver behind Raleigh's RaleighWrite2Publish meetup group, Stacey is fostering a vibrant and growing writing community.


Last night, February 21st, at 6:30PM, Quail Ridge Books again made room and welcome for a RaleighWrite2Publish event. Stacey hosted a panel discussion: To Self Publish or Not to Self Publish with authors Adam Shepard of Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream; and Elisa Lorello, author of Faking It.


The room was filled to capacity and then some. Stacey had excellent in-depth questions.

Adam had experience starting with self-publishing, then getting an agent, after 70 rejections, from a friend of a friend of a friend who knew an agenty, and then getting published with Haper Collins.

Adam had pursued publicity with the rags to riches kind of pounding the pavement worthy of a young man. Still it was seemingly luck that got him an article in the NY Post, then interviews on the Today Show, CNN, Fox News and more. Adam spoke passionately about his experience, learning as he went, a compelling story in and of itself.


Elisa had published through Lulu, was as passionate about her story, and was confirming the devotion needed to one's book(s) to get the word out. Elisa was getting some traction on Facebook and with her blog. Adam didn't have a blog, but he was getting traction on book review and other people's blogs. Lulu didn't cost anything up front, but it was more expensive than some other print on demand (pod) publishers, so it makes it hard for the writer to make much if they sell it through a book store - if they even get it into a book store. But free up front is hard to pass by, especially on a writing teachers' salary.

Elisa read engagingly from her book about...An escort service. A special arrangement. Exchange of services. No crossing boundaries into socializing. But of course, if it was that simple, the story would be short...she told us with a smile.

Adam said that next time he is going to self-publish, and in fact, he is working on another book, for college students, on making the most of their time in college. He found a company in New England that helps get self-published books into book stores, and he'll go with them for distribution.

What did I learn? That the hardest and easiest way to publish a book is to get an agent and sell to a traditional publisher. Hardest because - it's so hard getting into the door. Easiest, because they have the whole network to distribute your book.

The easiest and hardest way to publish a book is to do it yourself, through Lulu, selfpublishing.com and others. Easy because you can just do it! Some for free up front, others for as little as $300 some dollars. Hard though, because the distribution isn't there.

Still Adam put it into perspective, even if your agent sells your book to a publisher, you're only hot news for a month or so, and then if you still want to distribute your book, it's back to your own resources!

Especially valuable was Stacey's bigger picture perspective on the 'proletarian revolution' that is now in play, and acknowledged by major media sources like the New York Times and Times magazine. We the people are now choosing what we want to publish and when and how. We are choosing which books we want to read, and we're finding them. One major publisher, Simon & Schuster, Stacey told us, had written that they are looking for the next big best sellers in readers comments on blogs! We the people are speaking!

Great talk. Great details. Lots of questions sent up to the panel via little question cards. A very valuable time. Must say, I have yet to have a disappointing time with RaleighWrite2Publish gatherings!

Today Anora McGaha Met JC Knowles

JC Knowles came to the opening of SoCo, the co-working space in downtown Apex on Salem Street, right in the middle of the historic district. I'd seen his 160 some posts on MYNC.com! and his photos. His name's all around town. He's an Ambassador for the town of Apex.

Much to my delight, JC shared with me about his life, his years as an auctioneer, his marriage on national television right after television began in the early fifties.

Passionate as I am about capturing the stories of those who can tell stories, and who have stories to tell, I urged him to write his memoirs, and to get video taped telling his stories.

JC entertained me, as he does so many people, with his bus story. He is able to narrate the cities and towns that the busses pass through at a speed that will dazzle. He also has the auctioneer's chant down - what a rhythm.

So who's going to join me to do a series of videos of JC's stories!? Time's right. He's a story teller!

Anna's the Pizzeria in Apex on Salem Street

At 5:30 in Apex on a Friday night, Anna's tables were full and people were standing! Apex's cooking!

Salem Street, Apex, Christmas on the Street

Christmas morning there were hardly any cars on Salem Street, so it was a good time to take pictures. 

Here are some of the wreaths and holiday window decorations. 

More photos were posted on MYNC.com.

The wreath with the red bow in front of the reflection of the striped awning from across the street showing on the glass store front.

Below Christmas balls dangle from inside the store window with a sparkling little tree with dozens of small glass balls on it in the display.

















There's something festive and elegant about a nice wreath, and Salem Street had many different kinds, from ones made of Christmas balls, and many that looked like they were made of reeds and various plants like the one below.

Holiday Lights in Apex

For Quality Children's Clothes and Gifts: It's Little Tomo in Apex, NC

Little Tomo is in Historic Downtown Apex, in the Tobacco & Mule Exchange building, is a darling store with the best quality in children's clothing and toys, from babies to 8 year olds, boys and girls, socks and shirts, dresses and skirts, tops and bags. The address is 225 North Salem Street.

For the holidays they have a Winter sale that offers between 10 - 30% off on everything in the store, helping you save while still getting the best for your special little ones.

The building pictured above is the Tobacco & Mule Exchange with a couple of graphics added to it for this blog post.

Here you'll see the building as it looks when you drive by, or look at it from the Chamber of Commerce parking lot across the street.
The entry is through the arched opening. Open the glass doors, and little tomo is the next door on your right. 

It's a beautiful, large and gracious space with a raised play space with only the finest of wood toys. A real treat. 

Almost like going to a museum where a lot of thought has gone into making it a pleasure for adults and children alike. But not like a museum, because just about everything is for sale, and on sale too!

Plaids and designs, stripes and floral prints, pinks and oranges, purple and blues, brown and greens. Little tomo has a rich array of clothes.

There are neat baby accessories and gifts.

Bags for Moms to carry baby and toddler supplies in easy to maintain yet stylish, shiny and washable material. Oils and creams.

A wide selection of fun and attractive boys tops and pants, in all kinds of patterns. Take a look at this orange hooded top with guitars on the front.

There's something very special about showing our love for the babies, little children, and young kids in our lives with the gift of quality clothes. I still remember my holiday dresses from childhood. As kids their senses are so alive, they see, taste, smell and feel things so keenly, that their world is very much in the material.

The Triangle area is rich with activities, museums, parks, art, and neat boutiques and stores. This is one you'll want to put on your map. 

Whether you're from Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina or New Hill, this store is worth the trip for that very special gift for the little ones you love.
Because little tomo is in the historic downtown Apex, while you're here, you'll find a dozen gift and art shops, boutiques and such to find holiday gifts for Christmas, Kwanza, Hannukah, Birthdays, New Years, or whatever holiday you might be celebrating.

When you're looking for the very best in children's clothing and gifts, think of little tomo, and plan your next trip to see what's new in downtown historic Apex.

Across the street from little tomo is the Apex Chamber of Commerce. To one side there is a train car which your children might like to see. And if they haven't taken them down for winter, you might see what you can see in the trees in front of the Chamber. Next to the Chamber is the Firehouse, with a bronze statue in front. Little boys especially like seeing trains and firestations.

The Old House is Gone, The Oak Still Stands

On the South side of Route 64, across from Castlewood subdivision, where the Orchard Villas of Cornerstone Homes are building a whole community of ranch homes, there used to be an old abandoned house, beautiful for its weather worn lines, rafters and glass free windows. Beside it a grand old oak, as Apex and Cary have so many. See the edge of the oak tree, reaching towards the house. See the criss cross lattice of the roof through the upstairs window. The brick chimney. The simple cement block construction. The plants growing over and around it, taking over the skeleton of this human habitat.

Today, for the first time I noticed it was finally gone. It was just a matter of time. I'd seen it for years, always wanting to stop and take pictures, and finally sometime in May 2008 I did stop and take pictures. It felt so amazing to take them from different angles. To finally capture this every so temporary of structures, a remnant of a life gone by.

The original post is here.

Motorcycle Convoy Around Noon 12/6 in Raleigh

Traffic was held up for close to ten minutes by this motorcycle with the driver in the yellow neon jacket, while a motorcycle convoy drove by in downtown Raleigh on Saturday December 6, around 12:30PM. Take a look at the jackets, the hats, the bikes, the pets, the motorcycles, the cars, and the Christmas gifts and regalia.

Was it this event?

12/6/2008 - Toys for Tots Cruise-in 2008
Raleigh, North Carolina
Location: RBC Center
Hours: 10;00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Admission Price: Just bring a new Toy
Contact Phone: 919-931-3901
Details: This year we welcome all Classic cars and Hot Rodders for this Annual event. Come join us along with friends and Ray Price Harley Davidson at the RBC Center on Edward Mills rd. and Trinity rd. All car clubs are welcome.

Extreme Networks in RTP Donates a Load of Food to Wake Crisis Ministry

A tall man from Extreme Networks, a company in RTP that makes computer switches, had parked his truck at the back entrance of Western Wake Crisis Ministry on Chatham Street in downtown Apex. In it was a load of food. Several large bags of rice. Dozens of cans of beans. Tunafish. Looks like Coca Cola. He had to take at least five trips to unload the back of the truck.

I was there paying it forward from a kindness that a stranger passed on to me at a gas station, paying for $10 of gas when I had forgotten my wallet at home. I was dropping off vegetables, crackers, cookies, spagetti, tomato sauce, soups and more and couldn't help but wonder who it was that was donating so much.

The man, (I didn't want to ask his name), said his company donates regularly to the Western Wake Crisis Ministry. This year people donated money more than actual food, but that's very helfpul too. Still there was a lot of food. He also mentioned that his Catholic church was involved in donating food also.

I had never known that food was collected at the Apex location.