Breath our scents, walk our landscape, hear our melodic dialects, delight in our savory morsels, touch each rich texture, and the southern essence remains a mystery. The ethereal south, unfathomable to the five senses, lives in the heart. If you believe in magic, and can survive the devastating passions of an open heart, just possibly, you stand a chance of living a moment as a southerner. Most people aren't brave enough to be southerners, even the ones that are.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Ad is an "A" Word as in Personal Ad

Albino HMS Monkey looking for companionship, romance and more. "If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain. If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. You're the love that I've looked for. Come with me, and escape."

With credit to Rupert Holmes; posted by AHM Sock Monkey, who's getting pretty lonely.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Alphabetical Justice


I’ve become consciously aware of my enjoyment of writing about a single word, single phrase or singe thought. I suppose I just can’t leave well enough alone. The alphabet thing I had going here (twice) seemed to work somewhat. The problem is I also have a disdainful, arrogant, aloof disregard to rules. If I do the alphabet, then I have to go by the rules, and follow the alphabet in alphabetical order or maybe backwards. (Yeah… me follow rules very long? Right!) Either way, there are rules of order, and that’s where my personality clashes with the concept.

You will remember sometimes it was quiet some time between posts, not just because life took precedent, but also because my mind was on something else besides a subject that started with the next letter of the alphabet. Tahdah! I have a new work-around idea.

I will do the alphabet thing, as it pops up, that is when I feel like it, but not in the order of the alphabet. I’ll just check off a letter as I go and randomly pick off the alphabet as subjects, words, etc. pop into my head to post about. It’ll be the pop, post, pick method. The idea pops, it gets posted, that picks off a letter. Next time around I pick off another letter. I’ll be happy as I get to break the alphabetical order rule. You the reader will get more frequent posts of things that hopefully will be a bit more meaningful. And all God’s chillin’ gets shoes. That’s what I call win-win-win.

Now if I could just figure out how to color those pesky corner curve thingys in the blogger codes… or if someone had a helpful suggestion. Erh?

Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes.
All God’s chillin’ got shoes.

And that’s the way it is today, here, beneath the ninety percent full Carolina moon. What was it I said yesterday about going through Chaos to get to Order? Nevermind. If you've forgotten just read it again.

Posted by Dread who hopes you have a great weekender, because he has other plans.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Another Nice Mess

Here's another nice mess I've gotten myself into! A three minute tour into Blogger's new features and three days later here I am. The new "stuff" is beginning to come together... sorta. It may work out yet. Successfully rolling with the punches was always one of my positive attributes, talents, blessings, gifts, whathaveyous. It seems the older I get the less resilient I am. Thank goodness I was always of an extraordinarily high resilience.

Sometimes, things get worse before they get better. In fact, around here they frequently do just that. Sometimes the road to order goes through chaos. Hey! I like that saying! I just coined it! Or maybe I didn't. Maybe it was gift presented through me. You may never know, but I already do. Because, that's the way it is here beneath the Carolina moon. Sometimes the road to Order goes through Chaos.


Posted by Dread who knows that Ollie and Stanley never said "another fine mess", but did frequently use "another nice mess".

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Ow! That'll Leave a Mark!


I've managed to royally half mess up the blog page. I'm going to stop for today. This is one job better left half done, rather than completely messing it up. No, this pic isn't me either, but I have frequently walked into glass doors.

Posted by Dread who thought "mess" was a much more polite word than the other two choices.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Changing/Fixing Things


No, that is not me. That is a picture of Juan Phartez famous Columbian gormet pinto bean farmer and formula one mechanic. This picture is to illustrate this post; poorly. Yes, very poorly. And, I'll probably get hate mail for the Columbian pinto bean farmer, politically incorrect comment. So be it.

I'm experimenting with a new header/logo. Okay, not new to Beneath the Carolina Moon, but new to this location with Blogger. Making all this work out is challenging, and I really don't have tons of time to tinker around and figure it all out. If anyone has a quick tip, I'll take it.

The quicker I can get this all figured out, the quicker I can get to the next post which is, I assure you, very southern, very gossipy without the gossip, and has to do with... wait! Someone just tell me how to change/fix the header/logo!

Dread (who defines himself as an ethnically uncleansed human being)

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Time Out

While we are taking a little time out from the more serious blogging, I thought it a good time to remember how pictures enhance and illustrate the words we pull together to convey what we want to express. I also though how well sometimes words give meaning and fun to a picture or create the drama or explanation for the scene depicted. Sometimes words alone are enough and sometimes a picture alone is enough. Sometimes neither is enough, and while the picture leaves you intrigued, words of explanation, or even a title, would just detract. This is one of those pictures. It's just neat all by itself.


Remember this guy? Some of you may even remember his friend. Neither has anything to do with anything beneath the Carolina Moon. However, you might just find that some of the characteristics of each aren't that uncommon here. So now, just maybe you know a smidgen little more of what its like to live beneath the Carolina moon.

Dread

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

A Legend Moves On


Bill Pinkney of the Original Drifters has passed. Shown here at his 80th birthday, Bill was 81 at his passing. Beach Music... Sand In My Shoes, Up on the Roof, Save the Last Dance for Me, Under the Boardwalk, Saturday Night at the Movies...the list goes on. The Drifters even had a version of White Christmas which featured Bill's mellow basso voice, which is still played today. Beach Music, Bill Pinkney and the Drifters, all started at Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Coastal Carolina University near Myrtle Beach bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree upon Bill Pinkney citing his decorations from World War II, his close association with classic rhythm and blues recordings, and his involvement with Beach Music and South Carolina's state dance, the Shag.

Bill was was the last of the originals. He will be buried here beneath the Carolina Moon, but missed everywhere.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

While I was mulling over the future path of the Beneath the Carolina Moon blog, the Albino Home Made Sock Monkey (AHMS Monkey) went a little ballistic over parking, and well, you can see the results. Fortunately it stopped here and the parking problems we were experiencing all ceased. I'm thinking of using her as a trouble shooter to help with other business and personal related problems.

Just for information; I did google the sock monkey convention, gathering, thingy, event. Then I emailed the young lady designated as the contact. It seems, there is an annual event called the Sock Monkey Festival held at Midway Village and Museum Center in Rockford Illinois, official home of the Sock Monkey. There's a whole history of those red heeled socks that were made in Rockford, and actually people who collect sock monkeys, and even giant statues of sock monkeys there. As quaint as the whole bugaboo is, for now, I am quite satisfied with only having the aquaintence of the Albino HMS Monkey. I'm pretty busy with people and pets and things that go bump in the night, like my toe against the dresser last week. I'm still having to watch how I step up stairs.

At the end of the day, there's only so much space in my life and for now, one sock monkey is enough. I do appreciate Theresa Sellers responding to my email. If any of you wish to contact her for further sock monkey weirdo stuff and things, her contact info is:

Theresa Sellers
Customer Service Coordinator
Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
102 N. Main St., Rockford, IL 61101-1102 USA
Voice: 815.489.1672 / 800.521.0849
Fax: 815.963.4298 / 800.691.7035
E-Mail: tsellers@gorockford.com
Website: www.gorockford.com

Ms Sellers also felt the need to point out that her last name has recently changed to Sellers for future contact. I haven't a clue what it was prior. I'm wondering if it was a change for marriage, unmarriage, or maybe convenience, like she didn't like her last name because it was something like Deadrat. If my name was Theresa Deadrat I would change it to something else too. But, I wouldn't pick Sellers, would you?

So I wonder what precipitated the name change. Am I going to write her and ask? Life should keep some mysteries to stay interesting. I'll just let this be one of those. Life always has mysteries for me, at least it does here, beneath the Carolina moon, like why won't Blogger let me insert a title to this post? What gives with that? Hey! Maybe another assignment for the Albino HMS Monkey? You think? Oh by the way, the next Sock Monkey Festival will be held
March 8th & 9th, 2008.

Dread

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy 4th from the Albino HMS Monkey!

From the seaside, beneath the Carolina moon, the Albino Home Made Sock Monkey makes her debut, wishing America a HAPPY 231st BIRTHDAY!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Replacement Monkey


I was going to go ahead and run a pic of the albino HMS monkey today, but I evidently left the pix on the camera and forgot to (a) off-load them to my memory stick, and or (b) left the transfer cable for the camera at the office. So, today I will (c) run something else.

A friend sent me the following and I thought it worth sharing. The story below will better explain the pic above.

It seems my friend Ed is in deep trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife, Helen, was really angry. She launched into a tirade. In the end, Helen told Ed that the next morning she expected to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in under six seconds. She screamed at him, "It better be there or else!"

The next morning, Ed got up early and left for work before Helen awoke. When Helen woke up though, she got up and looked out the window, and sure enough there was a giftwrapped box in the driveway. Helen grabbed her robe and excitedly ran out to the driveway to get the box. She brought it back into the house where she opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

Ed has been missing since last Friday. I'm only assuming that he's lost, somewhere beneath the Carolina moon.


Dread