The Bostonian Abroad

Loving It I love living in North Carolina for three main reasons. First, I love the people here. From the very first moment, I felt how friendly everyone was and how easy it was to talk with them. Another aspect of life in North Carolina that I love is the weather here. In the summer, it is a bit too hot and humid for me, but the rest of the year is quite nice, especially in the fall and spring. Perhaps the most important feature of life in this state for me is the scenery. I love riding my motorcycle along old country roads, looking at all the farms, trees, fields, and wildlife. The sunsets are also quite brilliant here all year long. All in all, I have really come to love life here for all its physical and social wamrth, as well as its great natural beauty.

Recently, we had a snowstorm here in North Carolina, and the schools (and just about everything else) closed down for about 4 days. Learning this, of course every person I know up North immediately scoffed long and loud about how ridiculous it was that we were so affected by a storm that only amounted to a maximum of six inches of snow. I used to be among these chortling hordes, but then I moved down South, and I understand now why everything closes. I don't fault it, I actually enjoy it. First, NC cannot handle snow or ice of any measure because we just don't have the equipment to handle it. We have loads of roads, and not nearly enough plows and salt trucks to clear everything. The best we can accomplish is to keep the major roads as clear as we can, but anyone living in a subdivision, which is most folks, doesn't really venture out since the streets remain unplowed and untreated. My Northern friends might feel tempted to look down their noses at the country-bumpkin h...

This being my fourth consecutive fall season since moving from Hawaii, I think I am fully in synchronization with the changes that come with this time of year. I feel the coming cold as a natural step, and I look forward to the changing of the leaves, the grey skies, and the early sunsets. I also find myself wanting to drink hot beverages and curl up with a good book. I've been very interested in stories of motorcycle riding these past few years, and my interest has progressed from the history of Harley Davidson to the stories of riders' adventures across the country and around the world. One good book I finished not long ago was written by Clement Salvadori. "One Hundred and One Road Tales" is good ol' Clem, native of Massachusetts, Harvard grad, and motorcycle freelance writer, yarning on about the places he's gone, the things he's done, and the vistas he'll always remember. Reading his stories made me feel like I was out there with him, an...

A real "Mike" video if ever there was one!