Every now and then, God presents you with a magical moment if you will. Yesterday morning, out an Olde Mill was one of those times for me.

Travis Osborne stopped ✋️ by our little village to check on a couple of things for me before I headed out of town. While Travis and I interact every day by way of Messenger, the number of times we are in the same place is still a small number.

During our 2-hour visit, Brad Todd stopped by to finish up on a project that he had started. Brad is a next level NC State fan and is as solid as they day is long ! Any day that our paths cross is a great day. Brad and Ted combine to help this tool challenge individuals to stay out of trouble.

It turns out that Travis is kin to Ted on his wife’s side, and Brad had spent a year working alongside Travis down in the Queen city of Charlotte. The stories began flowing immediately, and for a few minutes, we had turned back the clock ⏰️ to the start of the Millennium.

As soon as we all wnt our separate ways, I had to Google The Rib Cage. Quite a few of their stores had taken place at the restaurant mentioned above. It turns out that the place went out of business shortly after their stay down there.

The small world 🌎 moment became even smaller when I added that I had also spent a year in that same part of Charlotte, just a few years before them.

One of my outlets in life is to watch a movie 🎬, on average, four a week. All I look for in a film 🎥 is that during the two hours or so that I’m watching it, I drift away to a place where I  can forget the challenges of my day.

Yesterday, the conversation accomplished exactly that. Nobody was big footing anyone, and the visit was not an attempt to create world piece.

It turns out that another member of that work crew was Brad’s late brother Tom. Tom was lost to his family decades too soon, and while I never had the privilege of meeting him, if he was anything like Brad, I know that he is missed.

It was a great day in the neighborhood that I’m blessed 🙌 to call 🏡 and all it took was a top-notch conversation !

The calendar has flipped over to Saturday now, and I’m sitting at RDU Airport waiting for a 5:10  AM ✈️. It’s time to make up for some lost Family time as the spring season is pretty much non-stop.

In the next five weeks, I will connect with the following :

2 of 2 remaining siblings (100%)

2 of 4 remaining Children (50%)

4 of 9 Grandchildren (44%)

1 of 3  Sister-in-laws (33%)

If everything goes as planned, maybe even my wife ! Her treatment continues out in the Midwest. 1 of 1 for 💯%

Florida, Eastern Canada 🇨🇦, the desert 🏜 and Pacific Northwest await.

After spending the better part of the past two days down on the Crystal Coast ( Morehead City / Beaufort / Atlantic Beach ⛱️), it’s time to shift the focus over to New Bern.

The tagline for Pepsi Cola has been ” Born in the Carolinas ” for quite some time now. It turns out that New Bern is the actual place where it was created back in the day.

You can actually visit the original shop, pictured above, and purchase a beverage in the same manner that they did in the beginning. A nod to Pappy Meade for pointing 👉 me in that direction.

New Bern is on the water 💧and has a number of elevated bridges that offer pretty views.

While it’s a great time for sports in North Carolina with the Canes hosting the Stanley Cup and the Heels in prime position out in Omaha ( don’t forget professional softball debuting in Durham), the local school is East Carolina University. ECU sits just 40 miles above New Bern, and the Pirates ☠️ nickname is in honor of Black Beard. It turns out that the notorious Pirate was from these parts.

The original nickname was ” Teachers,” and that makes me smile ! Anytime you can put teachers in a positive light is a great thing !

What would their Mascot have looked like ?

The Teachers would eventually lose out to the Pirates, so now we have our uplifting thought for today – teachers, don’t let anyone steal your joy, not even a Pirate !

It’s time to go exploring !