A potluck is a great time to...

1. Eat! (Duh...) My favorite items that I look forward to at every potluck are Philip's deviled eggs, Kitty's lima beans, Sundae's pineapple casserole, Marcy's sausage rolls, and ANYTHING Merle brings.


(Mmmm...all that food just lined up on the counter smelling delicious and waiting to be devoured....)

2. See people you haven't seen in a while (possibly months for some folks). I love seeing the smiling faces of my friends, and when there are a whole bunch of those faces in one room at the same time, it's a real treat! (And when there's food involved, too, it's even better!)

3. Catch up on what's going on in the lives of those people you haven't seen in a while.

4. Make an announcement. (No, not necessarily from a stage or anything.) A big decision was recently made which will greatly affect my life (in a wonderful, joy-filled way, so don't worry. And don't be undyingly curious either...you know I'll eventually blog about it here!) Anyway, tonight at the potluck I told many of my closest friends about the decision, and we talked about the upcoming changes and impacts to my life. It was nice to be in this group setting where I could let several people know at the same time.

5. Be understood and get support. This big decision has been a long time coming, and I have talked with a handful of people about it. Many of them were very cautious about the idea, and some even said I was crazy for considering it. Tonight, the people I talked with indicated that they understood my decision by saying things like "of course you would do that for your family". One put it in a very Ocracoke way by saying "it's for kin". Almost everyone I talked with also offered his or her support and assistance with this new thing in my life. That's one of my favorite things about Ocracoke: you don't have to "go it alone" around here.

6. Celebrate and say thanks! This potluck was to celebrate the road reopening, and to thank the many people and groups who made the process go as well as possible. There was a giant card on a table for people to sign as another expression of the community's gratitude as well.


(That's County Manager Carl Classen making some opening remarks and thanking everyone who worked so hard to complete the bridge replacement project successfully and ahead of schedule.)

7. Listen to some good music. Molasses Creek played a slightly-updated version of "Seven Bridges Road" which gave the crowd a chuckle. At the end of the song, when the phrase "seven bridges road" repeats, they harmonized "six bridges and a culvert" instead. In case you don't know, there were previously seven bridges on the island, causing some to wonder if the song was written about Ocracoke (it wasn't). One of the bridges was converted to a culvert during the project, so Hwy 12 on the island is not a seven bridges road any longer!



After Molasses Creek, The Ocracoke Jazz Society performed as well.



All in all, it was a lovely way to spend an evening. Hope you get to "break bread" with your friends too, wherever you are...