The _____

We went to dinner with friends tonight at The Jolly Roger. It was the first time we had been there since they opened for the season this year, and the french fries were terrific as always. (I love their fries!)

Something I thought about as we were talking about where to go to eat was was the fact that many of the restaurants around here are referred to by a short version of their name, usually in the format of "the __". The Jolly Roger is "The Jolly", Howard's Pub is "The Pub", Cafe Atlantic is "The Cafe", Flying Melon Cafe is "The Melon", etc. I think I may have blogged about this phenomenon before, and I'm sure it's a common occurence for places like Ocracoke to have a cultural vocabulary that residents and visitors use to refer to areas and establishments there.

I am looking forward to spending the holiday weekend with my friend Steve and his daughter Jamie, who came to visit. Steve's wife Ginger had planned to be here too, but fell ill at the last minute and encouraged them to come anwyay, while she stays home and recuperates. I admire the sweet, loving selflessness of that act.

I enjoy being a "hometown tourist", taking people to see the sights and participate in the activities that make visting Ocracoke fun. I wish that I had done more of this in the other towns I have lived in, because every place has interesting assets to explore, enjoy, and be entertained or educated by. Hope you enjoy your home town, wherever you are...