Ocracats

I am a cat person. We have three furry "kids" who live in our house (well, one spends most of his day outside, but does come in when it is raining or very hot, and at night). I adore them, and one of my life goals is to become the "crazy cat lady of Ocracoke". Hey, I could make my goal "retire at 45" or "make a million dollars", but I figure "become the crazy cat lady of Ocracoke" is FAR more doable.

Anyway, there are many cat people on Ocracoke. (Yes, there are plenty of dog people too.) I suspect, though, that there are more cats than dogs on the island. That's because of the feral cat population. Luckily, that population is quite well managed and does not get out of control. That's largely due to the efforts of a group of people who volunteer to take care of them. They do a variety of good work, including feeding the cats to ensure they stay healthy and capturing them so they can be spayed or neutered.

If you would like to support Ocracats, you can do so by donating either volunteer time or money. Monetary contributions are tax deductible. Send them to:
Ocracats, Inc.
PO Box 993
Ocracoke NC 27960

Talkin' brogue

Last Tuesday, linguist Walt Wolfram presented a Porch Talk at the OPS museum on the topic of the Ocracoke brogue. It was well attended by a group of interested folks, many of whom asked insightful questions. I found it fascinating, as I have always been interested in socio-linguistics (the study of language use in a social context - essentially it's the intersection of sociology and linguistics, which were two of my favorite classes in college). I'm actually a bit jealous of Walt Wolfram, who has been able to make studying how people use language his life's work. He said after the talk that people often ask him when he is going to retire. He usually answers them, "I love my work. Why would I retire?" Why, indeed.

Anyway, Walt works as an English professor at NC State, and heads up the North Carolina Language and Life Project which studies dialects around the state. (I told you he had a great job!) He and his field teams (generally, graduate students in the NCSU sociolinguistics program) have been visiting Ocracoke at least once annually for the past 15 years, interviewing and recording speakers of the brogue. During the porch talk, he played some samples of those recordings, and spoke about the changes observed in his research over the years. It was very interesting. Well, it was to me at least...

If you find this kind of thing interesting too, there are several ways to find out more about it:
- the NCLLP has produced compilations of those interviews in various forms: a CD called “Ocracoke Speaks”, a 162 page book with the title Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks, and the video “The Ocracoke Brogue” (which is played at the OPS Museum) - you can get these resources from their website, or the museum gift shop may have some or all of them (I don't know for sure)
- NCLLP has just released a DVD entitled “Carolina Brogue” which will be shown on UNC-TV and may also be regionally or nationally aired on other PBS stations, and is available for sale at the OPS Museum gift shop (this I do know for sure)
- Walt Wolfram will be the guest speaker at the annual Fall OPS membership meeting in November, so you could attend that (I'll post details - date, time, etc. - once I have them)

After the porch talk, I found myself behind Walt as he left the museum parking lot. His license plate made me laugh, and is perfect for him!

I need to take up fishing

I just saw a commercial about a wahoo fishing tournament, to be held in Morehead City during October. The ad said that there was over $100,000 in prize money for the winners! Where can I get a rod and reel? :) Of course, realistically, I would end up spending a small fortune on fishing gear and come in last place, winning NONE of the prize money. I am terrible at fishing.

Birthday evening

I enjoyed a lovely birthday evening tonight, starting with our traditional dinner at Cafe Atlantic. The very first time I came to Ocracoke, when I was smitten and knew I wanted to live here within 15 minutes of arriving in the village, it was near my birthday so we ate at Cafe Atlantic to celebrate. I've eaten there on every birthday that I was on the island since, which hasn't been all of them, but has been many of them! Anyway, the meal was terrific as always, and I got dessert even though I was too stuffed to eat it right then. Ruth's chocolate peanut butter pie was on the menu, and I try never to turn that down if I can help it! It will make a fantastic - although unconventional and certainly not healthy - breakfast tomorrow morning.

After dinner, I went to the Ocrafolk Opry show (John headed home to put Connor to bed). DeepWater Theater was packed to capacity with a sellout crowd, so I sat in the back with the performers, which in many ways was even better, since I was among friends back there. When the show ended, I hung out for a while, helping put chairs away and just chatting with everyone. Someone had brought a batch of chocolately, gooey, nutty brownies of some sort, which we shared. They were delicious.

I walked home from the theater barefoot, carrying my shoes, by the light of the not quite full moon, and counted my blessings. It was a marvelous birthday.

Art walk coming in September

The fifth annual Ocracoke Art Walk is scheduled for Saturday September 27th from 10 AM to 5 PM. This is a great opportunity to meet local artists in their own studios, see them at work, and purchase something lovely to take home if you so desire. You will have plenty of to choose from, too, as Ocracoke is blessed with a large artistic community with skills as varied as jewelry making, quilting, painting, carving, and pottery. The weather on Ocracoke in the fall is usually fantastic, too, so this is a great time to visit. (In case of inclement weather, there will be a shuttle bus driving around the village stopping at the artist's locations, so that's an option if it rains...or if you just prefer to ride rather than walk or bike.) I have enjoyed Art Walk for the last several years, and definitely recommend it. Have fun!

Movie nights

It's well known that there's no movie theater on Ocracoke. Some people don't like that fact, but most of the folks I've talked to about it don't mind at all. I love movies, but I usually only see one a year in a theatre. The rest of the time, I'm content to watch them on DVD. I generally actually prefer DVDs, because I enjoy watching the "special features" to learn more about a film I liked watching.

Every now and then, though, it is fun to watch a movie on a bigger screen, especially for kids. To that end, the Ocracoke Youth Center is hosting movie nights, every Tuesday at DeepWater Theater at 7 PM. There's no admission charge, but raffle tickets and snacks are available for purchase which raises funds for the Youth Center. What's playing is announced weekly on the bulletin board at the Post Office (and possibly other spots on the island as well, but I know for sure it's at the PO). So if you're visiting and looking for something to entertain the family on Tuesday night, or if you live here and you're jonesing to see a movie on a larger screen (and if you don't mind watching a movie with a younger audience), head out to the theater some Tuesday night and enjoy!

Cabin fever

I love my house, I really do (all the work-in-progress projects which taunt me with their un-done-ness notwithstanding). But I am going a bit stir crazy being cooped up inside these walls. I'm still sick and not feeling quite up to going out (plus I don't want to "share" the joy of this experience, by passing on my illness to others).

It's a strange thing to have cabin fever in the summer, when days are long and it is light until nearly eight o'clock. I usually get to feeling this way during the dead of winter, when I don't get out much because it's already dark by the time I get done with work for the day.

I went and sat outside on the deck for a while today, just to get a little sunshine. I still miss salt water, though.

Hope you are getting outside in the sunshine as often as you want to, wherever you are!