Hello 911? It's me again....

"911 state your emergency........ok thank you...name and telephone number please.........wait, you sure call here a lot.....don't you have a job?  Do you really think this is 911 worthy? You really must have some time on your hands lady!"

Ok so that conversation hasn't happened yet, but every time I call and have to give my telephone number I hold my breath a little half expecting it to.

I am pretty sure up until a couple of years ago I had never called 911.  To me 911 was a number to be called when someone was breaking in to your house, or you were witnessing a robbery...in other words, it was a number I hoped, and pretty much assumed I would never have to call in my lifetime.  And if I did have to call it, it would only be once in my lifetime.

 I am not sure what has happened in the last couple of years.  Are weird things happening more and more around me?  Am I just more paranoid concerned about my surroundings since having children?  Is calling 911 like food poisoning....once you have it (or in 911's case..call it) you are more likely to get it/call it again?  Or is it more like Karaoke..once you have done it you feel more and more comfortable doing it again?  For the record I have never sang Karaoke.

Either way, in the last 2 years I have called 911 a total of 5 times that I can remember for concerned citizen type things.  And come to think of it, all South Side situations.....Concerned South Durham Civilian!

The first time I called 911,  I was driving behind a truck past Southpoint Mall, and the truck (it was a Moving Truck type vehicle) started smoking. " Hmmm...that's weird" was my thought until I realized it wasn't coming from the tailpipe, but from inside the back of the truck.  "Hmmmm, that is not good" was my second thought until flames started shooting out from the cracks where the door pulls down.  "What the %#$%^"  was then my thought.  Mind you crazy town the guy is STILL driving down the street!  The flames are getting higher and more serious...traffic is pulling over because they don't want to get shot with a rogue flame and since I saw the thing unfold and the guy was not stopping, I thought "I have to call 911!"  I did and at the end of the conversation I felt weird when she asked for my number...like I might get in trouble for calling...but I didn't ever hear from the 911 validity officer (in my mind there is such a thing), and life went on.  After that, I called for other things:

Another truck on fire...pulling on to the interstate from Fayettville......still driving.....I don't get it either....but I figured since the validity officer didn't call me to chide about the first flaming truck, it must be a valid 911 call

A truck full of mail dumped in the middle of Hwy 54...I don't doubt my magazine subscriptions important bills were amongst the papers scattered everywhere with cars driving over them....and surprise surprise the trusty mail truck was nowhere in site....and I mean thousands of pieces of mail......911 worthy?  I thought so, and according to the dispatcher, I wasn't the first to call about it.....VALIDATED!

My neighbor....ok not my neighbor, but their house...ok it went something like this:  It is 1am and my husband comes home from roasting coffee.  I was just about to go upstairs when he comes in the door and whispers "Christy there is a weird truck parked in our neighbor's driveway that wasn't there when I left at 8:30 tonight"  Now this may not seem 911 worthy, but just 2 days before, my neighbors told me that they were leaving town for 3 days.  When I looked out the window, there was a pickup truck parked 2/3 in the driveway, 1/3 in the street....like it was poised for a quick getaway....at least that is what it seemed to be poised for in my paranoid concerned mind.  Husband: "should we call the police?"  Me:  "I hate to call them at 1am...I don't want to get in trouble"  Husband: "I am pretty sure they employ people around the clock for that reason"  Me: "that's true"  Husband: "maybe we should just go to bed"  Me: "can we really go to sleep knowing our neighbors house may get robbed"  Husband: "I can fall asleep at the dinner table...so yea"  Me: "I'm calling"   Needless to say the police show up.....they think the "scene" looks suspicious...the officer calls me from his car.....they finally used my number!....while we are talking and I am watching from the window, another cop is going around the perimeter of the house and another officer is banging on the door.......all of a sudden, the officer I am talking to yells "I see movement in the house!"....hangs up on me, and all officers circle around house ready for battle....shining spotlight on house yelling "COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!!"  The next thing I see, a 20 something wide-eyed freaked out girl in her pajamas comes out.  She talks to the officer, gets in her truck and parks it properly in the driveway, and goes back inside.  OOPS.  Come to find out a cousin came early to surprise the neighbor's children when they arrived home the next day.  Boy, she must have been the one who had the biggest surprise from the crazy couple next door....double oops.  Our neighbors thanked us and said they were happy we were looking out for them, but I know it was just another on a long list of reasons why they secretly think we are nut jobs quirky. Husband: "don't feel bad honey, you just helped make them more comfortable with their decision to stay away from us". 

Side note.....they have gone away at least once that I know of since then without mentioning to us they were leaving......coincidence?........I guess I understand.


The last call came almost a year after "the incident"....nothing happening around me, or purposefully ignoring my surroundings because I was 911 trigger shy......hmmmm...

Watch out Durham...I've put me 911 hat back on!

 

This time it was a power line hanging about 7 feet off the ground across 54, and people were swerving in the other lane to miss it.

"911 state your emergency.....oh, ok...and where did you say this was.....ok...name and number please.....someone should be there shortly because there have been other calls...thank you for your concern."

PHEW.....validated!

Things I wonder about South Durham

1. How many half-filled strip malls will be standing after all is said and built.

2. Are the people with the buckets and orange vests really a charity?

3. Will a Fresh Market, Earthfare, or Wholefoods ever venture this way?

4. Will the road construction EVER end?

5. When will they make Hope Valley road 45mph....we all know people do not drive 35mph on that long straight road.

6. With all the farms and produce on this side, why doesn't someone put together a Farmer's Market in South Durham?

7. Do most people who live on this side feel the community connection like I do...or does working at a place where I interact with most of the community make my frame of reference different?

8. Do the Food Trucks even understand how well they could do on this side if they came this way from time to time?

9. Is Alston Ave the most eclectic street in Durham?  And by eclectic I mean random.

10. When will that special person take the chance and put an independent movie theater/ music venue on this side?  *See #1  {there are plenty of options for space}.

The Local Yogurt Mystery (pt 2)

After seeing Local Yogurt owner on TV, I anxiously awaited her entrance into the coffeeshop.  I also made my poor "I get dragged into every one of your crazy ideas and one day I am going to refuse to be your pony" husband PROMISE to grill her when he saw her.  In a lucky break (for him) Local Yogurt's mom came in first.  And the conversation went something like this "Hey I saw your daughter on TV!"  "Yeah, she is a wedding planner and they asked her to be part of this reality show."  Mystery solved.....but for a person who likes major detail (like how does Local Yogurt fit into it)...I was only somewhat satisfied.  So the next time I saw Local Yogurt, I asked her about it and she informed me that she started Local Yogurt with two others and after the initial opening,  (which was happening in days) she will go back to focusing on her career...Wedding Planning.  Oh......satisfactory answers......now mystery officially solved!  So now I just had to wait for the opening for the tastier mystery.

Since I have a real crowd phobia/socially anxiety, I waited about a week after opening to try the yogurt.  I brought my 3 year old (big sis) with me for a kid's point of view.  It went something like this:

My reaction was the same...THIS PLACE ROCKS!

Now let me say they have since added other flavors aside from the original plain.  Big sis and I always get the plain, but if you are a sweet lover, you may want to go with vanilla, chocolate, banana, or another flavor.  The plain also has some fat.....while the others are fat free.  It is also all natural and Gluten free. 

Since our first visit, we have become regulars....even taking a 24oz container for home use a time or two.

This place is a must try for all!

Inside


Cute color scheme!

Outside there is a sign (although this is not the one) that says:


Don't even think about rollerskating to the LoYo stripmall!



The Local Yogurt Mystery (pt.1)

A couple of years ago one of my regular customers at the coffeeshop told me she was opening a new business.  Always excited when someones decides to go out on a limb with a new venture I inquired about said business.  It is going to be a frozen yogurt store, but with real yogurt...plain yogurt...just frozen.  The concept seemed great to me because I love yogurt and I like ice cream, but ice cream is a little heavy for me...and other frozen yogurts seem too sweet, like the sweetness is ever going to make up for the no fat!  So this seemed perfect....a nice thick product, but just sweet enough and still low-fat.  The next time I talked to my customer, she said her and her two partners decided on "Local Yogurt".  I immediately say "Cool!  Are you getting the local yogurt from Maple View Farm?"  The answer was no, the actual yogurt isn't local, but some toppings are.....hmm...now I am somewhat skeptical about this name.  The next time sweet customer comes in, she brings a flyer to hang in the coffeeshop for their Grand Opening.  I can't tell you how many people asked where locally they were getting their yogurt from......uh oh.  Now I really worried about the name.  And when I would explain to people the actual yogurt wasn't local, I got quite a few snarky remarks.  After a few days of explaining, I came up with my own response when asked about the yogurt being local and it went something like this:

"Well they actually do not get the yogurt local, but most of the toppings are local.  What I really think the name is trying to convey is the fact that they are a local business." 

I have no idea if this info was necessarily correct, but I got way less snarky responses. And since I was not the official spokesperson for this business, I felt ok about throwing it out there to get the heat off of me since HELLO...I was spending a lot of freaking time more time than I would have liked on defending a name of a business I have no part of.

And honestly..I was still excited about this concept...locally acquired  yogurt or not!

So as I was anticipating this opening....I was also just living my life when one night I am flipping the TV and I see some crazy show about should we get married or just break up.  Side note: If that is even a question on the table, you might want to re-evaluate....just saying.  So I am watching this show.."Hitched or Ditched" and OMG!!???  there is my CUSTOMER...YES...Local Yogurt owning customer!!  Let me be VERY clear...she WAS NOT a person getting hitched or ditched, but a wedding planner on the show.  What the what?  I was very confused now...but let me say although the show was just plain awful, my customer looked beautiful and professional and was a GREAT wedding planner it seemed on TV....I just was confused as to why she was on TV and why didn't she mention it in our many many conversations...this mystery I had to solve! And let's not get sidetracked...I had to try that yogurt!

The Good, The Funny, and The Questionable

Part of my daily routine during the week is driving my girl to preschool.  And although the preschool is in South Durham, I actually managed to pick the furthest point of South Durham from my actual house.  Basically by the time I drop her off with little man in tow, get back in the car, give little man about 5-10 minutes of "oh you want the book?  the baby?  now you would like the old cheese stick under your seat.... ummmm... no ...but the goldfish are probably ok...I think they were from your sister's lunch yesterday",  buckle up, and get out of the lot and back on the road, there is almost no point in going home because I will just have to turn around within an hour or so.  Usually I go to Whole Foods to shop or Duke Gardens with little man.

Duke Gardens

                                                                  

Today as I was driving back down Anderson St. (the road Duke Gardens and Nasher Museum is located on) to pick up big sis {btw Anderson St. is being re-paved so take 147 to get to 9th St....avoid going through town}

I was thinking about this sign in the ditch by my house.  Stick with my ramblings...there is a point.  This sign I am pretty sure is stating no swimming...again, it's in the ditch by my house....that has no water in it.  This will be another story for another day, but nonetheless I was thinking about it and how I should do a series called "The good, The funny, and The questionable".  Well lo and behold, I come to from my thoughts and look up to see a guy on a


 Vespa.....motor scooter......mini motorcycle....something. 

This guys is all kinds of questionable with his driving...helmet that isn't buckled, no plate (is that illegal with those things?), swerving in and out of traffic because he was steadily texting..and texting looks a lot harder on a Vespa, because it seems hard to control a motorcycle vehicle with one hand.  I thought "wow this is a good first questionable entry" this was after I thought "man that guy is going to run into a telephone pole...who in the H E double L texts while driving a motor scooter?".  I had to get a picture of this, so I drove past him, turned around on a side street and waited for him to pass.  My intention was to get the pic as he passed, but the shot didn't come out, so I got back on the road to get a shot from behind him.  As I was trying to get a good pic (this guy was literally texting the whole time and had no idea some lunatic lady was behind him taking pictures) a cop passed us both from the other direction.  The Vespa guy got totally freaked, put his phone in his pocket, and kept turning around to see if the cop was doing a u-turn to get him.  But something else happened too...I got totally freaked, because who was the cop going to bust first? the scooter guy, or the lady tailgating a scooter at 30 miles an hour while taking pictures with her toddler in the back of her car?


BUSTED...questionable driver!



Polish Keilbasa and Apple Pie! (part2) Holy Perogi!

Ok...so I didn't try the Perogis, but they do have 15 different ones to choose from!  They sell them frozen to take home, or if you call ahead they will sautee them for you so they will be ready when you arrive.

However, I did get there right after 10:30am to eat lunch ......curse you apple pie!  I ordered 2 different sandwiches (dealers choice) and of course the apple pie.  What I didn't know is I couldn't just get a piece...it was more like a mini pie but rectangle.  Blessing or curse....that is objectional.  The sandwiches served up were a turkey and ham, and BOTH were fabulous.  They also came with a pickle and vanilla wafer.  The apple pie was really good as well.  The crust was more biscuit than traditional crust and being very southern...biscuit always works for me.  The sandwiches were very hearty...and when I say hearty, I mean thick from all the meat.  They also had fresh tomato, lettuce, cheese, green pepper, and spicy polish mustard...yum.  I had such a wonderful experience at this deli and will definitely be back.  I also realized  2 things about the Polish (my opinion from my own experience of course): 

 1) They are very enthusiastic about you trying their different variety of meats..and cheeses...and spiced meats

2) They really love meat

What a great little treasure on the South Side!

Polish Keilbasa and Apple Pie! (part1)

Pre-kids (around four years ago), when I needed to clear my mind and just relax, I would sit on the sofa and read a book, go to my back deck and listen to the birds, put on some music etc.  Fast forward four years later, and I usually find myself hanging out in the kitchen pantry, bedroom closet or bathroom…. or on a rare occasion I feed my family, kiss them all, and take a walk.....sometimes a short drive if I need to REALLY not feel the pull of people around me.  On one of those rare solo drives, [I try not to drive excessively, but I also lost some green in me when I lost control of my life to others] I came upon this interesting looking building that just felt inviting.  As I drove up I noticed the sign:

 POLISH PEROGI 

  YOU CAN’T  LOVE’M

  UNLESS YOU TRY’EM 

 I started to park with a little excitement brewing…..then looked and saw the open sign off.  I parked anyway and intended to walk to the door to peek in and catch their hours.  As I walked up the door opened and a very warm smiling woman motioned me to come in.  I explained I was just looking at the hours I did not want to disrupt her close and she insisted I step inside.  As soon as I stepped inside with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone has been kind to you for no reason, I smelled the fresh spicy smell of I don’t know, but man it smelled really wonderful!  Now that I was inside with only my keys because I was not prepared to go in, I felt awkward because now I am just in the position to browse in this nice woman’s closed store.  But before I could linger on the anxiety creeping up…a gentleman greeted me with a warm hello.  I respond back with “wow it smells good!”  and before I know it, the man is walking up to me with a sample of what looks like some kind of pepperoni. In a flash  it was in my mouth with an explosion of flavor.  Now this is why I love Durham and the people that decide to open businesses here!  In talking with the nice couple and in between the man giving me chocolates…again yum!  I found out that the nice couple is Ziggy and Halina and they moved here from New Jersey to have a small business and retire in NC. They opened their deli Halgo European Deli and Groceries 3 years ago in November.  I also found out that the flavorful mystery meat was Kielbasa.  When I asked them “why South Durham?”  they said they found the place and it felt right.  Interestingly enough when they took over the building, it was a florist and for at least a year they actually kept a small part of the shop as the florist.  Now it is completely dedicated to the deli /grocery. They sell sliced meats, cheeses, sandwiches with bread from Guglhupf, chocolates, baked goodies from Halina, and made from scratch polish apple pie on Fridays!  I felt like I had stayed just enough time to not wear out a gracious welcome, and promised to return the next day for lunch and a slice of that apple pie.  I am not a huge fan of apple pie, but there was nothing I wanted more at that moment than to try a piece of that made from scratch polish apple pie…..c’mon Friday!  Is 10:30 to early to eat lunch?

View from front

Inside

Are you a Durhamite?

That is an easy answer if I am anywhere but Durham, but in Durham I feel shy answering "oh yeah" depending on who's asking.  If it's a born and bred Durham native, I wonder what their guidelines are for a yes to be correct information...will they think I am not worthy if I have only been here 12 years?  Does owning a business for 10 years earn me more Durham cred?  Durham natives are pretty loyal and protective of their city, I mean just being here 12 years I get defensive when I hear people from surrounding cities say Durham isn't safe.  I also hurt a little when people tell me to move to Chapel Hill or Raleigh to get my kids in better schools.  So I get the fierce loyalty Durham natives have for their city...my city....our city.  So again, can I really call myself a Durhamite?  Can you?  If you look it up, you really don't find many people actually defining Durhamite.  I did find one definition from the Urban dictionary:  Durhamite definition .  And various articles about people explaining why they are a Durhamite.   But no real guidelines...no threshold that you have to step over to be a true Durhamite.  So, since there wasn't an overwhelming consensus, I have laid out the following guidelines:   1) Live in Durham  2) Love the city (which also means stand up for it if people are putting it down)  3) In some way give back to Durham (this can mean anywhere from volunteering your time and/or money to supporting your Durham local businesses)   In the end, I think a true Durhamite comes from your love of the city, not how long you have been here.   Now let's talk South Durham......