It seems that no one discouraged you from coming to Pittsboro

Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 10:42:54 -0500
From: “John R Dykers”
Subject: maryphillis post 28 Dec.

Loved your post and your description of self and family and motives for coming to Pittsboro. I came in 1964 for similar reasons, having grown up in Jacksonville Fla. and living also in Mandarin, south of the city and out in the “country” along the St. John’s River. Also did not enjoy the “gotcha” of academic medicine and prefered scientific inquiry and bringing the best of medical education and practice to a rural community that otherwise might not have access thereto in 1964 with a 2 lane highway that had to go around the courthouse to travel from Siler City to Chapel Hill where I trained to practice medicine and did research.  Quail were common and deer were rare, the opposite of today. And the only ways to prevent the influx of people from nearby population centers is (a) tear up the highways, (b) set up roadblocks, or (c) pregnancy prevention! And any of these methods prevent folks who have scratched a living out of this rocky soil for generations from selling their appreciated property for an economically comfortable old age and/or sending their children to college for the first time. And most don’t want to sell; they too prefer to keep farming and raising cattle and hunting and fishing and managing forests, and the agricultural infrastructure necessary to do so, as do you and I.

It seems that no one discouraged you from coming to Pittsboro when Highlands became too crowded. We who were here before you welcomed your addition to our community and our economy. Pittsboro nearly died economically when the label plant closed (now Chatham Marketplace et al.) and survived mainly by being the county seat.

I remember when Hardees was the first “franchise” food outlet in Siler City and it was very popular; made more money than any other outlet in the entire chain at that time. And I must confess to appreciating the easier ride to Pittsboro, Chapel Hill,(despite more traffic and stoplights) Greensboro, Asheboro, Sanford, et al, and access to delightful shops and eateries, even including Walmart. Lowe’s and Subway! but especially the Soda Shop, City Tap, Verlies, Carolina Brewery, Greek Kouzina, Angelina’s Kitchen, the Diner, San Felipe, et al.

May I suggest a slight change to the goal of your thought without losing the heart of it?

“both sides of the aisle are necessary for our democracy.  Somewhere along the line we began to kill that democracy, and will do so if we don’t meet in the middle and work out what is best for the country.  In other words, look for our commonalities and seek to find compromise.”
May we seek to find a new idea, even more functional than simple compromise?

John Dykers