Power of the Beard

Why is there a fascination with beards?

Of the many features of a person's face, the beard holds transformational powers. Many messages can be sent by one who chooses to invest time into cultivating the feature/ Among those

Maturity
Wisdom
Resourceful
"Survivor" look (sign of strength)

Pirate Pake, having sailed the high seas for several years, found his reputation bolstered by the cultivation of a beard. Such was the difference, he found himself highlighted on the scoreboard at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium at several football games among a crowd of 40,000+. This achievement is noteworthy after two previous years of being present at games in full gear, but never gaining the attention of PeeDee's crew without the beard.

No Shave November even encourages the timid to set out and cultivate their own.

*Will you?*

*This article was written with consent of Pirate Pake but in no way fully reflects his own personal views. Pirate Pake understands the plight of some men who are held at bay from growing beards by their first mate. Pirate Pake therefore is not responsible for those men who choose to rebel and is also not responsible for any stress placed upon current relationships between men and their mates.

Goin on a date

All this time I never knew it was you.

You who is able to bring so much joy and a smile to my face.

Thank you for not giving up on me, for waiting patiently.

And yes I love you too.

Oh broccoli, I don't know why it took me this long to come around. Only just now have I realized you made that garlic shrimp stir fry so enjoyable, that I feast whenever the dish comes before me.

But for weeks now, my taste buds knew the truth, they called out to me. They pulled me until finally today I set a date with you.

Wow is all I can say now.

How bout another date on friday?

Bacon Fetish

I love bacon.

This singular fact has probably become one of my signature calling cards.

So imagine how excited I was when I saw this commercial

Go on, click and watch.

I KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO LOOK FOR NOW!

Indiana Jones, Jedi, and Peanut Butter

Dreams are a complicated labyrinth.

Often induced by many things
Their very pattern unique like that of a snowflake.

I found myself voyaging through yet another night of weird dreams cobbled together like a series of sketches on Saturday Night Live. One dream began where I found myself alongside Indiana Jones and his father Dr. Jones (Last Crusade) and we get caught by Nazis. We then come face to face with Hitler who has us dragged into a gas chamber. But as we're being thrown in, I notice two Jedi are also in the chamber. Knowing the Jedi have a plan for escaping, I line up next to them.

Then my dream shifted and next thing I know I'm in a convenience store getting peanut butter.

Guess those Jedi did help me escape. Then went Men in Black and erased how they escaped from my mind, probably to also conceal their identities.

Joy Riding

How can someone be "Out of their mind"? Seriously?!

Now mind out of a person's body I can understand. I'm not talking CSI either.

Currently I've spent 20 minutes or so just staring off into space across the room. My mind has been anywhere but within my head which feels like its in a fish bowl. My body is tired and calls for bed, but my mind took the BMW out of the garage and went for a joy ride.

Music rolls through my head. its a song I heard on Big Fish earlier, but its not one I particually like or get much from. I don't know the name of it or the band, the same 10 seconds keep replaying. The cd player in the BMW is effectively skipping now.

In the passenger seat sits my Ukulele. I've been teaching myself how to play, and it goes places with me now. I'm even song writing.

In the back seat sits assignments I have not dropped off. They gave me directions on where they wanted to go, but I'm taking scenic detours, weaving through traffic, etc.

My BMW got a lot of miles put on it last week. I needed refueling a few times. Checked the mirrors a few times, but I thinking of getting rid of them soon. Who needs to keep looking in the past anyway?

Delightfully Different

Recently my hometown of Beaufort in Carteret County began hanging banners from the streetlights with the slogan “Delightfully Different since 1709.” Seeing this, my mind got to pondering the reasons behind this slogan.

Maybe it’s the guy who sits in front of Piggly Wiggly and plays guitar while singing to cars as they pass.

Maybe it’s the fact that Blackbeard, one of the most dreaded pirates, had a house in Beaufort, that still exists today. Despite numerous legends that it is haunted, and a bloodstain remaining on the stairwell, the house is privately owned.

Maybe it’s the 300-year-old Graveyard that’s also been voted one of the top 50 most romantic places in NC. A friend of mine actually got married inside.

Maybe it’s the Hardees that still sells fried chicken, when most Hardees now a days focus just on the thickburgers.

Maybe it’s the Pirate Festival, where pirates re-enact storming ashore, fighting with townsfolk, etc.

Maybe it’s the wild horses you can spot along the waterfront just across the waterway on Carrot Island.

Maybe, just maybe, my sarcasm was undeserved, and Beaufort is actually “Delightfully Different Since 1709”

Unless you get caught in traffic by that old drawbridge.

Out the door

We're so over.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Don't try to deny it. You promised only a 10% of rain yesterday, AND that it would arrive in the late evening. I got stuck on campus having biked with no way of keeping my backpack dry. And damp shoes. Your radar that morning was as blank as my mind in a chemistry class.

Then today you had the audacity to promise 60 degree weather still. I saw through your facade as soon as I stepped outside, but my need to get to class prompted me to brave the cold and deal with it.

We are through Weather Channel (aka Weather.com). Your bookmark I have deleted. WITN Weather has moved in its place, and may I say she has a far better sense of humor than you.

Maybe if you're lucky, Taylor Swift will write about how you wronged me and are now by yourself.

First sticky on the fridge

Nothing.

Then sound pierces nothingness. I swing my hand out from my cocoon and silence the sound, then I pull my hand back into its shell. I remain on the edge of nothingness until finally willpower forces me out from under the covers. Slipping into some slippers, I pad my way across the floor and open my blinds.

As my feet work in tandem, I make my way through my living space, and I walk into the kitchen. Stopping in front of the fridge I ignore the countless magnets, the dinosaur drawing, even the garfield cat magnet sitting coyly on the top looking down at me.

But my attention does come to rest on a new note, that while still waking up, my mind takes moments to realize is new. Scribbled on the note I find the message

"Ate the last of the pancakes
Take the trash out on your way down"

Heaving a giant sigh at this gross injustice, I reach for a box of cereal, even though its cold goodness is not why I finally drug myself out of bed.

My fridge, once an expression of all things me and my brothers, has now become a crux on how my morning starts, and ultimately life.

Maybe tomorrow life will start off on a better foot, with a side of flapjacks.