Things I Like

 It's hard to list all the things that I like here on this page. After all, like most people, I run into things every day that appeal to one or more of my physical and mental senses.  However, here is short list of things (physical objects, people, ideas) that I like.
 

The Winston-Salem style of Pastry

You may be saying to yourself “there is no Winston-Salem style of pastry! What does he mean? Angels food, devils food, but Winston Salem?” Well, you are right, there isn't really a Winston-Salem style. However, if you ever need to know of a town where there are plenty of good places for pastry, then pack your backs and head for tobacco country.

1.)  The Krispy-Kreme donut is a work of art, especially when eaten directly off the production line.  You're right, there are Krispy-Kremes in other towns, and I've eaten at a lot of them. But for some reason, the Krispy-Kreme shop in Winston-Salem is the best. Its so good, that I don't even mind that it was temporarily closed down recently for health violations. Click the logo to visit their corporate site.
2.)  Old Salem is a wonderful place to visit. It’s full of interesting and fantastic things.  There’s a house where George Washington slept, an educational and historical past, cute girls from Salem Academy and Salem College, and love feast buns.  I’ll be damned if you can ever find a plain piece of bread as tasty as the Moravian love feast buns they sell at Old Salem. Click the logo to visity the Winkler Bakery site.
3.)  Dewey’s bakery sugar cake is the final pastry of this power trio.  All you have to do is find a Dewey’s bakery and shell out the four or so dollars it cost and you’ve got the perfect sweet treat. If you’ve ever even slightly liked the taste of cinnamon, then this cake is the best. Click the logo to visit their corporate site.

Basketball

    Old Dr. James Naismith was a great man, as he was the genius who invented basketball. I think all reasonable people realize the appeal of healthy competition between two teams of five hungry athletes. It takes a special sort of athlete to truly excel at basketball.  One must have quickness, strength, stamina, and, most importantly, an intelligent and accurate understanding of the specific nuances of the game in order to be successful.
    Unfortunately my great understanding of the game never translated into superior performance on the court. My playing days ended after the tenth grade.  I still enjoy the occasional pick up game at Woolen Gym in Chapel Hill or right here in my backyard in Lexington. Although, I'm a purist in the sense that I don't consider the game legit unless it's five-on-five full court, so I've never really been at my competitive best goofing around in the Grimes Park League.
    Presently my forte (a funny joke that college basketball fans will understand) is being a true and passionate fan.  I like to think I'm a non biased fan, but that's simply not true. I'm partial to college basketball, as it follows more closely the true purpose of the game and appeals to my purist sensibilities. Pro basketball is ridiculous as it favors those who can jump, dunk, and talk smack the loudest, not the true players who can pass, move without the ball, and play precise defense. In other words, it doesn't favor the true basketball players. As much as I love Michael Jordan, he is responsible for the NBA being a playground for the overpaid, egotist that it is. If it weren't for MJ coming in and dominating the league for so many years, turning it into a one man show, a form of entertainment and not sport, the nature of the league would have stayed on course with the true purpose of the game and we wouldn't have to hear lazy millionaires complain about how they need more money.
    College basketball isn't without it's problems either. Of course there are the dumb kids who leave college early, the kids that accept money, and so on and so forth. There are also folks like Bobby Knight who tarnish the image of an institution that is supposed to build productive and reasonable members of society. But, when it comes down to it, when all the outside influences are forgotten, college basketball is the most competitive level of true basketball. Unlike the NBA where money, power, legal problems, etc... carry over onto the court, the game of college basketball is not tainted.
    It's hard to articulate in words how I really feel about basketball. Hopefully you have a pretty good idea, though, about how I feel towards this grand old game.
 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

    Isn't it appropriate to follow basketball with UNC? After all, they are synonymous. Of course, basketball is one of the reasons I like UNC, but it's certainly not the most important. UNC has a strange effect on folks. Those who knew me before I went to college thought I would never have any positive feelings toward UNC. After all, I grew up as a Duke fan in a Duke family, and when it came time for me to go to college I selected The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Unfortunately (or in hindsight: fortunately) my parents couldn't afford to send me out of state to W&M, so I 'settled' for the university of the state of North Carolina.
    But my feelings have changed dramatically over the course of one school year. The first thing I realized about UNC is that even though it maintains a sense of being just the state university, it's SO much more than that.  In fact, even though it's academic standing isn't as high as some others,  it's finances are relatively limited, and it suffers from the few stupid kids they are required to let in, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is arguably the finest institution of higher learning in the country.  We aren't stuck in an isolated, 'ideal', elitist world like our peers at Ivy League schools, and we have our own intellectual identity and not an Ivy League inferiority complex like our peers at Duke, UVa, Cal, Stanford, etc...
    Carolina has everything you could ask for in a college. It's got a beautiful campus, a fun town setting, a bright and diverse student body, a first-rate faculty, a successful athletic program, a historical past, forward and progressive thinking faculty and students, and the appealing manner of a true southern University. What else could you ever want? Click on the Old Well above to visit the university's site.
 

Julian's College Shop

    The place was founded by a fella named Maurice Julian back in the 40s, and it's been outfitting handsome Carolina men (or in my case wanna-be handsome Carolina men) ever since. And although they've got some great clothes, the most famous product of this "bucolic" men's store is designer Alexander Julian. Heard of 'em? Anyway, nowadays they primarily sell his stuff, which is great!
    I love the clothes they have here, I mean, they're handsome and stylish but also very unique. I feel that the clothes they sell reflect the essence of the traditional but modern Carolina man. Alexander Julian is a Carolina grad so he should know.  I shop here as often as possible, but I have to practically take out a loan whenever I do. Anyway, it's a cool place and whenever I get some money you'll see me sporting a couple of their new suits.

Eric Clapton

   I guess this should be under "People I Like", but since I don't have that page I'll put it here. Eric Clapton is my favorite musician. Except, his music isn't my favorite type of music. (In fact now that I think about it, I don't know what my favorite type of music is) Anyway, the reason I like Eric Clapton is because he is the best guitar player that has ever lived and I can't help but respect and enjoy his playing. I think that Eric Clapton plays the guitar better than anyone has ever done anything ever before. That's a serious statement but I mean it. Clapton plays guitar better than Bill Gates makes money! He plays guitar better than Bach or Beethoven composed or Jordan played basketball! It's amazing how he can play all styles of music better than the folks who are known for playing that type of music (and he's played dozens of styles of music).
    I used to not respect Eric Clapton as a person. He was an alcoholic, drug addicted, womanizing, self-centered, millionaire rock star. My feelings for him started to change when his son died. It's impossible to not feel for someone whose son dies, no matter how reprehensible they are. I think that tragedy caused him to seriously reflect on his life and his lifestyle. Now, he's clean and sober, and he donates millions of dollars to help other folks kick their drug habits. If you want a good idea about how Eric Clapton is now, take every notion you've ever had about how rock stars are and picture the opposite. Those are my feelings about Eric Clapton in a nutshell! What a musician! Click on the pic to visit Smokin' Steve's really cool Clapton site.