Cornbread.

This post is a little overdue, but better late than never.

Before leaving VA Beach, I spent my last day in rural North Carolina. I saw lots of cotton fields. And some goats.

The people were so nice. At schools, and just in general. I went into a supermarket, and every person I passed on the way in the door said hi to me. If this were to happen to me in Boston, I would think that I accidentally forgot my shirt when I got dressed.

At the second school I went to, I talked to a woman named Suzanne for a while. She was really sweet. She was pregnant and we talked about Disney World. I gave her a yo yo on my way out and she hugged me. The people at the schools in NC were so grateful that I was there, they said they'd never had anything like me before. I was in an extremely rural part of the state. There was nothing, for miles. The center of the first town had a gas station/supermarket and a post office, the second town had those two things plus a pizza grill. I feel lucky to have grown up in a city such as Boston- it's played a big part in who I am. I feel like a place like Gatesville, NC is probably quite wholesome, but probably quite difficult to ever leave- to see the world.

On my way back to the airport, I was stopped by road construction and a flagger named Cornbread. We chatted for what seemed like 20 minutes until the road was clear for me to pass. He was kind. He had a beard and told me how he was planning on painting it white for the holidays for the kids in his neighborhood-so he could be Santa Claus. He also told me I was the kind of person that could change someone's life just by meeting them. Was he hitting on me? Maybe. But I prefer just to think he was a kind old man.

My yoyo show is really shaping up. I feel confident that I'm doing well. I'm happier, not stressed anymore. It's sinking into that place where I start the first line of the show and the rest of it just flows out of my mouth. That's a pretty good place to be. It makes it a lot easier to deal with curve balls.

This week will be a very short 2 days, then Thanksgiving. I can not wait for Thanksgiving.