Surry Living Magazine - November 2020

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NOVEMBER 2020

A lifestyle magazine highlighting Surry County and the surrounding area

THANK YOU VETERANS November 11

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a publication of vivid graphics SURRY LIVING MAGAZINE PO Box 6548 Mount Airy, NC 27030 surryliving.com • info@surryliving.com for editorial content submissions send to larry@surryliving.com

CREATIVE

LARRY VANHOOSE executive editor

TRINA VANHOOSE

VIE STALLINGS HERLOCKER associate editor

SALES

OLIVIA MCMILLAN

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Anderson Audiology, Page 9 Blue Mountain Herbs & Supplements, Page 12 Charis Christian Books and Gifts, Page 23 Cook Insurance Group, Pages 19, 28 Countryside RV, Page 7 Farmers Mulch & Rock, Page 29 Farmhouse Spits & Spoons, Page 23 Friendly Heating & Cooling, Inc., Page 5 Gingerhorse Studio, Page 29 Hicks Water Stoves / Mechanical, Page 23 Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, Pages 2, 14 Johnson's Xtreme Softwash, Page 15 Kristin Clickett, Health & Wellness Coach, Page 13 Lesia Cockerham, KellerWilliams Realty, Page 19 Main Street Market, Page 23 Mount Airy Equipment, Page 3 Mullins Pawn Shop & Jewelers, Page 19 NC Cooperative Extension, Pages 21, 27 Northern Hospital of Surry County, Pages 17, 32 Plaza Del Sol Mexican Cuisine, Page 12 Ridgecrest Retirement, Page 31 Roy's Diamonds, Page 19 Royster & Royster Attorneys at Law, Page 9 Surry Communications, Page 24 The Derby, Page 18 The Nest & Hive, Page 9 The Vineyard Camp & Retreat Center, Page 10 WIFM Radio, Page 30 Yadkin Valley Quilts, Page 21 Zen Massage and Bodywork, Page 23

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www.facebook.com/SurryLiving Surry Living reserves the right to deny any advertisement or listing. Submissions are welcome, but unsolicited materials are not guaranteed to be returned. Surry Living assumes no responsibility or liability for the information, services, products, claims, statements, accuracy, or intended or unintended results of any advertiser, editorial contributors, company, professional corporation, business or service provider herein this publication. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

4 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

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FEATURED SECTIONS

Friendly Heating & Cooling, Inc. SERVICE IS OUR BUSINESS!

HOME, FARM, & GARDEN p.8 * OUT & ABOUT p.16 * 8 The Vintage Southern

Homemaker: Gloria Brown shares memories and helpful tips

20 The Sweet & Savory Life

with Rynn Hennings: Hasselback Sweet Potato Pie

SIMPLY DELICIOUS p.20 * 22 Carmen Long: Maintain,

Don't Gain Holiday Challenge and Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin

ALL THE REST p.25 25 A Deeper Cut: A Novel,

Continues as we near the suspenseful conclusion 28 Area Event Schedules: Due

to the global pandemic, we Spring is have thetemporarily best time to suspended schedule info except the get your AC units ready Surry Countyheat!

Farmers for summer’s Markets. Go to visitmayberry. com for current schedule info.

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11 This Little Light of Mine:

Born on the Fourth of July 12 Joanna Radford: Growing

Great Garlic

Friendly Heating & Cooling, Inc.

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15 Sarah Southard, DVM:

Pet Cancer Awareness 16 Gin Denton: Melva Houston 18 Gary York: Mrs. Ruby

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SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 5

CONTRIBUTORS

Gloria Brown

Gin Denton

Sheri Wren Haymore

Rynn Hennings

Gloria is co-owner of The Nest & Hive Shoppe, a home décor business in Fancy Gap, VA, as well as the former host of The Vintage Southern Homemaker television show. Her musings on life growing up and living in the South have appeared in publications and on TV throughout the region. She is an expert antiques collector who grew up in the business and worked many years as a dealer in the Yadkin Valley area, where she currently resides.

Gin is the owner of Ginger Horse Studio. Her focus is lifestyle photography, covering horse shows, weddings, concerts, and doing on location portraits. Gin graduated from the University of Findlay with an Equine Business Management degree, where she also studied music and photography. She is a member of the Mount Airy Ukulele Invasion (MAUI) and the Granite City Rock Orchestra (GRO).

Gin resides in Lowgap, NC with her family on their small horse farm.

Sheri grew up in Mt. Airy, NC, and lives thereabouts with her husband. Together they run a couple of small businesses and plan their next vacation. A graduate of High Point University, her first job was as a writer at a marketing firm—and she’s been scribbling ever since. Sheri has several suspense novels in publication and Surry Living is proud to include sequential excerpts from one of her books in each issue.

Rynn is a writer and designer based in the Yadkin Valley region of North Carolina. She loves to share her ideas for adding simple beauty into hectic lifestyles. More than mere recipes, her mission is to offer practical shortcuts for food preparation along with visual tips for presentation. Rynn began her career in Aiken, SC, as a newspaper reporter writing feature articles about food, living, and the arts.

Carmen Long

Joanna Radford

Sarah Southard

Larry VanHoose

Carmen is an NC Cooperative Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. Making quick, easy, healthy food that tastes great on a budget is a challenge.

Carmen and her husband have two grown children, both of whom were involved in sports from grade school thru college. With busy careers and lots of time at sporting events, coming up with quick, healthy meals was a necessity.

Carmen shares ideas and recipes to make this tough job a bit easier.

Joanna Radford is the Commercial and Consumer Horticulture Agent for the NC Cooperative Extension in Surry County with expertise in entomology, gardening, and pesticide education. She began her career with NC Cooperative Extension in Stokes County in 1995 as a 4-H Agent, later switching to Field Crops and Pesticide Education in Surry County. In 2012, she assumed the role of Horticulture Agent for Surry County. She lives on a farm with her husband and two teenage daughters.

Sarah grew up at Crooked Oak in the Pine Ridge community of Surry County. Raised in the agriculture world, she went on to earn degrees in animal science and veterinary medicine from North Carolina State University. She and her husband, Adam, currently live in Statesville with Oliver the house rabbit, a few cats, Blossom the donkey, and a flock of Katahdin hair sheep.

Larry is the Executive Editor of Surry Living Magazine and Creative Director at Vivid Graphics in Galax, VA. He has 30+ years experience as a writer, graphic designer, and commercial photographer.

Larry and wife, Trina, have four wonderful, grown children, one awesome grandson, and they reside on a small farm just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Grayson County, VA.

6 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

CONTRIBUTORS contd.

Gary York Gary resides in Pilot Mountain with wife, Charlotte, at Vintage Rose Wedding Estate. A 1965 graduate of Guilford College, he received his MBA from Bucknell in ’68. His early career included service at York Oil Company and Neighbors Stores.

Gary's passion for celebrating community servants led him to produce People Doing Good For Others on WPAQ, which in-turn fueled his interest in broadcasting and ultimately his purchase of 100.9 WIFM in 2004. He’s a member of the Surry County Educational Foundation and Board Member of the Elkin Rescue Squad.

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home, farm, & garden

GRATEFUL for Veterans

It is not easy for me to write about veterans. I get very emotional. Although no one in my immediate family served our country in uniform, we fully support the men and women who defended our rights and freedoms.

I grew up watching war on television. Every night the Vietnam War was brought into our living room. It was hard to comprehend that boys from my neighborhood, my church, and my town were fighting on the other side of the world. I tried to see if I knew any of the soldiers on that black and white screen. I distinctly remember asking why they were fighting, and no one could give a satisfactory answer. The real shocker was learning that they were fighting with guns and bombs. In my innocent mind, I thought they had all loaded up to go over and give ’em what for with a good ole fashioned thrashing. Boy was I surprised. I had to study on all of that. The term, “death toll” was a lot for a young’un to let sink in.

When some of the local soldiers came home, I quickly learned it was best not to ask anything about where they had been. On the next street up from where I lived, our neighbor’s son went to fight. It has been only in the last few years that I have learned he was a Bronze Star recipient.

For as long as I have my good mind, I will never forget being given a firsthand account of a family with two sons serving and how it affected them.

The family was large. There were five boys and two girls. The daddy was gaining some age when two of the older sons were called to serve. He and his boys had always had hunting dogs and one of the pure joys of their times together was listening to their dogs running at night. The youngest son told me that many was the night that his daddy would take him over to the dog lot to sit and listen to the dogs and gaze up at the moon. One night, they positioned themselves on the old tree stump with the boy standing with his back leaned against his daddy’s chest and arms propped on his legs. They both watched as clouds raced over the face of the moon. The boy’s daddy choked back tears, then asked if he reckoned his big brother saw the moon the same way as they did. They had no way of knowing that about that time the older son was under fire in a rice paddy and had been for three days.

When the brother finally came home, the family ran to the car to meet him. The returning brother fell to the ground and kissed it, declaring as he sobbed that he had thought he would never see home again. These memories are forever burned in the heart and mind of that now-grown younger brother.

When there is a soldier serving there is almost always a whole network of family and friends serving along with that man or woman. Yes, I believe that the ones left behind have their war to fight too. It is a different one but a war just the same.

I’ll just say it. I don’t know how people can be disrespectful or plain dismissive of our veterans.

I guess those people just don’t know better.

Certainly they have never had to sacrifice for anything they hold dear.

Even worse, maybe they don’t even realize that the rights, freedoms, and privileges they enjoy are fleeting and could easily be ripped away. That is, if not for those who were and are willing to fight and maybe even die for what we have. Yessir, I sure do love a veteran.

8 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

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home, farm, & garden

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY

by Larry VanHoose

Riding on top the Grand Marshal convertible with my grandpa in the Fourth of July parade in Morristown, Tennessee was truly the highlight of my summer in 1970. Or was it ’71? Even though I don’t remember exactly, it could have even been both. In his later years, it was almost the town’s tradition that Grandpa would be the grand marshal of that parade year after year. A decorated war hero from not just World War I, but WWII and the Korean War as well, it may have also helped that my grandpa was born on July 4, in 1897.

When Veteran’s Day comes around each year, I can’t help but think of “Preacher Fortner” as he was known in those parts. I spent many of my summer breaks in Tennessee and North and South Carolina, learning the life, heritage, and legacy of my mom’s side of our family. Not surprisingly, as a toy soldier and cowboys and Indians kind of boy, I was drawn to the dark hall closet where my grandpa’s uniforms and war memorabilia were kept. There was something so raw, palpable, even tangible, a lingering aroma and texture of the wars fought in those uniforms by my grandpa the sergeant.

Before he even had a chance to serve, Grandpa was on a ship that was sunk by a submarine off the coast of England in midJanuary. He spent six frigid hours adrift before he was picked up by a passing American ship headed to Boston. That ship subsequently ran out of coal, and the passengers and crew nearly starved to death as it drifted aimlessly before another ship spotted it and towed it to port. A trip that should have taken three weeks took two months! Then once he arrived in France during the first part of WWI, he was driving a dispatch vehicle at night without lights and hit a land mine. He was in the hospital, first in France, then in Kansas where he remained for 14 months and endured 23 surgeries related to those wounds. That didn’t stop him though. Once released from the hospital, he reenlisted twice. The third time he tried to reenlist, he was turned down because of damage to his heart. He returned home to North Carolina, got a “regular” job, married, and fathered two children. But his wife died while the children were young, and with two small children to raise and little income due to the depression, he placed the children with their aunts and reenlisted yet again. But this time, since the army wouldn’t take him back, he signed up for the merchant marines. During this tour of duty, he served in WWII and then the Korean War. Grandpa was discharged for good in 1955, at the ripe old age of 58. What did he do next?

Well, he entered another branch of service. Having been impacted over the years by his close calls and life and death rescues, and having given his life to God as a result, Grandpa preached his first sermon that year and went into ministry and served up until his death at the age of 92. He even preached a week-long revival in Texas at age 91 after driving his beloved Lincoln Continental there and back (he refused to set foot in an airplane). Near the end of his life, my grandpa was interviewed by one of the local papers covering his life and his newest missionary project, being the assistant director of the “People That Love Center” in White Pine, TN. In closing he said to the reporter, “I love everybody… God has filled our needs so we can help others.”

There was something so raw, palpable, even tangible, a lingering aroma and texture of the wars fought in those uniforms by my grandpa the sergeant.

When my grandpa passed away, my mom and uncle went to the funeral, then stopped by his house to collect those personal, sentimental possessions of his that were important to them. Not surprisingly, only a few things remained, including a ring he had once pounded out of a half dollar piece that I treasure to this day and a worn pocket watch that sits in a place of honor on my desk. Preacher had given the rest of his worldly possessions to friends and family as his days wound to a close. Hearing that from my mom, I was reminded of those summer days I spent with him: watching in fascination from his front porch as he fed wild birds from the palm of his hand; going to the grocery to pick up a watermelon only to have the 10 minute trip take hours as he stopped to talk to everyone that knew and loved Preacher (which seemed like everyone); or seeing him literally give away his last dollar when someone came to him with a need. We used to say, if you are going to give Grandpa a Christmas or birthday gift, you better be okay with seeing him give it away eventually – that was just who he was. “I love everybody,” he said. “God has filled our needs so we can help others.”

At Surry Living Magazine, every November 11 we give honor and pay tribute to our veterans, and – on every Fourth of July.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13 KJV).

SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 11

home, farm, & garden

by Joanna Radford

Growing Great

Garlic

Garlic. There is just something about this vegetable that makes my taste buds tingle with excitement. Not only does it put an extra lift in many of my favorite dishes, my doctor tells me it provides health benefits. I am not going to go into a discussion on health since it is out of my expertise area, but I will dive into growing nutritious and flavorful garlic. Fall is the ideal time to plant garlic for an early summer bulb harvest.

Garlic may be one of the easier crops to grow. Much of the wildlife (deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and squirrels) steer clear of it. Very few, if any, insects nibble on it and disease even seems to pass it over. Weeds are the biggest pest garlic has as it tries to compete for nutrients, sunlight, and moisture. Weeding frequently is a must but overall, garlic is low maintenance. This is sounding better all the time.

mix in fertilizer. A 10-20-20 fertilizer at a rate of 1.7 pounds per 100 square feet is enough. Compost can also be added to give additional nutrients and organic matter to the soil. In the spring when green leaves are beginning to grow, add a light application of nitrogen. Bloodmeal or fish emulsion may be used. Just keep in mind that these products can attract voles. A fertilizer with a nutrient ratio of 10-0-0 can be used if voles are a concern. Add the last fertilizer application in May. Fertilizing after the month of May aids more in leaf growth instead of bulb development and energy needs to be used more to make that bulb.

Garlic is usually ready to harvest in late June or early July when there are 5-8 leaves remaining on the garlic plants. Elephant garlic is the exception. It should be harvested around mid-May to mid-June when thirty percent of the foliage turns yellow. If you wait too late to harvest, the bulbs will split open. You may want to cure your harvested garlic. Curing is easy. Do not wash the bulb. Just knock off the loose soil and leave the foliage and stem on and store in a dry, well-ventilated place for several weeks.

After curing, cut the tops about 2 inches above the bulb. Remove the dirty outer layer of wrapper. This is when shortneck varieties

Garlics are classified into hardneck and softneck varieties.

Softneck garlic grows in a range of climates and does not require cold temperatures (or a certain number of chill hours) to grow.

Softnecks produce smaller cloves than hardneck varieties and can be braided for storage purposes, decorating, and even gift giving.

Much of the garlic we see in grocery stores are softneck types.

Hardneck garlic has a stronger flavor than softnecks. They usually grow better in cooler climates since they require a cold 40-50-degree Fahrenheit temperature window. Both garlic types are successfully grown in our area. Whether planting softneck or hardneck, garlic cloves should be planted with the point up, at 2-3 inches deep and 2-6 inches apart. Optimum soil pH for garlic is 6.2 – 6.8.

This can be determined through submitting a soil sample to North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The service is free each year from April to Thanksgiving so get these in soon before the $4.00 fee per sample begins. Before planting,

can be braided. It is best to braid before the stems become stiff (two weeks).

What are you waiting for? Get those garlic bulbs planted!

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FOUR (POTENTIALLY) LIFE CHANGING QUESTIONS

For Y

1. What habits are keeping you from achieving your greatest health?

2. Did you know that our habits, both positive and negative, have an impact on our health and well-being?

3. Did you know that ALL of the following diseases are impacted by our habits?

Diabetes • Cancer • COPD • Heart Disease • High Blood Pressure • High Cholesterol • Obesity • Stroke 4. Are you trying to create positive habits, like exercising and eating healthy, but find it difficult to maintain momentum?

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The road to lasting change is never easy, but it’s especially difficult when traveled alone.

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Call or Text 336-429-0874 or Email kristin@kristinclickett.com SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 13 • • • For more info, visit kristinclickett.com • • •

home, farm, & garden

by Sarah Southard, DVM

Pet Cancer Awareness November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month. Like humans, pets are living longer than ever thanks to advances in science and technology that allow for the provision of superior nutrition, more complete preventive care, and advanced therapeutic options in the event of a disease diagnosis. With a longer life span comes an increased probability that agerelated diseases such as cancer will plague companion animals.

Unfortunately, cancers affect humans and companion animals at about the same rate. Approximately one in four dogs and one

in five cats will have a cancer diagnosis at some point in their lifetime, with the odds increasing to one in two dogs over the age of ten years.

Pets are susceptible to many different types of cancer. Essentially any tissue in the body can develop cancerous growth, however certain cancers occur far more commonly while others are extremely rare. Some of the more common cancers affecting dogs and cats include various skin cancers, mammary gland cancer, lymphoma, osteosarcoma (bone cancer), and bladder cancer. A pet’s breed, spay/neuter status, and vaccination status may all play a role in his or her susceptibility to certain cancers.

For example, osteosarcoma tends to most commonly affect large and giant breed dogs. Mammary gland cancer is much more common in unaltered females, and prostate cancer is far more common in unaltered males. Feline leukemia is caused by a virus for which there is a vaccine available, meaning that this cancer is largely preventable.

In the event of a cancer diagnosis, your local veterinarian may be able to provide therapies in-house. Referral to a veterinary oncologist is also a possibility. Surgical removal of masses and chemotherapy or radiation protocols are available as treatment options for many malignant diagnoses. Life expectancy after a cancer diagnosis might range from a few weeks to a few years, depending on many factors including the type of cancer, whether it has already metastasized to other locations at the time of diagnosis, the treatment method(s) chosen, and how well the animal responds to therapy. The clinical signs of cancer vary depending on the type of cancer and tend to be very nonspecific. Any changes in appetite or elimination habits, rapid weight loss or gain, lethargy, enlargement of the abdomen, lameness, or lumps and bumps should be investigated right away to determine their cause and (hopefully!) rule out any cancers. The earlier a problem is addressed, no matter what it is, the more likely a favorable outcome is possible.

Keep an eye on all your pets no matter their age.

Unfortunately, cancer can affect young animals just as it does children.

Say Goodbye! to clogged gutters. Have us clean them or install new Gutter Guards. — You name it — we can clean it!

Call now to have the exterior of your house cleaned before you put up your holiday decorations.

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out & about

Melva

by Gin Denton

Melva. World-renowned jazz singer. Blues singer. Gospel singer. And friend.

I remember her – jolly, smiling, and welcoming.

I remember her singing “Fever,” accompanied by her bass player, as I walked down the aisle to get married.

I remember her sitting in my living room studying German with my husband.

I remember her saying she must go, she had work to do at church.

I remember her helping special needs adults and guiding their hands making art.

You see, Melva gave a lot of her time to friends and the community.

Johnson, Studio 4, Gin & Tonic with Lemon, and The Ladies Auxiliary. Will Jones and Bob Sanger are slated to play in November.

Donations can be made onsite at these concerts or through the Melva’s Alley Project on Go Fund Me. Spearheading the project are Lizzie Morrison, Ann Vaughn, Kini Snow, Mary Boyles, Donna Jackson, Micol Clark, Traci Haynes George, Andi Draughn Schnuck, and Jackie Haynes. Several of these friends shared memories of Melva: Ann Vaughn, Director of the Visitor Center from 19952006, began the “Summer Music in the Park” series to provide a venue for local musicians. She said, “I could not believe my fortune when I featured Melva for the first time in 1996. It was a friendship that I would treasure until her untimely death in May of this year.” Ann described Melva as “an amazing professional who dedicated her life to others by sharing her musical talents in teaching and by sharing her heart and compassion by giving back to her community in many ways.”

Kini Snow said, “Melva came into my life during my darkest period and truly changed my life! The love she had for people who needed a hand was honestly remarkable! I worked beside her for several years at Thanksgiving when she put in many hours (and dollars) to make sure nobody in town went hungry or lonely. Even when she was feeling the worst, she made sure to ‘be the light’ when she was around people. World famous for her incredible talent and yet, she changed the world for me and my daughter.”

Melva Houston called Mount Airy home. She was a jazz celebrity in Germany and traveled there often for concert tours. She also gave gospel concerts in German churches while on tour. But when she came home, she worked soup kitchens, volunteered her time, and hosted an annual Thanksgiving meal for anyone in need.

On May 14, 2020, the world lost Melva to cancer. Several of her close friends and family, along with Mount Airy Downtown, Inc., are raising funds to allow her legacy to live on. The Melva’s Alley project is part of the arts on Market Street movement and includes transforming an alleyway into a musical venue – including a stage, a painting of Melva on the alley wall, lights strung across the area, and bistro seating.

To assist with funding this project, concerts in the alley started the last weekend of September and will continue weekends through November. Artists that have played include Reggie 16 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

Jackie Haynes told me that Melva taught an etiquette class to Jackie’s daughter, Traci George. Traci was not a happy twelveyear-old being forced into etiquette class, but she found a lifelong friend. Melva sang at Traci’s wedding and serenaded Jackie with “Happy Birthday” every year. Jackie said, “Melva was the most loving and giving person with her heart to community. What she gave to community can’t be repaid and she loved to do.”

Melva’s niece, Micol Clark (aka Little Melva), said, “My family is blessed beyond words over the hard work everyone is doing to keep my aunt’s legacy alive. I am very happy to see Mount Airy really honor a great woman who was a pillar for the community!”

You can find Melva’s music on several platforms online like YouTube and Spotify.

Happy Trails to you!

Choose Well. Choose Northern.

Choose Well. Choose Northern.

BRITTNEY PRESLAR, FNP-C, JOINS NORTHERN FAMILY MEDICINE

Brittney Preslar, certified Nurse Practitioner in Family Medicine, has joined the clinical care team of Northern Family Medicine – a department of Northern Regional Hospital.

Preslar, a native of Mount Airy, is pleased to be taking care of patients in her hometown community. “I was born and raised in Mount Airy,” she says proudly, “and it’s always a pleasant ‘reunion’ when my patients know me because we grew up together or because they know my parents. If they’re friends with my parents, they usually tell me stories about myself when I was a little girl,” she laughs.

As a Family Nurse Practitioner, Preslar is responsible for evaluating, diagnosing and treating patients with a wide variety of common and chronic physical ailments, including hypertension, high cholesterol, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, bronchitis, diabetes, and others. “I try to be holistic with my patients because I want to find the root of the problem and not just prescribe medications,” she says. “I carefully review their records to see where they’ve been clinically, where they are now, and where they want to be.”

Preslar spends time educating her patients about their conditions, as well as recommending lifestyle alternatives to further improve their health. She says she also provides hugs, as needed – especially for those who may be experiencing bouts of anxiety or depression. According to mental health experts, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to an increased incidence of mental health problems.

Preslar is a member of the American Nurses Association; and holds certifications in a number of clinical areas including Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Stroke Life

Support (ASLS), and NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) international certification.

These days, Preslar feels pleased and privileged to be giving back to her community. “I’m treating ‘my people’ because this is my community,” she says.

When not helping her patients, Preslar enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her husband, Jason, a furniture salesman; and Finn, their energetic five-year-old son who, she says, “just started kindergarten … and loves it!” Her son also loves the newest additions to their family – cows! “My husband just got some cows,” she laughs, “and Finn enjoys being outside with them and his dad.” When not cow-gazing, father and son go on frequent fishing trips. All three come together, however, to dine out with family and friends – especially when the selected restaurant is 13 Bones, where Preslar spent time waitressing in between school semesters.

Preslar is committed to participating in the American Cancer Society’s annual “Relay for Life” fundraising walk as a way to honor her mother, a cancer survivor, and all other cancer survivors.

While this year’s local event may be suspended due to COVID-19, she is hopeful that the fundraising effort will be resumed as soon as safely possible.

To schedule an appointment with Brittney Preslar, FNP-C, please call Northern Family Medicine at 336-786-4133. The practice is located at 280 North Pointe Boulevard, Mount Airy, North Carolina 27030, just inside the Northern Wellness and Fitness Center.

For more information visit www.choosenorthern.org

This is a paid advertorial for Northern Regional Hospital, Mount Airy, NC.

out & about

Mrs. Ruby

been vital to my quality of life. I became a Stephen Minister and that appointment provided me the opportunity to serve, trust, and obey. In serving I’ve been blessed and inspired.”

Mrs. Ruby Lambert recently celebrated her 100th birthday. This humble centenarian radiates joy, encouragement, and hope to those around her. She models moral courage and inspiration and shares acts of kindness to others. She is the ultimate day-brightener— spreading sunshine wherever she is.

On October 14, 1920, Ruby was born to James and Hettie Blackburn in a mountainside log cabin near Lambsburg, VA. Her family moved to NC when she was a toddler. An outstanding student at Mount Airy High, Ruby won a scholarship to National Business College.

In 1941 she married the love of her life, Fred Lambert. To this marriage were born Arlette Porter, a Phi Beta Kapa graduate at Wake Forest University; Fred Jr., a Presidential Scholar at UNCCH; and Jim, who received his Civil Engineering Degree from NC State and holds a Professional Engineer designation. Accomplished grandchildren are Dr. Andrea Kittrell, ENT Surgeon in Lynchburg VA; Dr. Douglas (Dee) Porter, Jr., Director of Historic Sites and Programs for the City of Raleigh; Amanda Miller, a Pharmacist in Atlanta; Dr. Neelie Rotjam, a Professor at the University of Georgia; Luke Lambert, a Nascar Crew Chief; and Emily Dunlevy, an Elementary Teacher.

In 1957, Mrs. Lambert joined Quality Mills as CEO John Woltz’s Executive Secretary. She said, “I loved every minute of my career. I was thirty-seven, my children were in school, I needed a new career, and my thirty years there were most rewarding. In time I earned substantial authority and John’s wife, Pat, and I became best friends.”

In 1963, aspiring area leaders gathered for the Dale Carnegie course in Public Speaking and Human Relations. In thirteen weeks, reserved and unsure candidates were transformed into confident, astute, and poised community advocates. Ruby quickly became the go-to leader.

She helped alleviate candidates fear and inspired them to climb hills unthinkable.

In 2004 Mrs. Ruby supported Mount Airy’s Habitat for Humanity by personally raising funds. She invited guests to her home for social interaction, spiritual enhancement, and a scrumptious meal. Invitees willingly made generous gifts to her worthy cause.

Wife Charlotte and I reflect upon how alive God was in our midst. We were shown our Father’s expectations of how we are to live, do, and be.

RubyLambert 18 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

Mrs. Ruby has been a member of Central United Methodist Church in Mount Airy for at least 80 years. She shared, “Being a devoted church member has

Central UnitedMethodist Church Ruby shared two worthy family miracles. First, during the Great Depression a young man from Texas walked by her dad’s molassesmaking operation in White Plains, asked for work and said he would sleep in the barn. Mr. Blackburn responded, “I need an able hand and you can sleep in the house as the guest of our family.”

The second miracle was in 1990 when, shortly after husband Fred’s passing, Ruby was at Fred’s grave planting pansies when Luis Aguilar Ramirez walked up, took her shovel, and proceeded to plant the remaining flowers. To this day, members of the Ramirez family, aided by the Gonzales family, assist Mrs. Ruby.

In 2010, Mrs. Ruby moved to Arbor Acres Assisted Living in Winston-Salem, and she eagerly spends time writing memoirs, compiling family histories, and enjoying her relationship with God. She shared her Sunday morning ritual: “At 9:45 my Pacesetters Class members visit, participate, and share in the wonderful message via Zoom. At 11:00 we join the virtual Worship Service.

Minister Daniel Miller is tops and he’s assisted by Rev. Kennette Thomas. Son-in-law Doug Porter, Sr. handles the technical aspects of the Sunday morning service.”

On October 14, she, family, and friends celebrated her 100th birthday at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill. Her legacy will forever teach us to do good for others, to forever be looking for the good in others, and to find ways to serve. She believes people are miracles, and that, with God’s help, miracles happen. Ruby Lambert has earned icon and legend status.

“Celebrating 83 YEARS OF SERVICE in the Area!”

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1901 S. Main St • Mt. Airy • (336) 786-7082

out & about

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SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 19

simply delicious

with Rynn Hennings

www.thehouseofelynryn.com

H

asselback or accordion-style potatoes were created in Sweden in the 1950s and have become very popular in the last few years. Cooks discovered how versatile they are and have been accordion-cutting many types of vegetables and fruits. The potatoes in this sweet potato pie are cut using the Hasselback technique which is putting many rows of cuts into a potato without cutting all the way through it. The trick to doing this successfully and quickly is to place a potato into an extralarge spoon for slicing. The sides of the spoon will prevent the knife from cutting through to the bottom of the potato.

This pie is large and will yield about 10 slices. It makes a great Thanksgiving dessert!

HASSELBACK SWEET POTATO PIE Servings: 10 servings Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hour Passive Time: 15 mins

Ingredients • 2 pie crusts (prepackaged & refrigerated or your favorite homemade recipe) • 5-6 medium sweet potatoes • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 20 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

• • • • • • • • •

1/8 teaspoon salt 1 cup half and half 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 tablespoons butter 1 egg white 3/4 - 1 cup raw almond slivers 10-inch round deep-dish pie pan (or equivalent) Cooking spray Aluminum foil

Directions 1. Wash the sweet potatoes. Remove the potato skin with a peeler. Place each whole potato into the pie dish. Peel enough potatoes to cover the bottom of the dish. Cut long potatoes in half if necessary to fit them. The dish should be filled with potatoes.

2. Once you have enough peeled potatoes, move them to a large stock pan and cover with water. Prop a lid on the pan and boil for 5 minutes.

3. Grease the pie dish, making sure there is no water in it from fitting the potatoes. Take out 1 pie crust and roll it to make it bigger to fit the 10-inch dish. Then place it in the dish, letting any extra crust hang over the sides.

4. Whisk the egg white until foamy. Brush the egg mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie crust. Place the crust in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

5. Remove the boiled potatoes from the heat and drain and rinse the potatoes in cold water.

6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 7. Using an extra-large spoon, place each potato on the spoon and slice. Stop cutting when the knife hits the sides of the spoon so that you don't cut all the way through. Slide the potatoes off the spoon into the chilled crust, being careful not to break apart the potatoes. Arrange them so that they completely fill the crust.

8. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, flour, and salt and pour over the potatoes and then spread it out evenly.

9. In a large measuring cup, add the milk and vanilla. Stir.

Then pour the milk and vanilla, washing some of the sugar from the tops of the potatoes.

10. Cut pieces from the second crust to form a wide crust shelf or ring around the outside of the pie. Trim away any crust overhang from both the bottom and top crusts. With a pastry brush, wash the top crust with egg white, sealing the seams as you go. Then completely cover the ring with almonds. Brush egg white on the almonds by using a tapping motion with the brush so as not to disturb the almonds.

11. Cut the butter into pieces and place on the potatoes in the center opening of the pie.

12. Make a baking shield for the crust from aluminum foil and place loosely on top of the crust. Bake for 50 minutes.

Then remove the baking shield and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

outdelicious & about simply Savory Tips Egg white is brushed on the inside crust to help prevent it from becoming soggy during baking.

If using a ceramic or glass pie dish that you have chilled, place it on a baking sheet to help protect it from the shock of a hot oven rack that might break it.

N.C. Department of Insurance • Mike Causey, Commissioner 855-408-1212 (toll free) • www.ncdoi.com

For more information, photos, and even more recipes, go to Houseofelynryn.com

NOVEMBER IS

AMERICAN DIABETES MONTH Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States.

It can cause blindness, nerve damage, kidney disease, and other health problems if it’s not controlled.

One in 10 Americans have diabetes — that’s more than 30 million people. And another 84 million adults in the United States are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Ask your SHIIP counselor about Medicare-covered Diabetes Screening services.

Ask a SHIIP counselor for more information.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: NC COOPERATIVE EXT, SURRY CO @ 336-401-8025

We’ve Re lo

cat

ed!

Come See U s at our New Location!

— 235 Ea

Learn to use a new Creative Grids tool each month!

Register Online for Classes, Including: Breakfast Club • Stripology Club • Learn to Quilt Make & Take Projects • Bags • Classes On Demand and more!

Offering In-Shop Longarm Quilting Services Powered by Innova

st Main Str eet — We are in the last bu ilding on the northe ast end of B eautiful Historic Do wntown Elk in

Specializing in Custom Quilts, Memory and T-Shirt Quilts, as well as Custom Embroidery

Let’s be Social!

235 E. Main Street • Elkin, NC 28621

336-258-8383 Mon–Tues–Thurs–Fri: 10 am to 5 pm Sat: 10 am to 3 pm • Closed Sunday & Wednesday

Shop Online at www.YadkinValleyQuilts.com

SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 21

simply delicious activity wherever people live, learn, earn, play, and pray.

There are many delicious and nutritious recipes found on the ESMM website at https://www.eatsmartmovemorenc. com/myesmm/, including fall favorite Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin. Give it a try today.

MAPLE MUSTARD PORK TENDERLOIN

Extra weight is not the gift we want to give ourselves during the holidays. With all the delicious treats to eat and being too busy to exercise, it is easy to put on a few additional pounds.

In fact, if you do, you are not alone. Many Americans gain between one and five pounds during the holidays. Weight gained in the few weeks from mid-November until New Year’s Eve accounts for more than half of the weight gained for the entire year. If those few pounds melted away as quickly as snow falls in this part of the country, we wouldn’t be concerned. Unfortunately, that weight is like the old wives’ tales about snow that stays on the ground is waiting on the next snow fall to come. That extra weight is often just hanging around for more pounds to be added to it, which many people never lose. Fortunately, help is available.

The holidays are not a very realistic time to try to lose weight so maintaining should be our goal. The 14th annual Eat Smart, Move More, Maintain, Don’t Gain! Holiday Challenge is a free seven-week challenge, from November 16 – December 31, which provides participants with ways to help maintain their weight.

Benefits include weekly newsletters, daily tips, weekly challenges, healthy holiday recipes. And you’ll find more support on social media. You can share progress in the private Facebook Community, find recipes on Pinterest, and find tips and updates on Twitter and Instagram. For employers: If you are interested in promoting the Holiday Challenge as a workplace wellness benefit, please call Cooperative Extension at 336-401-8025 for more information.

Last year, more than 40,600 people participated worldwide.

Accept the 2020 Holiday Challenge and sign up today! To register, go to https://esmmweighless.com/holidaychallenge/.

If you don’t have access to a computer, utilize those at your local library or contact the Surry County Center, NC Cooperative Extension at 336-401-8025. You can register for the challenge over the phone and receive information and weekly tips in the mail. For this holiday season, the only thing that should be “stuffed” is the turkey. Make time to take care of yourself and the holidays will be more enjoyable for all.

The Maintain, Don't Gain Holiday Challenge is part of Eat Smart, Move More (ESMM) NC, a statewide movement promoting opportunities for healthy eating and physical 22 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

Ingredients • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided • ½ teaspoon kosher salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper • 1-pound pork tenderloin, trimmed • 2 teaspoons canola oil • ¼ cup cider vinegar • 2 tablespoons maple syrup • 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh sage Directions 1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 2. Combine 1 tablespoon mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl; rub all over pork. Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, then brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 145°F, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

3. Place the skillet over medium-high heat (take care, the handle will still be hot), add vinegar, and boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, about 30 seconds.

Whisk in maple syrup and the remaining 2 tablespoons mustard; bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

4. Slice the pork. Add any accumulated juices to the sauce along with sage. Serve the pork topped with the sauce.

Notes: Serves 4; Active Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes Nutrition: Serving size: 3 oz. pork tenderloin & about 2 Tbsp. sauce. Per serving: 186 calories; 5 g fat(1 g sat); 0 g fiber; 9 g carbohydrates; 24 g protein; 0 mcg folate;74 mg cholesterol; 6 g sugars; 6 g added sugars; 7 IU vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin C; 20 mg calcium; 1 mg iron; 472 mg sodium; 512 mg potassium.

all the rest

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Rates start as low as $25 per month! Call (336) 648-3555 or email sales@surryliving.com SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 23

TIME TO BE

grateful

Happy Thanksgiving! Our hearts are filled with gratitude at Surry Communications.

We’re grateful you chose us to be your communications provider. We’re grateful our community is filled with such kind,. dedicated., and hard-working people. And we’re grateful our company has the privilege of keeping you connected to what matters most.

May the spirit of gratitude you celebrate abundantly in November continue to be present in the months and years ahead.

24 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

surry.net • 336.374.5021

Cornerstone Group © 2020

OUR OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26.

all the rest Find out how a harmless prank entangles two college kids with a serial killer in the next installment of A DEEPER CUT, a novel of suspense and forgiveness by Mt. Airy author Sheri Wren Haymore.

before him. “No!” Grayson shouted. “This cannot have happened. Not in my town.”

“I swear, it was just like I said,” the officer insisted. “Her lawyers brought the magistrate with them. We had no choice but to let her go.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Grayson’s voice was shaking with the effort to control his rage. “I told you—I gave you a direct order— to call me the minute her lawyer showed up.”

“There were three of them, and it all happened so fast . . .”

“You did what?” Hunter kicked the side of the police car and sliced the air with one fist. If Grayson had not been wearing a badge, Hunter would have dived through the open window for his throat, and Grayson knew it.

“Nothing happens that fast. You didn’t call me because you disagreed with me for holding the girl. You didn’t think I knew what I was doing, and so you . . .”

“I trusted you. I trusted you!” Hunter turned his back with a jerk.

“And I said I wanted her held without bond. Where are those lawyers now?”

Grayson let the car roll forward. “Get in, Hunter,” he said quietly.

Hunter stopped and stood for a defiant moment, back to the car, fists clenched. When he gave in, it was not without a scattering of gravel and a slam of the door.

Neither spoke as Grayson drove away from the curious eyes of onlookers. On a side street, he stopped the car and sat chewing a toothpick.

“You were supposed to go after the guy on that cruiser.” There was resentment in Hunter’s voice, disillusionment.

Grayson gave a sigh.

“But the magistrate himself came down and set bond.”

“I don’t know. It’s not my job to know.”

Grayson turned his back and made for the nearest exit. It didn’t matter now whether he talked to her lawyers or not. The damage was done.

He had wanted a chance to suggest to them that she was safer in jail than anywhere else.

What he could not have told them or Hunter was that he knew something big was going down tomorrow. Maybe on the waterfront, maybe somewhere else. It would be between Jack Franklin and Rob Kittrell. And whatever Miki knew about the murders could get her caught in the middle.

“Why did you arrest Miki?”

***

“Her fingerprints were on your gun.”

“So? Big deal.” Even as Hunter struggled to appear nonchalant, Grayson could tell the wheels were turning in his head. “You told me you need plenty of evidence to tie a person to a dead guy.”

“That’s right.” There was finality in his voice.

That night, the eve of Hunter’s birthday, was heavy with August mist.

Amy and Hunter sat on the end of his dock, their legs dangling. They were saying good-bye, sort of. Amy would be leaving for Chapel Hill in a couple of days. Hunter would be in Charlotte by this time next week.

Neither said much.

“What was she doing with my gun? Did you ask her that? There has to be an explanation.”

“Best summer?” she asked, continuing a lifelong game.

“Hunter, do you love her?”

“Worst summer.”

“What kind of question is that?”

“This one.”

“Do you?”

She was quiet in understanding. When she spoke, her voice was small but frank. “We’re not going to happen, are we?”

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t you get it? I care what happens to her. I was—I was—.” He slammed the dashboard with his fist. “Damn it!

I was supposed to get her away from Jack Franklin. I didn’t know she was in danger from you, too.”

“She is away from Franklin,” Grayson said. “You have to trust me, Hunter. I know what I’m doing, and I have the best interest of both of you at heart.”

“Trust. Yeah, right.” Hunter got out of the car, slammed the door, and stormed off without another word. *** Back in his office, Grayson was ready to clobber the officer who stood

“This one.”

There was nothing indifferent in the way he looked at her. His face winced with genuine regret. “It’s my fault,” he said, and he looked back at the water.

“Mama says we’re too much like brother and sister anyway,” she said.

“Is that what you think?” He looked at her again, but she was staring intently at the water. He studied her curved lashes, her cheek where the dimple was hiding, the pretty turn of her mouth. He had kissed her last summer, her lips sweet and earnest, and it had not felt like kissing his sister.

When she didn’t answer, he said, “You told me I need to decide who I am and what I want.”

SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 25

all the rest She smiled a little.

“I think I’ve figured out this summer who I’m not. I’m going to really try this semester to get my act together. And I know that my mind’s still tangled up with Miki, and when I finally say good-bye to her, it’s going to take some time to get her out of my system, but . . .” He swung his legs and looked away. “Granny Jen’s invited me back for Thanksgiving.” He saw Amy’s legs begin to swing alongside his. “And I thought if you weren’t seeing anybody by then, well, maybe we could, you know, get together.”

When he looked at her, the dimple had come out of hiding. That was all the answer he needed.

When Hunter came home that night, barely an hour past curfew, Aunt Winnie was watching for him. “Hunter!” she called from the porch.

“You’re late.”

He shrugged and started up his steps.

“Your grandmother is waiting up for you,” said Winnie. “She’s asked to see you in her room.”

Hunter frowned in concern. It was not like Granny Jen to send Winnie after him. He nodded a greeting to the police officer Grayson kept constantly guarding Granny Jen’s door and stepped into the house.

Worried, he strode to his grandmother’s room, knocked, and entered quietly. Granny Jen sat propped by pillows in bed, her hair combed neatly, wearing a silky blue robe.

“Bad day?” he asked, trying not to appear too concerned.

“It’s a good day,” she said. “And tomorrow will be even better. I’m just conserving my energy for your birthday.”

“So,” he said, trying to lighten the mood, “do I look like a man yet?”

She smiled and studied him approvingly. “You know, I think maybe you do. What do you plan to do on your birthday?”

“I guess go to work like I always do. I wish I had known this curfew was going to last so long; I might have found a morning job to make up for the hours I’m losing every night. And,” he added with a careless shrug, “I don’t know, maybe try to talk to Miki.”

“What were you doing with your grandfather’s gun, and why did she have it?” Jen asked abruptly.

He looked at her. How did she manage to know so much? “I’m ashamed to say what I was doing with it, and I have no idea why she had it. She didn’t kill that tourist, though. You’ve got to believe me on that.”

“I know she didn’t. Surely, Grayson knows that. I keep thinking maybe he’s trying to flush out the real killer. And your reason for having that gun brings me to my reason for wanting to see you.

Forgiveness.” She punctuated the word with a stately silence, and Hunter just stood and looked at her, almost afraid of what she might say. “It’s time for you to begin to understand forgiveness. You have held on to your resentment against your father too long.” When he frowned, she continued firmly, “Yes, it was a bad blow for a little boy, and it has made life hard for you. But you’re a man now. It’s time for 26 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

you to let it go. You can choose to make what you want of your life from this day on, and you can choose how you will react when you see him again.” When Hunter said nothing, she added, “Forgiveness is a choice, Hunter, an action. It’s not an abstract feeling.”

“My feelings toward my father haven’t exactly been abstract.”

“That’s why I’m telling you this. You can’t help how you feel, but you can choose how you act.”

He sighed and took a step away.

“One more thing, Hunter.” Her eyes twinkled. “Winnie doesn’t think you should have to cook on your birthday. She’s planned a delightful meal for the occasion.”

Hunter left her room laughing, and some of the weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. It wasn’t until he returned to his apartment that he wondered at her words, when you see him again. *** Hunter’s birthday dawned another easy Carolina day. The sun promised to be bright but not too hot, the wind just right. Showers were expected by late afternoon.

Hunter woke up early as he always did at Granny Jen’s. Next week, he would be fighting the alarm clock to give him ten more minutes, but today he was glad to be awake, glad to see the sun stream blue through his window and glow happily on the coral wall. He surveyed his apartment. It belonged to him now, but it would be a few years before he would get to spend more than a few days at a time in it.

He hoped to get started next summer in an internship program—if anyone would have him—and he would have to intern for several years after graduation before he could apply for a license and work as an architect on his own. One day in the not-too-distant future, though, this would be his home.

He stretched and thought about turning twenty-one. Until now, it had always seemed pretty cool. He could buy his own liquor. Nobody could tell him what to do. Now that he was twenty-one, it seemed a little scary. Nobody had to take him in if he fell flat on his face. He could screw up his life in a heartbeat, just by one bad move. He had to stop playing with life and start planning how to live.

And he would be living his life with memories of a dead guy and without Miki. It still made him sick to think about Sanders, and it still hurt to think about Miki. He no longer ached for her. He just wanted a chance to finish it, to get her safely away from Jack Franklin, to see her free of the murder charge. And when it was over, he wanted to kiss her good-bye.

As he swung out of bed and reached for a pair of shorts, a man’s voice stopped him cold. “It’s about time you were waking up.”

Sweat broke out on the back of Hunter’s neck and his gut twisted.

He did not look toward the sofa. His movements deliberately slow and nonchalant, he pulled on the shorts and stood to his full height beside the bed. He preferred to face his father wearing pants and on his feet.

“How did you get in here?” he asked.

all the rest “I have ways.” Rob Kittrell’s native Carolina accent carried a West Coast twang. “You look good, kid.”

Hunter did not take a step in the direction of his father. Chin lifted and jaw relaxed, he stared at the man he had both hated and longed for his entire life. He allowed nothing in his expression to reveal that his heart was banging his ribs with an awful commotion.

Rob chuckled and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket.

“Not my brand,” said Hunter when Rob offered him one. He sat on the crate and stared at his father lighting the cigarette, his guts in a knot, wishing the man cared half as much as he did. Damn it, he had always thought his father at least cared. “Why are you here?” he repeated

Rob Kittrell was sprawled on Hunter’s sofa as if he were relaxing in his own living room, one foot propped on the wooden crate Hunter used as a coffee table, his body more lean and lanky than most men of forty-one. He was a good-looking man worn-down by life, the lines of his face deep, the glint in his eyes calculating.

“Attending to some business,” Rob said casually.

Eighteen years of words and hatred and pretending not to care jammed inside Hunter’s throat. He couldn’t think of a single word to say.

Hunter leaned forward, his lips tight, and punched the air between them with one finger. “You know, after eighteen years of never hearing your name mentioned, I get hit with it everywhere I turn this summer,” he said. “People are looking for you, people think they’ve seen you, people put your name in the same sentence with the harbor killings.” Hunter sat back and waited for a response, an outburst.

What he got was another chuckle.

“Got any coffee?” asked Rob. “Uh, no. I do breakfast at Granny Jen’s. Sorry.” Hunter was relieved to have something easy to say. “Do you want to see her for breakfast?

She’s always up by now.”

“Huh! You’re planning on starting her day out with a heart attack, eh?”

“Actually, in some weird way, I think she’s sort of expecting you.”

When Rob didn’t respond, Hunter continued, “And Aunt Winnie’s here.”

“Well, hell. A family reunion.” Rob looked toward the blue window, his eyes flat and dark, and made no move to stand. With a glance at his son, he said, “I’ve missed you, kid.”

“Yeah, you missed all right.” Hunter swiped the crate from beneath his father’s foot without apology and sat on it, leaning forward intently. “You missed my basketball games; you missed my birthdays; you missed graduation—well, hell, what am I thinking?” Hunter bopped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “You missed my whole life.”

No hint of regret crossed Rob’s features. He smiled briefly at his son’s humor. “You turned out okay,” he said. “And thanks for the phone call.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about how I turned out.” Hunter wanted something more from his father than he was getting: a fight, an apology, excuses, maybe a mushy outpouring of love that Hunter could stomp.

“Sure I do.” Rob’s shrug was careless, so much like his own that Hunter wanted to strangle him. Eyes narrow, Rob continued, “I’ve survived this long by being able to read a man’s eyes. I can tell by yours that you’ve got it together.”

Hunter stared him down. Read this, man, he thought. I hate you and I wanted to kill you until I saw a real dead guy. Rob blinked first. “Why are you here?” Hunter asked, continuing to stare down his father. “This whole town is under siege. I’ve got cops and reporters watching my place day and night, all of them looking for you. Not a good time for you to come sight-seeing.”

“For how long?” Hunter demanded.

Rob crossed his legs, long arm draped across his knee, and took a drag of the cigarette.

“I haven’t killed anybody lately, kid,” Rob drawled slowly ...

Sheri Wren Haymore lives near Mt. Airy with her husband, Clyde, and has been scribbling her entire life. A DEEPER CUT is her second novel. To read the next installment in the book, pick up the latest issue of Surry Living Magazine. You can find A DEEPER CUT at Pages in Mt. Airy, Chapters in Galax or at your favorite online bookseller.

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Toll Free: 1-855-408-1212 SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 27

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28 • SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue

area calendars & info

FARMERS MARKETS DOBSON FARMERS MARKET: Now closed for the Season ELKIN FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays from 9:00 AM — 12:00 PM (May 9 – Nov 21); Saturdays from 10:00 AM — 11:00 PM Location: Elkin Town Hall, 226 N. Bridge St. MOUNT AIRY FARMERS MARKET: Now closed for the Season

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GIN DENTON

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Mon – Fri: 7:30 am – 6:00 pm Saturday: 7:30 am – 5:00 pm

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FREE Bibles, Coffee, & Bottled Water

Large Selection of Hardware and over 60 Choices of Decorative Stone & Gravel Feed • Seed • Fertilizer • Mulch • Pine Needles • Propane Herbal Home Remedies Now Available

Antiques & Collectibles, Farm Toys, Gift Certificates, Outdoor Fireplace Kits & Firepits 7802 NC 268, DOBSON, NC 27017 • www.farmersmulchandrock.com • 336.386.0883

SURRY LIVING Nov. 2020 Issue • 29

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