Hard Work

We live, every day, in a vacation spot. This is an unusual life. Most people in town are: 1) retired, and therefore on an extended final vacation, or 2) on a short-term regular vacation, whether by boat or by land.
We're here for Adam to work, and sometimes his work looks like this:

Yes, he's working. He's got his books, Bible and ipad, and he doing sermon and Bible study preparation. Sitting by the river helps him to think, I guess, although I've never known him to have much trouble thinking.
Adam went visiting the other day with an elder from the church. When Adam showed up, the elder told Adam he was over-dressed. Adam was wearing long pants instead of shorts. Shorts, for visitation? Yep -- in Oriental!
Of course there are locals who've grown up here and work here. To them, it's a place like any other place, I suppose. Quite a few come to the long pier to fish each day. When I rode up on my bike the other day, one man was leaning over the near end of the pier, his fishing pole and line strained in an arc. Another man scrambled down on the rocks, reaching into the water. He was retrieving the large trout that was pulling on the first man's line.
Here he is, coming up from the rocks. It's a big one! They don't often catch this size fish on the pier.

The proud men and their catch:

If you met these men, they are common Southern country people. They just happen to live near a river. Pamlico County is one of the poorest counties in the state. We have some million dollar homes with million dollar view; we have many, many trailers and small home devastated by Hurricane Irene whose occupants have yet to return.

But Oriental has such a variety in the population, and a pastor must be able to relate to all kinds of people. There are many retirees from New England, particularly Long Island or parts of NY and NJ. People in their boats may hail from Florida or Quebec. Some tie up their sailboats, fall in love with the town, and stay. We have lots of old hippies, casual folk with broad views and liberal ideas. Locals' families were in Pamlico County well before the retirees and tourists arrived, when the river was just for fishing. They're not so broad-minded, are more traditional with tight family ties.

We love being in Oriental. And while it might look (especially here on the blog) like a life of leisure, there are some challenges to this place. We're enjoying the challenges too.