Moving South 20 Years Later...Stave 2

Driving from New York heading south, I believed, would be boring but not require more than a day. The grinding wet and cold winter I left propelled me along, but stayed at my heels until I’d crossed the Virginia/North Carolina border.

If you’ve never driven I-95 through North Carolina, you’ve missed out. The countryside is beautiful and the roads, at least back then, not heavily traveled.

I stopped at a scenic rest stop about a third of the way into the state, got out of my car, which bore the usual winter traces of salt and dirty road stuff thrown up while driving through slush and snow. To my surprise, I was suddenly overdressed. Shedding my heavy winter coat was the same as unloading a burden I hadn’t known I carried. By the time I reached South of the Border, in Dillon, South Carolina, the air was downright balmy. Somehow, my spirit seemed lighter too, but just then, I hadn’t quite noticed the difference.

Arriving at my destination, a condo that Low Country Guild leased for my use, I felt something shift inside. It was a small difference of emotion. The air smelled cleaner, stars filled the sky, and Palmetto trees lined the roads. I saw and smelled all of that, but was exhausted and anxious to meet my obligations with my temporary employer.

The condo was clean and bright with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. I noticed this too, but fell into a deep sleep. An experience I’d not had in many months.

Moving South 20 . . . Years Later

20 years ago, this coming March, I was confronted with both a dilemma and an opportunity. The dilemma was a shortage of good paying jobs where I lived in New York, a lingering recession, and a family to care for. Complicated by a spouse who believed that bar-hopping and all it implied was preferable to staying home nights. With that the dilemma deepened into a crisis of both values and faith. Two small children, who were, and as adults now still are, dear to my heart--I’d waited until turning 35 to become a father--stretched the dilemma into a nearly insurmountable challenge.

Since I did home repairs to earn a living, I was offered the opportunity to repair a roof leak in a building that housed a business--Delano Studios--where I once worked.

While attending to the repair, I learned the business was for sale, and decided that since I’d truly enjoyed the work previously, I would attempt to buy the company. As luck would have it, an offer that bested mine won out and the company was sold to a South Carolina corporation named Low Country Guild in Bluffton, SC.

To my surprise, the new owner requested that I travel to South Carolina and help get Delano Studios re-established. It was an offer not only too good to refuse at a time of diminishing employment, but exactly the challenge and change I needed. I was to work with Low Country Guild for 2-3 months and then return to New York.

We loaded two moving vans with Delano Studios and headed south. I left a cold wet New York in early March, hoping that two different goals might be accomplished. One, that I would earn some badly needed cash, and two, that the family dilemma mentioned at the beginning of this tale could be dealt with through change and opportunity.

End Part One

New Year's Most Important Question

For me, this is one of the most important and one of the most profound questions I've ever been asked. I thought I'd share it with anyone who is interested.

How would you live your life if you did not know your age?

Happy New Year!