Day: July 16, 2003
I-26 by the numbers
The new leg of Interstate 26 through Madison County is the fruit of a massive undertaking. Consider these statistics: Length: nine miles Number of lanes: six Original cost estimate (1988): $50-$60 million* Final cost: $230 million Percent paid by the federal government: 80* Cost of welcome center/rest area $6.1 million Construction time: seven years Tons … Read more
Thinking globally, dancing locally
What do a Norwegian offshore-oil-rig worker, a Hawaiian college student, a Sardinian surveyor and a former Utah beauty-pageant queen have in common? A passion for folk dancing, of course. These dancers — and about 350 other dancers and musicians from across the world — have put aside their day jobs to travel to Waynesville to … Read more
Polyester truth
“Let’s do another bad one, then,” Warren Zevon jokes at the outset of “Numb as a Statue,” from his yet-to-be-released The Wind. “‘Cause I like it when the blood drains from Dave’s fa-a-a-ace.” Then a couple of tasty lap-steel notes bolt from the silence, clean as fire and as dirty as a dollar. Because Zevon … Read more
Death’s love letter
Warren Zevon has always had a thing about death. But lately, death has taken quite a shine to him, too. Zevon, who singularly defines the dark underbelly of classic Southern California rock (Jackson Browne, The Eagles), has mesothelioma. He’s dying. And if my casting of his impending demise seems needlessly callous, then you’re probably not … Read more
Random acts
Digging for recognition “We tried to play everywhere, but nobody would let us,” says Ted Robinson, taking a long drag off his cigarette. “If you see a picture of us playing, or hear any description of us, it’s really a test for people. I mean, who would trust a guy that said, ‘I’m in this … Read more
Midsummer blues
Like many gardeners, I’m tempted to neglect my crops during the dog days. The combination of heat waves and the tidal wave of looming midsummer garden tasks threatens to take the wind out of my sails. Happily, however, cool blues come to the rescue; they refresh and sustain me, even lure me out into the … Read more
Moving mountains
“They filled it in from mountaintop to mountaintop. To look down, you’d never know there was anything had ever been there.” — displaced homeowner Lucille Babbitt In a quiet hollow in eastern Madison County, there once was a house whose owners never locked the door. (In fact, it’s doubtful that they even had a key.) … Read more
A perilous stretch
The Murray Mountain section of U.S. 23 is the most treacherous. Each year, there are about 40 wrecks — and one fatality — on U.S. 23 between Mars Hill and Sams Gap, DOT Resident Engineer Stan Hyatt reports. About a half-dozen times a year, a trucker loses his brakes and jackknifes, closing the road until … Read more
