By: Ken Boone I must have been out of my mind to completely uproot my life at that particular time. Who buys a house during what many have called the worst recession since the Great Depression? Who sends out their resume’ into the marketplace when companies are announcing mass layoffs every week? That would be me. I can’t believe that it was ten years ago today that I pulled out of the driveway of my house in Pittsford, NY to make the 10-hour drive to my new home in Huntersville, NC. I had come here 3 months before to check the place out, fell in love and didn’t want to leave. As my wife says, I got here as soon as I could. It’s been 10 years since the day I got a large appliance delivery from Lowe’s. One of the gentlemen noticed my Northeast accent and asked where I’m from. I listed all the cities and towns in New York and New Jersey that I had called home. I didn’t tell him that the longest I’d stayed in any one place, not including my childhood home, was about four years. He wanted to help this newcomer get acclimated to the area. He told me where I could find nearby supermarkets, gas stations, and fast food restaurants. He told me his sister lives in my development. I had forgotten about that when, three years later, a very nice lady introduced herself as the sister of the guy who delivered my kitchen appliances. My first year in North Carolina, my son used to send me texts almost daily. He would teasingly ask me if the roads were paved and if we had electricity and running water? I laughed it off and held my fire until winter when I sent him pictures of people walking in my neighborhood wearing tee shirts. He cursed and sent me a picture of his car covered with two feet of snow! I remember going online to get directions to the stores and businesses that my Lowe’s hero didn’t include in his list. It wasn’t until I moved the stack of printed directions into a binder that I realized most of the establishments were across the street or around the corner from each other. I made it through the rest of 2009 with some manageable drama that I won’t get into here. 2010 ended up being an eventful year. Things occurred in this order: 1. The drama in my life went away 2. My son moved down here. He has since continued south, ending up in Atlanta. 3. I adopted a beautiful half lab, half pointer named Britney, my faithful companion until… 4. I met Celia, who captured Britney’s heart just like she had mine, and… 5. Facilitated my return to music! In the last 10 years, I’ve made a lot of friends, mostly through Celia. We spent a lot of time in Asheville, NC, a city that I always wanted to visit. We even played at a wedding and reception on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate! I’ve seen the Metro Charlotte area arise from the economic recession that greeted my arrival. There is a lot of new construction happening. As a former resident of NYC, that didn’t bother me much, until I learned that a lot of wildlife, such as coyotes, bobcats, and deer have been displaced from their habitat. I’m just glad I’ve yet to see any of them, or I would have already packed my bags. Save them for the Animal Planet network! I’ve been here many times longer than any other place I’ve lived other than my childhood home. When I lived in the north, I liked to visit new housing developments, walk through the model homes, collect floor plans, and drive myself crazy wishing one of them was my new home. Fast forward to now. Anytime Celia and I see a new housing development going up nearby, the accountants in us come out. Instead of dreaming about buying one of the homes, we estimate the rise in the value of our house. That’s what people do when they’ve established roots. As much as we may dream of walking through those new homes, we can’t because we’re just so busy. We’re still masquerading as busy accountants, but now, we have carved out enough time to make more music! But wait... there's more!
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About the AuthorAs owner of the Descant Music & Media Group, Ken is a creator and producer of several podcast shows. He is also a music producer, as well as a writer and an accountant for small businesses and nonprofits. Archives
June 2020
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