October 26, 2026- Hana looked at a small photograph, which showed Aram as a 6-year-old boy. I told her that was her Daddy when he was much younger. She looked over at his Navy Boot Camp graduation picture and then again at the small photo. Back and forth a few times, she made the connection.
Hana has taught herself how to climb up onto a cloth chair. She also knows how to go from there up onto a futon bed next to it. I kept her off the bed and then guided her down off the chair. The climbing fun has begun, and so has the increased vigilance.
HANA’S NOTE- I am feeling more like I can climb up things now. Papa is watching me very close, though, so I won’t be able to go everywhere.
EXPANDING CIRCLES: North Carolina- I have been to, or through, the Tar Heel State eight times. My first was a bus ride that stopped in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, in 1987. Aram and I spent a night in Charlotte, in late 2000, while driving a car back from New Jersey. Our family road trip, in 2007, saw us stay in Fayetteville, going north and Greensboro, going back south. Salisbury and Raleigh were other northbound overnight stops, in 2017 and 2022, respectively. I visited Asheville and Tryon briefly, in 2021. Each of these places has offered a hearty welcome. I have extended family in Winston-Salem, as well.
The turf- The Appalachian Mountains cover North Carolina’s west, and may be divided into four ranges: The Blue Ridge, Great Smokies, Black Mountains and Brushy Mountains. East of the Appalachians is the Piedmont Plateau, a hilly and forested region, which is also NC’s most populous area. The eastern third of the state is Coastal Plain. This includes the peninsula and islands of the Outer Banks. North Carolina celebrates its geographical diversity with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which has 18 segments, starting in Kuwohi, on the Tennessee border and ending at Jockey’s Ridge, in the Outer Banks. North Carolina features the Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains ( divides between water flowing towards the Atlantic and that flowing towards the Gulf of Mexico.). The state is drained by the French Broad, Kanawha, Hiawassee, Catawba, Yadkin, Chowan, Roanoke, Tar, Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers, along with their tributaries.
First Nations-North Carolina is the ancestral home of the Saponi, Cherokee, Haliwa, Meherrin, Coharie, Lumbee and Waccamaw peoples. The Tuscarora Nation lived in the Coastal Plain, until the 1710s. They were defeated by British settlers, in Barnwell’s War, (1713), at Fort Noherooka. The Tuscarora then moved to New York and Ontario.The Catawba were numerous in the Piedmont region, but were decimated by disease and conflict with the Cherokee. They primarily live today in South Carolina. The Cherokee, originally allowed to own land in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, under treaties of 1777 and 1792, were forcibly removed in 1838, under an edict from President Martin Van Buren. This removal was part of the Trail of Tears, which saw 20,000 people die, en route to Oklahoma. Today, there are eight State Reservations in North Carolina, including the Quall Boundary Reservation (Cherokee) in the Blue Ridge.
Where I most feel at home: Tryon, Asheville, Salisbury, Raleigh, Wilmington.
Where I most feel at peace: Tryon, Salisbury
NEXT: Virginia
