We all know Frank Capra’s 1946 classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Most of us catch the film around the holidays, as its final scenes are set during Christmastime. The film takes place in the town of Bedford Falls, a small, simple community that gives the impression the story could take place anywhere. The great James Stewart plays the lead character, George Bailey. Bailey has aspirations for a great life. To him, this life consists of traveling the world, seeing […]
In high school, the number that adorned my baseball uniform was, forty-one. It was my number. I took possession of it and owned it. It didn’t have any significant meaning at the time, but since has taken on a life of its own. In college, I became a huge Dave Matthews Band fan, something like twelve shows in four years. Ironically, Dave Matthews has a song called #41 – creative considering it was the 41st song he had written. Through […]
I ran into an all too familiar face, or rather, an all too familiar place, last night; The Betty Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital here in Wilmington. The twins lived there for almost 5 weeks when they were born and we had an overnight visit with Greyson earlier this year. I didn’t expect we’d be there yesterday; Wyatt was admitted around 5pm with respiratory complications from a cold. As I walked towards the hospital, there was a range of emotions, […]
My grandfather, Mendel Ham, grew up on a farm in rural South Carolina. Racial inequality was rampant in the Deep South during the 1930’s, but one of his best friends was an African-American farm hand. That pretty much sums up my grandfather—the stares and jeers weren’t strong enough to break his spirit. I didn’t know him as a young man, but I try to envision him approaching my grandmother to ask her on their first date. Or, see him as an eighteen-year old marine, serving our country […]
This post was a month ago and resonated with me today!
I love NC State football. As a 2004 graduate, I bleed Red & White! Last week, we hosted the #3 Clemson Tigers. The game was televised on ESPN’s Thursday Night Primetime and I was there with 57,000 others cheering on the Pack. State played well, much better than most expected, and as the 3rd quarter was closing, it was only 13-7 in Clemson’s favor. Then it happened. State’s Brian Underwood broke a run around the end and headed down the sideline […]
In 2010, I fell in love with the sport of triathlon. The year before, Liz was part of a relay team at a local ‘sprint’ triathlon, a shorter distance race for both competitive and novice participants. When I went to watch the race, I wondered, “Could I?” In 2010, I competed in 2 races, 11 in 2011 including a Half Ironman (70.6 miles), and 9 in 2012. However, this year, I decided to take some time off from competitive racing […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
