Welcome to Henderson

My column in Saturday's Daily Dispatch:

It’s been an interesting first week for me here in
Henderson. My family and I have found a few
good places to eat, we’re almost wired up at
home for Internet and there is now only a few
hundred things to do to get the house ready to
live in - as opposed to the the number that was
in place a few days ago.
I’ve found my way to Northern Vance and
Kerr-Vance Academy, learned a thing or two
about volleyball stat keeping and navigated my
way out to Carver Elementary a few times.
This is a big change for me, not only from a
community standpoint, but from a coverage
aspect as well. In Shelby, football is king. Here,
it seems, the prep sporting world is more of a
republic.
Just days into my new life using a Mac, running
a sports desk and living in Eastern North
Carolina, lets break things down by the
numbers:
0 - The number of times I’ve had Eastern-style
barbeque or the number of rude people I’ve met
here so far
1 - The number of soccer matches I’ve staffed in
2006
2 - Volleyball matches I’ve covered in 2006
3 - Attempts it took for my wife to find the street
on which we live or the meals people have
brought to our home to welcome us to the area
4 - Number of e-mails I’ve had time to answer
while getting a crash course on the sports
scene in Vance County
5 - Times I’ve asked Brendan, Ashley or Mike a
stupid question this week
6 - Times people not from here have suggested
places in Henderson for me to try as eating
establishments
7 - Days I’ve been a Henderson resident
8 - Minutes it takes for me to get my laptop
working so I can read Netzero messages at
work
9 - Meetings I’ve not had here that I would have
had in the same time frame in my last job
10 - Times I’ve considered tossing my
cellphone out the window since I moved here
(Apparently, Verizon doesn’t work well here)
27 - Age my lovely wife, Shanna, will turn on
Friday
35 - Degrees it will be before I get the gas
turned on at home
38 - Degrees it will be before we crank up the
fireplace
52 - Number of times people mistaked
Henderson for Hendersonville when I told them
I was moving
53 - Number of times I followed that up with the
Cracker Barrell story
76 - The year I was born or the number of
“Blue’s Clues” videos my son owns
100 - How sure I am that I’m in the right place
All jokes aside, my family and I have enjoyed our
brief time here. Everyone we’ve met has been
warm and welcoming, and everyone has gone
out of their way to make us feel right at home.
Professionally, I readily admit that I have plenty
to learn about covering sports in Vance County. I
plan on learning it, and learning it quickly.
Bringing you the readers the best sports
coverage possible is the goal, and we’re aiming
for it.
Thanks for rolling out the welcome mat. You
won’t regret it.