Mail Call: March/April 2007

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Mayor Charles Wood congratulates Dylan Wade and h is lizard Spike during the Lizard Lick Olympics in Lizard Lick, North Carolina. Nikolaus Johnson

‘SPIKE’ THE LIZARD WINS THE RACE

Recently I changed my status from a life-long Chicago suburbanite to the newest resident of the small town of Zebulon, North Carolina.

Although I find myself with the minor annoyance of being about the only person in town who still uses the grammatically correct salutation of “you” vs. “you all,” country living still has its benefits.

One such perk is the unbridled free-flowing fun of such small-town signature events as the annual Lizard Lick Olympics that I had the pleasure of attending this fall in beautiful downtown Lizard Lick, North Carolina. The town has a reported population of 14, although I am told it has grown some recently.

In addition to the usual country music, dancing and the obligatory hush puppy culinary treats, the grand finale of the town festival was the annual Lizard Race, conducted by the consummately cordial honorary Mayor Charles Wood. I still haven’t been given a straight answer as to whether Mr. Wood is an official mayor of a real town or merely a friendly figurehead.

Nonetheless, when “hizonnor” gave the “on your mark, get set, go,” an uncanny reverence fell over the crowd as the lizards did their slip and slide up the incline, racing their way to the winner’s circle.

I really don’t recall which of the small lizards won the lightweight race, but in the large lizard category, it was the bearded dragon “Spike” of Wendell who took top spoils.

I was asking myself if the trade-off of no longer having a CompUSA and Best Buy around the corner, with 10 or more world-class entertainment groups at my beck and call any weekend, in Chicago was a wise one. But now that I’ve experienced the Lizard Lick Olympics, I’ve concluded that I’m glad I made the move, because there simply are some things that money can’t buy: sheer pure country fun that’s “Lizard Lickin’ good,” ya all!

Gerald McGlothlin
Zebulon, North Carolina

Do you have a brief vignette like this about life in your small town or rural county? Please share it with GRIT readers and include a photo if you have one. No more than 300 words please. Send to Mail Call, c/o GRIT, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609-1265 or Letters@GRIT.com. – Editors

A GOOGLE CONVERT

I’m a retired boomer living on an acreage in the country in Iowa. I really enjoy Hank Will’s Country Tech column in GRIT – nice writing style and always interesting.

In the January/February 2007 issue, Hank mentioned Web sites that provide unit of measure conversions. I frequently use Google’s built-in conversion function.