Y'all wantin' sweet tea?

I am back from a tour of textile mills in beautiful Greensboro, NC, and am really happy to have something to eat besides salad and potatoes. One night I did make my friend Jeff go to the local veggie Chinese with me and it was lovely. My spidey-sense started tingling on the way to dinner when we saw a vintage clothing store and people playing Hacky-Sack, because I could tell we were in "my" part of town, that is, near a college campus. We saw some fellas kicking back with drinks on the roof of their house, apparently because the porch couch was too stinky to sit on any longer.
The trip made me oddly nostalgic for my Texas origins, although in general I am glad to not live in the South, where "atheist" is commonly read as "Satanist." Same thing with "Feminist" and "Lesbian." However, my secret Texan skills came in handy when translating North Carolinian to Oregonian and back.



What appears to be a blood-covered submarine is in fact a machine that is dyeing red T-shirt fabric.









Cracks in the floor were filled with broken needles and stuff from knitting machines.

I met a nice young man from Belfast who is interning with a local yarn manufacturer, and who wore a green rubber bracelet to show his support for the search for a cure for Irishness. I hope they succeed. Please, Jesus?



We enjoyed staying at the Sheraton Four Seasons, which is apparently the only two-star Four Seasons in the world. It featured something called a "Dessertery", there was a false tooth buried in the outside of my friend Ann's hotel room door, and Tuesday morning brought two CSI vans to deal with the repercussions of a late-night meth party on the 24th floor.

Flying home, I sat next to a young man reading Bowhunter magazine.

Fare thee well, Greensboro! I'll miss the Cheerwine and sweet tea!

Postscript: The very kind tour guide sent me a twelve-pack of Cheerwine to help with the pain! I laughed, I thought I'd die. I have never recieved a gift based on my blog before, and I am going to have to be more careful about what I ask for.