Good morning, May 20th

Mayfaire's Big Bulbs Out Already!

Can you remember when Christmas decorations didn't appear until after Thanksgiving? I can, barely. Now, however, any time after Halloween is apparently fair game. I hadn't noticed the giant Christmas tree bulbs that flank the entrance to the Mayfaire shopping area until this morning, but when I saw them I just had to share.

What's Right With This Picture?

I'm in a great mood this morning and wanted to share a fav pic from the past year. One Sunday in early Spring Marge and I went to preview some houses (that's what I do, gimme a break!) and then stopped by to see some friends and their new puppies. Puppies sure do bond quickly - and I don't think it's just because I had apple fritter crumbs on my sweater.

p.s. - If when you see this photo you try to figure out what kind of phone is on my belt, you pass the geek test, but just might want to check your priorities!

Countdown to the HoeDown - 7 Days to Go!

OK, folks, get yer costume ready, slap on some monster makeup, and party on the river on Halloween Eve. October 31st, Riverfront Wilmington, North Carolina. It's called the Halloween HoeDown and part of the Downtown Sundown Concert Series. Featured groups include The BarnRaisers with Woodwork Roadshow. Special guest appearances by the Cape Fear River, lots of cool folks, and you! So you've got to be there, we're counting on you.

Produced and sponsored by the Downtown Business Alliance with a lot of help from a bunch of other folks. Here's the official list:

Sponsors of the 2008 Downtown Sundown Concert Series: Part 2 include Coors Beer, Waterford of the Carolinas, Dish Network, MADD, 106.7 The Penguin, encore, 103.7 The Bone, The Star News, Slice of Life, Loose Lucy's, Wilmington Downtown, Inc., and Blu Zeus Interactive Marketing. Support services provided by the City of Wilmington.

Costume prizes, door prizes (which since there's no door might be hard to win), and the chance to be silly and have fun in public.

The usual rules apply: no outside booze or beverages, no coolers, no pets, no pets in coolers, like that. You can bet everything but coolers and pets will be available for purchase, so don't let that stop you.

Questions? Call Katie Lucas of DBA Wilmington at 910-343-4114 or e-mail
katie@dbawilmington.com .

George Is Looking for a Home

George the Peacock really needs a forever home. There's a lot more to this story than I'd reasonably expect anyone to read, so here's the short version. I'm happy to fill in more for anyone interested. The bottom line is this bird needs a home, but catching him is not easy - not at all. Several peacock-experienced individuals and groups have tried multiple times with no luck, so don't just think you'll walk up with some peacock chow and he'll jump in your arms.

A family across Futch Creek (where we live) used to have four peacocks. For various peacock reasons they've left (the birds, not the people). The family isn't interested in getting them back. So this guy, and he is a male named George, had been hanging around our neighborhood since the summer of 2007. The photo above was taken in March of this year. He's still around but his tail feathers have molted (they're gone) - but they'll be back next spring (it's a mating season thing).

Anyway, George can fly and if you try to catch him he does just that - up on the roof of the nearest house. He isn't too much problem and he's really a gorgeous bird, but he drives the dogs crazy - seems like he knows it and prances back and forth in full view of dogs (our dog Pepper anyway) and the dogs go nuts. Twice Pepper got loose and tried to catch him and as soon as George realized he couldn't waddle faster than Pepper can run he went airborne.

Another issue with George is that we live on a corner of a winding road and sometimes George wanders into the middle - he's likely to get hit sometime and could cause an accident. Fortunately neither has happened yet.

Below are two more shots of George from March 2008, in full display, taunting Pepper on our back deck. One from the front, and the other from the back (I think George was intentionally mooning Pepper).

If you are interested in catching (and preferably owning and keeping) George, give me a call at 910-297-8753 or e-mail me at brucerbrown@yahoo.com.

Please realize that catching George won't be easy. It also could be dangerous as they get pretty vicious (I'm told) when cornered and caught. I'm also told safe catching (for the bird and for the catcher) involves heavy blankets, eye protection, heavy gloves, and probably a heavy jacket as well. The jury is still out if

tranquilizer darts would work and be safe for George. If so, that would be a snap because he only runs away if you chase him. If someone did catch him there are any number of folks who'd like him to live at their place, but none of those folks, several of them who already own peacocks locally, have been able to catch poor George.

Serenity at Low Tide

Even at low tide southeastern North Carolina creeks are beautiful. In Futch Creek in northern Wilmington oysters, crab, fish, egrets, pelicans, and many other birds thrive. The deer come out to watch as well.

Why Being Last on This List Saves You Money!!

OK, Wilmington and Leland, we're used to being among the first, best, most, or fastest on lots of lists compiled by various regional, national, and even international entities. So here's a list on which North Carolina scores last among all 50 states - and it's a good thing! Why is that?

The list in question is the cost of real estate closings. North Carolina scores the 50th spot in the country according to this report published on MSN. Meaning that, on average, buyers and sellers pay less in this state for a closing than in ANY OTHER STATE! So how cool is that?

This isn't the place to get into the whole Title vs. Attorney closing issue, but many do argue that closing costs are less in states where closings are not performed by the same entity that issues the title insurance. North Carolina is an Attorney state and our ranking on this list may be evidence of it being a good thing!

Financial Crisis = Great Opportunities!

The financial markets are in turmoil. That much is pretty clear and until the U.S. federal goverment decides what it will (or won't) do about it, the financial industry is on hold. Many consumers and investors are waiting, too, waiting for the government to decide so the financial folks can react, and then eventually, either immediately or after a while, business can resume at a more normal pace.

But in the mean time . . . . what are the really smart money people doing?

I don't think the savviest investors are sitting around wringing their hands waiting for Big Brother and all the younger Cousins to decide what the financial world is going to be like for them. The smart money is already making moves. Did you notice Warren Buffett invested $5 Billion dollars last week in a financial institution. No one on the planet has reason to think Warren Buffett is anything but probably one of if not the savviest investor alive. So he made a bold move.

How about you? Maybe you don't have $5 Billion to invest, maybe you don't have $5, 000 to put into personal or investment real estate today, but you can take positive action, you can be getting ready to move as soon as possible. This is clearly a time when those who wait will get the crumbs, those who can and do act right now will get the biggest pieces of the cake, and those who get ready to act as soon as they can will still get nice-sized slices. So how about you?