Forgotten favorite restaurants

We were reminiscing the other day about days of old and how my mother's side of the family would routinely do a big Christmas dinner at Fussell's restaurant in Clinton. 

Oh, those were joyous times. Those fancy dinners took place at the "steakhouse" side of Fussell's. And you better believe there was a salad bar! There was a diner side of the place, too; legend was my grandfather ate lunch their roughly every day. 

Sadly, neither Fussell's is still around. But that got me wondering about other long lost (but definitely not forgotten) restaurants across the Old North State?

Favorite Carolina saying?

We were visiting with my grandparents in Clinton a couple weekends ago, and it reminded me of how much I love hearing some of their Southern colloquialisms. It also made me realize that, at least to these ears, a lot of those sayings are dying out.

Some of their sayings I've incorporated -- though, honestly, the times I say them are more to embarrass my wife than to honor my heritage. A good example is after a meal I'll say, "I'm fuller than a tick." She loves that one.

Another one I hear my grandfather say often is "it's raining to beat the band." Not sure what it means, but I love it.

I went to the Encyclopedia of Southern Expressions to see of any others I may have forgotten. (Yes, "full as a tick" is there.) A number of these I have heard growing up in North Carolina and, admittedly, some of these can't be proprietary to just the South. Among the more common ones are:

-Like water off a duck's back
-Livin' high on the hawg
-Faster than a scalded dog
-Skinny as a rail
-Nervous as a cat in a room full of rockers
-Deader than a door nail
-Slower than molasses
-I’ll be there if the Lord’s willing and the creeks don’t rise
-Well, shut my mouth

What are some great phrases and sayings that you've heard growing up in North Carolina or the South?

ECU picks alum to lead football program

East Carolina athletics director Terry Holland said he didn't want to go out and get a "retread" to lead the Pirate football program. The AD stuck by his guns.

The week-long search for a replacement for Skip Holtz has ended with Holland selected Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill -- an ECU alum -- to lead the Pirates, according to various reports.

“You’re always worried this late because you run into student-athlete recruitment and assistant coaches get taken, so the bowl becomes more shallow. But I had confidence we’d find the right person because I knew what Terry was doing and who he was evaluating,” ECU chancellor Dr. Steve Ballard said after the ECU Board of Trustees made the new hire official shortly after a 5 p.m. emergency meeting inside the Spilman Building on campus.

“I was a little concerned about the timing, but when I saw the people we were evaluating, I thought we’d be fine,” Ballard said. ...

“His human skills and his interpersonal skills are A-plus, and I think you’ll see that the minute you talk to him,” Ballard said of McNeill. “I had a great hour-and-a-half with him today. I did my own referencing on these people, and everybody who knows Ruffin says the same thing about him.”

Holland, who made the second football coach hire of his six-year tenure at the school, joined the trustees meeting via teleconference. Holland fired John Thompson toward the end of the 2004 season before hiring Holtz in December of that year.

“Coach McNeill’s interview revealed his strong commitment to doing things the right way and his love of coaching young men to grow in every part of their lives,” Holland said. “His excitement for what ECU football can become in the future was contagious and his deep and abiding appreciation for what East Carolina University has meant to him and his family was truly moving.” ...

N.C.'s All-America Cities

Two more North Carolina cities have been named All-America Cities by the National Civic League, again establishing North Carolina as one of the leaders in this program.

And, personally, I'm equally proud this time around. The two winners this year from N.C. (out of 10 total nationwide) were Clinton (my mom's hometown) and Hickory (my dad's hometown).

"We’re just elated,” said Clinton Mayor Starling to the Sampson Independent. “Words can’t describe how we feel.” Clinton won for the first time.

Hickory, however, joins Asheville and Laurinbug as a rare three-time winner (less than 30 nationwide).

“We’re on top of the world right now,” Mayor Rudy Wright told the Hickory Daily Record.

By the way, below is a list of all the past winners from North Carolina. (I've made my own updating to the list, since the NCL site has not.)

There's a lot in common with these cities (hint, hint).

Asheville, 1969, 1997
Asheville-Buncombe County, 1951
Charlotte, 1968 [Parents met here and first lived here]
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, 1990
Clinton, 2007 [Mother's hometown]
Concord, 2004
Dunn, 1989 [MY hometown]
Durham, 1982-83
Fayetteville, 1984-85, 2001 [Grandfather's hometown]
Gastonia, 1963, 2000
Greensboro, 1966, 1991
Hamlet, 1990
Hickory, 1967, 1986-87, 2007 [Father's hometown]
High Point, 1962
Jacksonville, 1992 [Was born here; family lived here multiple times]
Kinston, 1988 [Lived here as a child]
Laurinburg, 1956, 1967, 2003
Lumberton, 1970, 1995
Mt. Airy, 1994
New Bern, 1989 [Sister lives here]
Raleigh, 1974-75 [Educated here, current home town]
Rockingham, 1979-80
Rocky Mount, 1969, 1999
Salisbury, 1961
Shelby, 1970
Statesville, 1997 [Parents lived here; sister born here]
Tarboro, 1976-77
Washington, 1993
Wilmington, 1965
Wilson, 1972, 2003
Winston-Salem, 1959, 1964