"I've come a-bumming," my neighbor, William, said as he poked his head in the door. I was wiring a ceiling light. William was looking for just enough mortar to finish a job he was working on. Unfortunately I didn't have what he needed.
On Ocracoke you can't just run out to the shopping center for whatever you want. So we rely on each other. I've had Jason's extra long drill bit for a couple of weeks now. No point in buying something I may never need again. Rob, Al, Frank, and I own a power washer together. Why buy four when one will do?
We trade lumber, tools, lawn mowers, outboard motor parts, electrical supplies, what-have-you. We're resourceful, and it builds community.
I'm sure William will find enough mortar somewhere on the island. And in the process, he'll get to know his neighbors just a little bit better. It's a good thing we have here.
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It certainly IS a good thing you all have there on the island. We have been day-trippers for years while staying up in Southern Shores. This past fall we became long-weekend trippers and made arrangements to be week-trippers next summer. I am coming to the island to spend the week after Christmas and begin the new year there and hopefully come home with a little of that sense of community, which we seem to lack in the "big city" (and our city's not THAT big! I enjoy reading your day-to-day musings and look forward to seeing Ocracoke in the winter! Cathy McDonald, Frederick MD
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