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<\/p>\nI had a friend, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll call him Jon for these purposes. \u00c2\u00a0Jon was a lawyer, and a good one. \u00c2\u00a0He was also a man of integrity, intelligent and easy to be with. \u00c2\u00a0We fished and hiked together over a number of years. \u00c2\u00a0We first met hanging around our daughters at Ridgepoint Stables. \u00c2\u00a0Jon loved the mountains on North Carolina as I did and we hiked there when possible.<\/p>\n
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On one occasion we went up to North Carolina for a long weekend of hiking, eating and drinking. On a beautiful day, we hiked up to Shining Rock, a nice walk, and climbed up on the rock to have our lunch. \u00c2\u00a0To my surprise,my always prepared friend pulled out a bottle of excellent red wine from his backpack, and thankfully, a corkscrew. \u00c2\u00a0We shared the bottle with our sandwiches sitting under the glorious North Carolina skies. \u00c2\u00a0I must admit after sharing the bottle, we stretched out for a while under that glorious sky, \u00c2\u00a0Getting moving, we got down from Shining Rock, and hiked back to our car. \u00c2\u00a0We were driving my 86 Volvo 240D. \u00c2\u00a0One of the most reliable cars I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve owned. \u00c2\u00a0I drove it for over 214,000 miles. \u00c2\u00a0I noticed after starting the car, that I was hard against the peg on empty, on top of a mountain miles from any gas station. \u00c2\u00a0We did the only thing possible, got out of the parking lot on the downhill slope, put the Volvo in neutral and let her rip. \u00c2\u00a0We coasted all the way down, picking up speed and laughing like school kids. \u00c2\u00a0While filling up at a station at the bottom of the mountain, we saw a string of vintage MGs going by. \u00c2\u00a0We had seen the same cars while on the way to the mountain in the morning. \u00c2\u00a0Neat vehicles.<\/p>\n
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We went to dinner that evening at the Inn at Brevard, and when we pulled into the parking lot, lo and behold, the lot was full of MGs.<\/p>\n
The Inn, a restaurant really, was a grand old house. \u00c2\u00a0You walked up the steps, and entered a wide hall with stairs in front of you, a sitting room on the left, used for \u00c2\u00a0dining, a large dining room on the right, already filled with MG snobs, and a narrow hall leading back beside the steps to the kitchen and whatever else in the back of the house. \u00c2\u00a0We were seated in the small dining room on the left near the hall. Actual cloth tablecloths and good silver. \u00c2\u00a0Living large, we were.<\/p>\n
During our fine meal, enjoyed with a fine bottle of wine, we heard a commotion coming from the large dining room across the hall. \u00c2\u00a0One of the men was complaining loudly and profanely to the server about something. \u00c2\u00a0She went back to the kitchen, and he actually followed her and continued to berate her, the host and the chef, again loudly and profanely. \u00c2\u00a0He finally finished venting his spleen and resumed his seat. \u00c2\u00a0In the relative quiet that followed, we finished our meal, paid the check and got up to leave. \u00c2\u00a0I stopped in the hall to put on my coat, but my usually mild-mannered friend continued across the hall to the large during room. \u00c2\u00a0He approached the fellow who had been so profanely vocal, put his hand on his shoulder, and said in a soft voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sir, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry you had such a bad experience\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, then raising up and continuing in a louder voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153but did you have to be such an asshole about it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0Silence in the dining room. \u00c2\u00a0Jon turned and walked toward me, and we quickly exited the premises. \u00c2\u00a0We laughed all the way to the car, walking by those beautiful, vintage British cars. \u00c2\u00a0As I drove out of the lot, Jon turned to me and said \u00e2\u20ac\u009dI left my coat in the restaurant, and we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go back and get it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0More hysteria. \u00c2\u00a0As an aside, I have heard that those old MGs are finicky, and that mountain air can have an effect on tire pressure, just what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard.<\/p>\n
A fun trip with my friend, and there were others. \u00c2\u00a0Then Jon went flying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had a friend, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll call him Jon for these purposes. \u00c2\u00a0Jon was a lawyer, and a good one. \u00c2\u00a0He was also a man of integrity, intelligent and easy to be with. \u00c2\u00a0We fished and hiked together over a number … Continue reading