There’s an ad on television featuring a montage of aging adults in various settings. Each segment captures a different person smiling at us through the camera lens, giving a unique and personal response to these words: “When I grow up I want to…” Somehow, this ad strikes a deep chord, even though I don’t remember what it is selling. There’s irony, of course, with these old people talking about growing up, but it goes a bit deeper, don’t you agree? Many of us carry around half-serious dreams regarding what we would do if we could choose another life, another job, another pursuit of happiness. Mine has always been to own a bookstore. Not one of those Big Box things – but a small, light-filled place with great books to read, customers who love to read them and opportunities to come together frequently to share this common passion – a literary salon of sorts, Southern-style. In other words, I would like to own Litchfield Books.

Fortunately for all concerned, Vickie Crafton beat me to that punch. In 2001 she and her husband Tom Warner purchased the Pawleys Island landmark from its original owners, Carolyn and Dean Berry, who first opened the doors of Litchfield Books in 1987. Vickie and Carolyn became neighbors when Crafton bought her Pawleys Island home while living and working in the fashion industry in New York. She says, “Like many others here, I had first come to Pawleys in my youth. It is a part of my life, a part of who I am. While living in New York, I felt a need to continue that connection. I bought my place here and moved my state residency directly from Kentucky to South Carolina.”

The tall, casually elegant Vickie met her husband Tom Warner through their mutual careers in the apparel industry. When Tom’s work as an executive with Graniteville Mills took him to South Carolina, Vickie moved her work base to nearby Aiken where they lived until his retirement in 1998. The couple then settled here permanently. “It took a bit of convincing to get Tom to move here,” Vickie says. “He did not yet grasp the mystique of Pawleys Island, but it didn’t take him long to fall under its spell.”

For years Crafton had said she’d like to own Litchfield Books. In 2001, not long after the couple settled into their new life here, she was presented with the opportunity to do just that. The Berrys had made the decision to sell the store. Vickie laughs today as she looks back on it all: Be careful what you wish for! Neither Tom nor she had ever been involved with a bookstore, and Vickie’s on-going consulting work required a lot of her time. Yet somehow, she just knew they should go for it. A decade later, hundreds of local residents and summer visitors could not imagine this corner of the world without the special place which defines it in so many ways.

Building on the legacy established by the Berrys, Vickie and Tom have expanded in new directions by regularly inviting both nationally renowned and newly-discovered authors for book-signings at the store. They expanded in a literal sense as well by acquiring the property next door and doubling the store’s space. “This allowed us to open up and spread out a bit,” Crafton says. The enlarged store also made it possible to add an in-store postal service and an interesting assortment of gifts and greeting cards, as well as personalized stationery and invitations. For gift and stationery selections, she draws on her corporate background, choosing quality items made in the U.S., preferably in the South, which customers might not be able to find back home.

“Because we are a small store,” Vickie says, “we have to be selective in our inventory, always with a clear understanding of our customers and their interests. We are constantly making changes throughout the store to reflect their needs and their interests.” This is especially true of book selection. Specializing in current fiction and regional history, the store also has an excellent children’s section and an impressive, hand-picked assortment of special interest and general works.

Emphasis on quality and individual attention has proven to be a winning formula, even with a challenging economy and the advent of electronic readers. One local patron said, “When I walk into Litchfield Books, I am usually on a mission, whether it is to find the perfect card or a specific book. I know I will see the familiar faces of Tom, Vickie, Bonnie or Carol, their experienced staff members. Several months ago, when looking for a copy of Pat Conroy’s early novel The Great Santini, I first went to a large chain store where the staff assistant took me to the non-fiction books dealing with magic. I guess he confused Santini with Houdini! I then drove down to Litchfield Books. Tom was working with a book cart near the front of the store when I walked in. Without even turning around, he reached over to the shelf behind him and handed me a copy of the Conroy book.”

As with most business enterprises in the area, the summer people are important to Litchfield Books. Many have vacationed here for generations. Year after year they come to the same house for the same weeks and do the same things. Mary Johnson of Winnsboro, South Carolina, first came to Litchfield Beach as a child with her parents in the 1950s. She has returned almost every year, even as she moved around the world with her husband’s military career. Her three children now join them each year with their own families. Mary says, “When I come to Litchfield, I don’t want to go anywhere. Even a trip up the road to Brookgreen is sometimes too far. The only time I leave the beach is to buy groceries and visit Litchfield Books.” In addition to its great card selection, Mary says, “I like shopping at a store that sponsored ‘Radio Reader.’ I also like spending time there surrounded by books – instead of seven noisy grandchildren.”

Shortly after purchasing the store, Tom and Vickie began working through publishing houses to bring talented, interesting authors in for book-signing and lectures. Amazingly, these have become weekly events, drawing world famous writers such as David Baldacci, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Gilbert, Pat Conroy, Jodi Piccoult, and part-time Pawleys residents, Cokie and Steve Roberts. They also look for talented, relatively unknown authors on the brink of fame. Often these events are in conjunction with the popular Friday Moveable Feast luncheons which the store co-sponsors with Linda Ketron’s CLASS at Pawleys program. The store also hosts additional book-signing events for writers who draw crowds too large for local dining venues or whose schedules preclude the Friday events. Anna Fitzgerald, of Charlotte and Murrells Inlet, attends the functions frequently. She says of them, “It is truly phenomenal that a small, independent bookstore in our tucked-away corner of the South has continued to bring in such talent almost every week for over a decade. The larger cities do not have anything like this, nor do the mega bookstores.”

Crafton says that when they first visited the large publishing houses in an effort to bring writers to these events, the publicists looked in them in wonder. Not one had ever sent a writer to South Carolina on a book tour! Over time, however, Pawleys Island has become such a popular choice that quite often they are approached by the publicists. Carl Lennetz, former marketing director of Harper Collins currently serving as executive director of World Book Night, attributes their success to large supplies of talent, hard work and attention to detail: “In New York publishing circles, Vickie and Tom are known for hosting some of the best author events in the country. They offer two things every author wants – a warm welcome and a big crowd – and they deliver every time. They are professional, generous and a pure joy to work with.”

It is probably best for all concerned that Vickie Crafton stole my dream of owning Litchfield Books. Let’s face it, old English teachers should not try to make a living that way. I’d probably just sit around and read all day, oblivious to the hard work needing to be done. Despite the many challenges, Vickie and Tom know that every day they open the store’s doors they are helping to make this uniquely interesting community even more so. But, like all independent businesses, they need our support. “The Pawleys area is a very special place,” Crafton says, “and we need to do all we can to help keep it that way.”

A bookstore is the only place we have where people are still thinking.

Jerry Seinfield

Two couples were married in April: Sixty-three years apart. Much about their lives is very different, but the love they share is unchanged by the passage of time.

The first boy met the first girl, and they fell in love. He asked, and she said yes. Thus began their life together. The boy was handsome, just out of the Navy. He bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle and was driving it home from Conway to Little River when he spotted her on the side of the road, talking with a group of girls. Sweet sixteen, pretty and perfect in his eyes, it was love at first sight. They were married two weeks before she turned 17. That was 64 years ago this month. The boy was Merlin Bellamy, well-known as the North Myrtle Beach Police Chief for many years, and his love for his wife, Joyce, has been the guiding force of his life.

“The pride of my life is my wife,” said Mr. Bellamy while we visited in Myrtle Beach Manor where he was a patient. [Mr. Bellamy has since returned home.] “I saw her that day when I was coming home from Conway on my motorcycle, and knew I had to have her as my wife.”

Young Merlin’s family attended the same church as Joyce’s, and he asked his sister to bring that “Hunt girl” home for dinner after church so he could begin his campaign to win her heart. Unfortunately, his sister brought home the wrong Hunt sister! “She was such a beauty, I knew I had to act fast or someone else would snap her up,” Mr. Bellamy remembered. “After my sister brought home the wrong girl, I started hanging around my cousin’s store on Hwy. 90 because it was across the street from her house.”

Fortunately for this love sick young man, Joyce felt the same way, and he began visiting her at home. “They used to laugh and say that Joyce’s father had to sweep me off the steps at night to get rid of me,” he said laughing. The couple were soon married and settled in Little River to begin their life together, raising a daughter and a son, and now have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Mr. Bellamy began his career in law enforcement as a Special Deputy Sheriff in Horry County, serving the Ocean Drive area. When North Myrtle Beach incorporated, he became the new city’s first police chief, serving until his retirement in the 1970s. Today he is still known by many as simply, “Chief.” “I never had to shoot anyone,” said Chief Bellamy. “I was cautious about what I said and was always making new friends. I didn’t want to give anyone a record if it was not necessary.”

Chief Bellamy was loved and respected by his community, but became a true hero on October 14, 1954. “That day, I received a call from a weather forecaster in Charleston. He asked if I knew that Hurricane Hazel was coming our way and would hit North Myrtle Beach at around 8 o’clock the next morning. Until that phone call, we all thought the storm was going to pass out to sea and leave us mostly unscathed.”

This courageous man immediately recruited local firefighters, and the group began going house to house, evacuating the entire town. Through Chief Bellamy’s efforts, many lives were saved. “My siren blared all night while we knocked on doors. I didn’t lose anyone under my jurisdiction.” Hurricane Hazel leveled the Grand Strand and, years later, Chief Merlin Bellamy would again tell his story on national television when he was featured on The Weather Channel’s “Storm Stories.”

Through it all, Joyce was by his side, raising their family and making a home. “I don’t believe we’ve ever had a really bad argument,” Mr. Bellamy said, glancing at his wife who nodded her agreement with a smile. “We lived together in unity.”

After Hurricane Hazel, Chief Bellamy tried to learn everything about hurricane preparedness and it became a family tradition to keep up with storms. “After Hazel, I started helping the weather bureau and gave hurricane preparedness talks with Diane DeVaughn Stokes. “We spoke all over the community, and I enjoyed knowing I was helping save lives.”

A talented musician, Mr. Bellamy played guitar and harmonica for many area square dances, and he and a group of friends would get together in his garage on Friday nights to pick and sing bluegrass tunes, eventually recording several CDs. He remembers well the first song he played for his beloved Joyce, “My Filipino Baby.”

Merlin Bellamy’s love for his wife has remained strong. “I’ve never been sorry I married Joyce and have never seen another lady I wanted,” he began. “The secret to a good marriage is love – without love you’re in trouble. If God said I could have another life, I’d say let’s keep it the way it is. I’m proud of my past.”

Fast forward to the 21st century and love blooms for another young couple. Their lives are very different from the Bellamy’s, but the love is much the same – cute boy knows pretty girl for years, a spark ignites, boy asks, girl says yes and two lives are joined together. “I knew Jewell growing up,” began O’Neil McCoy, General Manager of Broadway at the Beach. “Our best friends are brother and sister, and they set the whole thing in motion.”

Kevin Teachey of Gene Ho Photography

Both Myrtle Beach natives, O’Neil and Jewell McCoy might have never gotten together if not for some behind the scenes intervention by their friends. “I’m six years older than Jewell, and she was in her senior year at USC. I had already finished my graduate work at Clemson and had just ended a relationship. I told myself I was just going to date and have fun – famous last words.”

Love will have its way. O’Neil had always thought Jewell was cute, but didn’t know she was interested until he heard she might have a crush on him. “I decided to call her out of the blue at school. It was the most awkward conversation you can imagine. I had written an outline with bullet points so I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to say – but she still agreed to go out with me,” he said laughing.

After that first date in January of 2009, O’Neil knew he wouldn’t be “just dating” Jewell. “She graduated in May and moved back home to work at South Atlantic Bank. I never dated anyone else,” O’Neil said. In May, 2010, O’Neil and Jewell took his niece and nephew, who call him “Uncle No No,” to the beach to collect shells. Later, O’Neil’s nephew confided that he wanted to surprise Jewell with a necklace made from the shells.

“I told Jewell about the necklace – we both thought it was adorable. What Jewell didn’t know was that I had decided to propose to her during our upcoming trip to the Bahamas. The kids made a box and decorated it with seashells. Inside the box was a shell necklace that I had made, and on the lid was written ‘Will you marry No No?’ I taped the ring on the last ‘O.’”

Jewell said yes, and the couple came back from their vacation excited to begin planning their wedding. “We wanted a small wedding with just our family and close friends,” said O’Neil. “We looked at several destinations, but chose Bald Head Island, a small island located off the southeastern shore of North Carolina that is only accessible by boat or ferry.”

The big day was planned for April 9, 2011, and everything went off without a hitch. “All I cared about was delicious food and a great band. Jewell and her mom planned everything else. I am the outgoing one, and Jewell is somewhat reserved. I thought she would have a hard time being the center of attention, but it turned out that she was calm and collected, and I was a total wreck!”

After a honeymoon in Jamaica, the McCoy’s returned to Myrtle Beach and moved into O’Neil’s condo. Their first year of marriage has been good. “We cook together a lot; Jewell has become a great cook,” began O’Neil. “And we ride bikes together. We don’t take advantage of the beach as much as I would like, but that’s true of many locals I think.”

O’Neil and Jewell are surrounded by family living in the area, including both sets of parents. The family is very close and spends a lot of time together. Jewell has left banking and gone back to school for her Masters in Counseling.

“It’s been a fun first year of marriage, said O’Neil with a big smile. “We like each other – I married my best friend.”

As she sits on the porch of her family’s historic Bucksville farmhouse, Kristi Thompson Wall can almost catch the scent of 1700 strawberry plants ripening to luscious perfection in a field across the way. In a few weeks, if the weather cooperates, we’ll no longer have to buy those pale perfect grocery versions that look and taste like papier mache. We can pick our own from a plot where they were planted and nurtured with loving care by a family that has owned and tilled this land since 1845.

Kristi’s great-great grandparents Julious and Amanda Thompson raised 15 children on the 200 acre plot at a time when there were few roads in this section of Horry County. Many residents used rivers and creeks as their main source of transportation. The Thompsons, like most families, produced the food they needed for survival and bartered for what they could not grow. It was a hard life, one controlled by the whims of Mother Nature. Kristi’s father, proud Clemson graduate Sid Thompson, says of a fallow field nearby: “That tobacco field right there made me want to get a college education.” Yet an enduring love has kept this family connected to it through the years. Sid adds with a smile, “Here I am, on land that has been in my family for five generations.”

Today, thanks to the hard work, creativity and shared commitment, the Thompson Farm is a thriving operation. Selected as the 2011 South Carolina Small Farm of the Year, it has undergone an amazing transformation in recent years, a true labor of love for Kristi, her brothers Rick and Scott, Scott’s wife Amy and their young daughters, Sydney, Olivia and Natalie, and their father Sid. Looking for ways to revitalize the historic homestead in a troubled economy, Kristi says Scott built a greenhouse to grow flowers for his landscaping business. Soon there were three greenhouses and innovative plans to share the land and its historic past with the greater community.

In 2009, Thompson Farm and Nursery opened to the public, offering tours and special events. It also hosts educational tours for area school groups, personalizing each to fit the requirements of South Carolina state standards. It is clearly an idea whose time has come. Despite Horry County’s rural roots, significant numbers of its young people think food arrives in plastic packages and describe fun as an electronic game. Through hands-on seasonal activities, students visiting the farm learn the importance of soil, nutrients, water, insects, and life cycles of plants and farm animals. In the process, they get to go on hay rides, feed animals, pick crops and visit Daisy’s Planting Shed. Specialized activities may also include an Animal Tracks Detective Tour, a Dirt Is Fun Tour, or a Spring Pizza Tour in which participants visit Kristi’s Lasagna Garden to find their pizza toppings and learn how to grow their own vegetables. How much fun is that! They also visit the oldest barn in Horry County (built on the land in 1910) and a memorabilia-filled old general store moved to the farm from Bucksport Landing. Rhonda Ethersen, who coordinates curriculum standards into the field trips, estimates that over 4,000 elementary school students visited the farm’s Pumpkin Patch last fall alone.

Another popular event is the Corn Maze. Each year the Thompsons build an amazing, unique eight acre design which hundreds come to explore. Autumn visitors also enjoy Saturday afternoon festivals that include picking pumpkins, riding in the hay wagon, roasting marshmallows, and watching movies in an open field under a harvest moon.

Each fall the farm also hosts Bass Pro Shop-sponsored dove hunts which teach youngsters gun safety and responsible hunting. During the holiday season, visitors experience Christmas on the Farm which includes a Winter Wonderland with real snow, a living nativity, traditional Christmas characters, and Southern crafts. The farm is also available throughout the year for birthday parties, corporate functions, garden club meetings and special seasonal events such as Easter egg hunts.

A menagerie of animals on the farm provides entertainment and companionship for the Thompsons and everyone who visits the farm. They also require a lot of work and a lot of love. In addition to traditional farm animals, there are some exotic surprises such as a pair of llamas who think they are lap dogs and several animals who retired to the farm after careers spent entertaining guests at the Dixie Stampede.

In an exciting new direction, the Thompsons participated in the 2010 and 2011 Coastal Uncorked Festivals, hosting a spectacular Farm to Table meal. Due to popular demand, participation has been limited to two hundred guests who enjoy dinner under the stars and food fresh from the field. Plans are now underway for a third Farm to Table dinner in conjunction with the upcoming 2012 Coastal Uncorked Festival in April. The family also provides Farm to Table produce for local restaurants, small food markets and limited home delivery.

Horry County Clemson Extension Agent Blake Lanford has great respect for the Thompsons’ bold and creative endeavors to sustain their family farm and share farm life with the greater community. Referring to this trend as agri-tourism, Lanford says, “They have effectively reinvented a former tobacco farm and homestead by tapping into the tourism sector and a demonstrated interest in the area’s rural heritage…They are also interested in local food production and distribution that taps into the demand regionally for fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Kristi’s generation did not grow up on the farm. A former Miss Myrtle Beach Sun Fun, she and her brothers were raised in the heart of Myrtle Beach. Even today they live in their own homes along the greater Grand Strand and have full-time careers in other fields. Kristi works as a nurse at Georgetown Hospital and lives with her husband, Wayne, on a horse farm in Williamsburg County. Scott owns a landscaping firm in Myrtle Beach, and Amy is a home healthcare nurse. Rick is a sergeant with the Horry County Police Department. However, with their dad, they all spend many hours each week working at the farm and planning its future. “Scott is the idea man,” says Kristi. “The rest of us follow his lead.” Regularly, the family comes together for Sunday dinner at the farm where they discuss new plans and adjust ongoing projects. A new direction they are currently pursuing is hydroponics, which involves growing greenhouse crops fed and watered by remote control in a soil-free environment. They believe it is important to seek innovative ways to achieve sustainability and help prevent a worldwide shortage of both food and water.

These Sunday afternoon gatherings are also a way for the Thompsons to honor the memory of their mother, Norma, who died of cancer in 2011. Sid still finds it difficult to talk about his beloved wife and Conway High School sweetheart whom he calls the absolute mold for the character of the family. Norma’s lively spirit is still very much a presence at the Thompson Farm and another reason for their dedication to it. Clearly, Kristi and her entire family are motivated by a deep love for the land, the life it provides and the heritage it sustains.

To learn more about the Thompson Farm and check the dates for the opening of the strawberry fields, visit their website at www.thompsonfarmandnursery.com or follow them on Facebook at Thompson Farm.

Typing “acts of generosity and kindness today” into your computer’s search engine will bring up more than six million results – the hungry are being fed, a helping hand is given to someone in need or a kind word changes a life. Good deeds, great and small, are found everywhere and are mostly done without fanfare and recognition. Grand Strand resident since the mid 1970s, Brenda Rosen is one of those six million who, day after day, works to make the world a better place for her family, friends and our community.

Petite and lovely, Brenda looks much younger than her 73 years, but the first thing you notice is her big smile. Born in Haverhill, Mass., Brenda was the youngest of three children, all first generation Americans. Her father immigrated to this country from Poland and her mother from Russia, both fleeing persecution due to their Jewish faith. Her parents worked hard and were successful, giving their children a happy, middle class upbringing. They instilled a strong work ethic in their brood, but also the importance of giving back. “My parents were always very generous, “Brenda remembers.

While a senior in high school, Brenda agreed to a blind date with a young M.I.T. student whose roommate was dating one of her friends. It was the beginning of her love affair with Dick Rosen, a native of Georgetown, S.C., that has lasted through 54 years of marriage, three children and six grandchildren. After graduation, Brenda went to Boston University and dated Dick all through college. The two were married in February of 1958; three weeks after Dick completed his graduate studies.

The couple settled in Massachusetts, where Dick began his successful career, and Brenda supervised her growing family while working part time. While his work demanded a lot of travelling, Dick always made sure the family vacationed in Georgetown each summer. In 1973, Dick became general manager of AVX Corp., and the family moved to Myrtle Beach. Brenda’s children were still in school, and she began to work at the then new Myrtle Square Mall in Belk department store as the fashion coordinator. “I have always loved clothes and shopping, so this was the perfect job for me,” Brenda said with a laugh.

Always generous with her friends and family, it was Hurricane Hugo in 1989 that started Brenda’s philanthropic journey. “After the storm, I got involved with the American Red Cross. A group of us helped set up a relief center at the old Tads in Myrtle Beach, distributing vouchers for hotels, clothing and food.”

That same year, Dick’s mother passed away after a battle with cancer and Brenda, touched deeply by her mother-in-law’s death, became involved with the American Cancer Society. A few years later, her husband’s father was cared for by Tidelands Hospice and, in typical Rosen fashion, they became supporters of the organization, eventually helping build the new Tidelands Hospice House. “I am too sensitive to volunteer for Hospice, but we do support their mission,” said Brenda.

Fond memories of taking her children to Brookgreen Gardens while they were growing up led Brenda to get involved with this non-profit. An avid gardener, Brenda loves her work with Brookgreen, telling me, “We were always members, but I became president of the Friends of Brookgreen Gardens and chaired the Brookgreen Gala. Today, I still serve on the executive board.”

Bob Jewell, President and CEO of Brookgreen Gardens, is enthusiastic and appreciative of the support both Brenda and Dick have given the non-profit, saying, “Brenda has been wonderful for Brookgreen. There’s actually a garden here named after her! She is always here and always involved. Brenda is a passionate person and brings her passion to the support of Brookgreen.”

Personal loss and tragedy affect us all, and Brenda is not exempt. Her ability to take a personal loss and turn it into a triumph is what makes her truly unique. “My brother was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease at 65 and lived 10 years before he died,” she began. “It affected me deeply; we were very close. He was a brilliant lawyer and a wonderful man.” Brenda has also faced her own mortality with a breast cancer scare and a diagnosis of melanoma, which has fortunately been cured. These events led this philanthropic woman to become involved with the neuroscience department of the Medical University of South Carolina where she now serves on the advisory board.

“I had a cocktail party recently at my beach house in Pawleys Island to spread the word about some of the new treatments available at MUSC. It is a wonderful place – they really have it all,” Brenda said thoughtfully.

These are only a few of the many, many charities that Brenda and her beloved Dick support. They funded a school at Temple Emanu-El in Myrtle Beach and support the synagogue in Georgetown as well. Higher education also benefits from the Rosen’s generosity with Brenda’s service to the Horry Georgetown Technical College Foundation Board; the Rosen’s also fund a scholarship for deserving students. CCU also benefits from Brenda’s altruistic spirit through the Women in Philanthropy and Leadership group which provides scholarships for local students who have financial need as well as academic excellence.

“We should all give back,” Brenda told me vehemently. “Dick and I have been very fortunate. If I see someone with a sign asking to work for food, I will always stop and help. No one would do that if they didn’t really need a hand. Pay it forward – it makes us feel good to help.”

In spite of her many commitments to the community, Brenda always puts family first, and her husband is first in the family. “Dick is my life, as I am to him. We have built a wonderful family.” Every year the couple takes their children, spouses and grandchildren on a special trip around the holidays. This past year, they visited Mexico. “Dick is the most wonderful, unselfish man I have ever known,” smiled Brenda. “I am truly spoiled. There is nothing too good for us. I spent a lot of time alone while he was working through the years. It’s nice to have him with me now.”

Brenda is also a devoted friend to those she chooses to love. One of her closest friends became ill and was unable to get a definitive diagnosis. With Brenda’s help, her friend was flown to Cleveland and soon discovered she has ALS. Of course, Brenda went with her, offering as much support as possible in the face of such a grim diagnosis.

Pawleys Island resident, Barbara Kee, met Brenda playing golf soon after moving to the area and the two have become close friends. Barbara told me, “Brenda is such a wonderful friend. I was new to the area, and Brenda immediately began to include me in all her activities. Having known her for several years, I’ve learned that she has so many friends, some of whom go back decades. She keeps everyone in her family close; she is constantly calling, visiting and in some way caring for each and every one of them. For me, she has been there to share joy and sadness. Rarely does she offer advice – although we know she can – but she shares your grief as if it was hers…nothing is said, she is just there to support. I admire her so much. She has a lot, as we all know, but she is always giving so much back, not only with financial support but with her time and energy.” Barbara laughed and continued, saying, “She also loves dogs. One time, I picked her up at Food Lion to sneak down to St. Frances Animal Center to check out the dogs without Dick knowing about it!”

Brenda does take time for herself. She works out three times a week with a personal trainer and plays golf – when the weather is nice. “I am definitely a fair-weather golfer,” she told me laughing. And, this woman does love to shop. “I take my granddaughters shopping whenever I can!” An avid reader, Brenda enjoys her Kindle and is currently reading, The Cat’s Table, by Michael Ondaatje.

While preparing for our photograph, Dick laughed and referred to himself and his wife as “beauty and the beast!” He then became more serious and said, “A lot of what we do is because of Brenda’s initiative. She does so much to help people – and is a truly good person.”

“I love people and being around them,” Brenda told me. “I’m not better than anyone; I’ve just been given the opportunity to do more. I think most people are generous and would do what we do. I am very fortunate.”

Beware of aging men with time on their hands. They come up with wild ideas.

Not long ago the Fates presented us with a gift of unanticipated leisure. Just as I was trying to figure out how to con him into re-doing the master bath, he walked in one day and said, “Why don’t we get on a freighter ship and go around the world?”

Without missing a beat, I replied, “Have you lost your mind?” as I clicked over to HGTV’s “Extreme Bathroom Makeovers.”

Flash forward six months. He takes me out to dinner, smiles into my eyes, and says, “Okay, why don’t we get on a freighter in Savannah and go to Jamaica, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand ?”

Call it madness, ignorance, love – all of the above. I smiled back at my boyfriend of 40 years and said, “Sure, why not?”

And thereby hangs this tale.

I am writing from the middle of the Pacific Ocean where for the last 37 days we have been passengers on the CMA CGM freighter Matisse, a French company with Romanian officers, a Philippine crew, and a passenger limit of six. If you don’t know exactly what a freighter is, next time you cross the Ravanel Bridge into Charleston, look down on your left. See those great big boats with stacks of metal crates? Yep, that’s a freighter, and a few of these ships have cabins available to a small number of passengers. I know, you’re thinking just as I did: “Why in the world would anyone want to do that?” Amazingly, our ship’s three cabins are so in demand that they are usually booked at least a year in advance.

Our personal Odyssey began on September 22, 2011, at the Port of Savannah, Gate 5, Berth 9. As our port-authorized cab pulled up next to our new home away from home, we saw two couples standing on the tarmac in the ship’s shadow. I knew at a glance that they were the other passengers on our ship – and that they were seasoned travelers who do stuff like this all the time. They had that look, you know: sturdy utilitarian clothing, collapsible hats, investment cameras in durable cases hanging around their necks. And there I was: Scarlet O’Hara dressed for the ball. Well, not exactly, but you know how we Southern women have a thing for coordinated outfits and make up. I had spent three months trying to figure out which clothes to bring on the two month trip and was quite proud of myself for cramming everything into one suitcase and a carry-on. As I watched the ship’s third officer and steward struggling to haul our luggage up the 38 steps of gangplank’s ladder, I knew deep inside that these women had put everything they’d ever need into a bag the size of my pocketbook.

Their names were Irene from Denmark and Angela from England. With their husbands, Hans and Mike, they had met on September 8 when the ship departed from England. They’d made stops along the way in Rotterdam, La Harve, Dunkirk and New York City. They were waiting for a cab into Savannah, eager to visit the Waving Girl and an internet cafe.

After checking our paperwork (medical clearance, passports, visas, shot records), the Third Officer had recovered sufficiently from the luggage episode to give us a tour of the ship and introduce us to each member of the crew. The Matisse is a mid-sized freighter owned by a French company with Romanian officers and a Philippine crew. The required language of the workplace is English. The ship’s captain, Laurentiu Melniciuc, is a crusty, no-nonsense boss, but in the evenings after dinner, he shares marvelous, often hilarious, tales of his 33 years at sea, the best one involving a raccoon in the engine after a stop in Miami.

Passengers are given free reign of the ship, including its operational center, the bridge, which is manned 24 hours a day in four hour shifts. An open deck above the bridge, nicknamed “Monkey Island,” is where we passengers all stood to wave at the video cam as we passed through the Panama Canal. We waved at the cameras and the visitors on its observation deck waved back to us, Monkey-see, Monkey-do.

The gymnasium/library on board is a large room with two walls of paperback books. About half of these are in French, but there is a surprisingly impressive collection of English titles, many donated by previous passengers. The room also contains a ping pong table, dart board and treadmill. Meals are served in a sunny dining room designated for officers and passengers. The ship’s masterful cook, David, also prepares Philippine food for crew members who have a separate dining room. Elsewhere on board there is an indoor swimming pool and a small ship’s store which provides wine, beer, soft drinks, snacks and toiletries. I’ve been told that somewhere there is also a coffin – just in case one of us is unable to complete the voyage…

The owner’s cabin, which we leased, is a spacious suite about 10 by 15 feet with its own tiled bath. It has large double porthole windows with a nice view, partially blocked at the moment by stacks of those colorful metal crates mentioned earlier. There are two other cabins, the super cargo and second officer. These are not as large but otherwise much like ours with nice carpeting, sturdy blond furniture which includes built-in beds, cabinets, desk, wardrobe and a small refrigerator. Next door is a large passenger lounge with tables, chairs, sofas, a coffee pot and a nice flat screen television for watching videos. At the end of each hall is small deck with metal chairs. We refer to this as “the porch” and spend a lot of time here soaking up the view and the sun.

Speaking of time, yes, there IS a good bit of that. The ship averages about 20 miles an hour. I’ll let you do the rest of the math. This is not a trip for people in a hurry. It is much more about the journey than the destination. We do not have live television or internet (though we do have access to the ship’s e-mail system), and I am truly amazed that the world has survived almost 40 days without our watching the news or reading a newspaper.

What freighter travel does provide is the rare and precious gift of total leisure. Our culture tends to measure the value of life by how busy it is. On board, it doesn’t take long to get beyond this. Between Panama and Tahiti, we went ten days without seeing land. Spotting a distant fishing boat or freighter off in the distance is often the big excitement for the day. That and watching the radar screen coordinates switch from N to S as we celebrate crossing the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere. This actually WAS a pretty big deal, as was crossing the International Date Line. Currently, we are 16 hours ahead of South Carolina, which just goes to show how our concept of time is both nebulous and artificial.

Our fellow passengers are an interesting lot, each with a unique personal story. A retired English midwife is traveling with her husband to New Zealand where she worked thirty years ago. They got off in Sidney and were replaced by a British engineering professor returning to the UK after seven years in Darwin working on a water project. This trip tops his Bucket List. An Australian woman who doesn’t like to fly is meeting her family in England where she will travel for several months before heading home via the Trans Siberian Railway and a Russian freighter. Two in the group are recent cancer survivors. Hans and Irene from Denmark have visited remote spots all over the world. They got off in Melbourne and will travel around Tasmania for a month.

Despite its Spartan aspects, freighter travel is not cheap. (And no, we don’t have to swab the deck to pay our way.) Passengers pay a daily rate which includes three meals with wine and steward service. The amount seems quite reasonable until you consider the number of days involved – 43 for us. Compare this with costs of flying in to a posh resort or going on a conventional cruise. You may be surprised – as I was.

Obviously, traveling on a freighter is not for everyone. If you like to dress for dinner and need to be constantly entertained, don’t even think about it. If you don’t enjoy reading or otherwise entertaining yourself, this trip could be pure torture. It requires flexibility as well. The ship’s primary purpose is to deliver the goods. Weather and port delays often complicate arrival and departure schedules. For certain people, however, this is a unique and enjoyable way to go. Passengers get to know one another and the officers and crew as well. Often they are invited to tour the huge engine room, impressive even for someone who doesn’t know a piston from valve. When the ship approaches a port, passengers gather to watch the port pilot arrive by small boat. He climbs aboard the moving ship via a rope ladder dropped over the side of the ship, and then takes charge of the ship as he guides it into port. Pretty amazing stuff.

In a couple of days our adventure at sea will end. Forty days and forty nights on a boat is long enough – even for Noah. We will spend the next month aboard planes, trains and automobiles exploring both islands of New Zealand and both coasts of Australia. It is an amazing opportunity which has taught me something very important: TIME is the greatest luxury of all – that and the freedom of not even knowing what day it is.

Brown Bradley, Director of Music and Fine Arts at First Presbyterian Church in Myrtle Beach, brings the pleasure of fine music to area residents from a small third floor office at the church. His award-winning FPC Concert Series, featuring world-class musicians, is a four concert series that begins every January. And, his remarkable tenor voice, heard in halls across the United States, Europe, Hong Kong and The White House, is anticipated by area residents in concerts and plays throughout the year. In short, Brown Bradley is a star.

Growing up in Orangeburg, South Carolina, the young Brown always loved to sing and performed throughout his childhood. His parents sent him to Furman University with the hopes that he would become a doctor. But, after Brown’s college graduation he traveled to New York City instead of going to medical school, and after securing a small role in a Broadway play Brown knew his talent and love for music would guide the remainder of his life.

Even military service didn’t stop Brown from singing. After being drafted into the Air Force, Brown became a tenor soloist in the Singing Sergeants, the official chorus of the USAF. The group sang monthly at the White House, and Brown remembers his visits when John F. Kennedy was the chief executive. “I met Jackie O.; she was so gracious and shook all of our hands. The President didn’t shake our hands, but he was always very congenial. A hush fell when President and Mrs. Kennedy entered the room – everyone froze to watch them walk in.”

After his honorable discharge from military service, Brown returned to New York and auditioned to sing with the Metropolitan Opera Studio, believing that his career as an opera singer was well underway. But, the lure of Broadway caused a 180 degree turn when Brown secured a supporting role in Half a Sixpence. “Broadway made me forget the opera,” Brown remembers.

A young, beautiful dancer in the show caught Brown’s eye. She had replaced the lead dancer, and he saw her daily at a nearby cafeteria. Three months later, Mary agreed to marry Brown, and they held the ceremony between the matinee and evening shows. Forty-five years and two children later, Brown and Mary Bradley are still happily married.

Before they had children, Brown and Mary decided to combine work and travel. The couple sublet their apartment off Central Park and moved to Europe to perform. “I got a role in Austria, but the pay was low, and it was nothing like New York. We came home early and since our apartment was leased, we decided to live in Los Angeles for awhile. I did a lot of singing there.”

Back home in New York, Mary gave birth to their first child, a son, and stopped dancing. She worked as a secretary and sold her delectable pecan pies to some of the best restaurants in the city. “We still have the menu that lists, ‘Mrs. Bradley’s Pecan Pie,’ Brown said proudly.

By 1985, New York City had become a crime-filled city. Brown was once mugged right outside of his brownstone home. When a thief pulled an earring right off of his wife’s ear, he knew it was time to think about moving. Each summer, the Bradleys vacationed in Myrtle Beach, so the next year, Brown began to investigate possible jobs in the area. “Coastal Academy [a now-defunct private school] needed a Fine Arts Director. I applied and got the job.”

Brown had also been an organist and choir director at his church in New York, so he took a second job as part-time music director at First Presbyterian Church. And after the school went under, the church took him on full-time. Now in his 26th year at the church, Brown was recently honored for 25 years of service as Director of Music and Fine Arts and became a little emotional telling me how much he loves his work. “They have been wonderful in letting me do community outreach work with our FPC Concert Series and making it affordable to everyone.”

A proud father, Brown talked quite a bit about his children. His son, Damon, has followed in his father’s musical footsteps, and is a keyboard player and composer who is well known as a member of “Soul Function,” a popular local group. Damon also sells his scores to movie and television producers in Hollywood. Though confined to a wheelchair due to Muscular Dystrophy, Brown’s daughter, Ashley’s artistic talent led her to become one of the top needlepoint designers in the United States. Brown and Mary took her to see Rene Fleming, one of Ashley’s favorite singers and the music world’s most famous Metropolitan Opera diva, in Charlotte a few years ago, but Ashley’s wheelchair couldn’t get through the backstage door. “Later we took Ashley to New York to see Ms. Fleming again, and when she heard what had happened in Charlotte, she invited Ashley to the green room in Lincoln Center where she was able to socialize with a room full of celebrities!”

Most of us have special memories associated with holiday music and the members of First Presbyterian Church are no different. Susan Bryant, member of the church, says that Brown’s talent is a part of her family’s Christmas tradition. “It just wouldn’t be Christmas without hearing his beautiful tenor voice sing “Ave Maria” and “O Holy Night.” This year’s “Christmas Glorias” will be held on Sunday, December 18 at the 8:45 and 11 am services.

January begins the 26th season of the FPC Concert Series. The four monthly concerts are held at 1 pm on Thursdays and sold out the very first season. “They didn’t think people would come to concerts at that time of day, but they do. We have people waiting for over an hour just to get a good seat,” said Brown. This talented tenor always sings in the last concert, one of the most anticipated in the series.

Another friend of Brown’s, local celebrity Diane DeVaughn Stokes, has performed with him several times at Theatre of the Republic in Conway and is one of his biggest fans, saying, “I call him the Music Man of the Grand Strand because he brought outstanding Lincoln Center-type talent here before anyone else ever considered it, even without the 76 Trombones!”

Diane went on to tell me one of her favorite “Brown” stories. “Chuck [Diane’s husband] and I have done about ten shows with Brown as the Director, and he has taught us so much about comic timing! When we did, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, with Chuck as Charlie Brown, me as Lucy and Brown as Snoopy, every night Brown would try to crack me up by doing some crazy dog-like behavior…one night he kept licking my leg while I tried to scream at Charlie Brown for being so stupid! It got such laughs; he left it in the rest of the run!”

Performing is Brown’s passion and he has appeared as a tenor soloist in symphonies and chorales from Wilmington to Charleston. Last December, he saw on the Metropolitan Opera’s website that they were accepting auditions via CD and ended up a national finalist. “These performers are very highly paid, so I decided to send a CD, and they called me for a stage audition! Of course, I was much older than anyone there and didn’t get the job. But, they did ask me to audition again this year. I decided not to do it – the schedule is grueling.”

Brown talked to me a little about the opera of today and how much harder it was for the up and coming singers. “There are so few jobs now for singers. Opera is not as popular as it once was – it is still popular in Europe, but they mostly hire people from the area. I do believe there is a new group of people discovering opera. Recently there have been live broadcasts of operas shown at movie theaters around the country that have been well received.”

When I asked Brown about his future plans, he told me they were in limbo. But, he was very sure of one thing. “As long as my voice is fresh, I will continue to sing.”

Visit www.fpcconcerts.com to learn more about the upcoming FPC concert series, or call First Presbyterian Church at 843-448-4496.

First off, her last name really is Beaver, thanks to a former husband. Creator and owner of the sprawling, thriving Beaver Bar complex just over the Georgetown County line in Murrells Inlet, Leslye Lanier Beaver is a living lesson in the power of hard work, foresight and fun. She is also a study in contrasts:

a bar owner who neither drinks nor smokes
a quintessential good old girl whose favorite music is opera
a walking success story who loves to poor mouth
an unlikely patron saint whose local generosity is legendary

Leslye Lanier Beaver grew up in the Southwest Georgia town of Albany, a rural fertile crescent that also produced legendary singer Ray Charles, food queen Paula Deen, novelist Sue Monk Kidd, former President Jimmy Carter – and yours truly. She has deep Carolina roots as well. Leslye’s mother grew up in Columbia where her father was a family physician, and the South Carolina State Hospital was named in honor of her uncle, William S. Hall. Leslye grew up spending summers at her aunt’s Garden City beach house where her mother relocated several years after her husband’s death.

In 1988 Leslye moved to the Grand Strand “with four children and $500,” as she describes it. A year later Hurricane Hugo devastated the area, and in its aftermath Leslye found opportunities plentiful for those willing to work hard, which she was. She did construction, owned a structural steel company, and used her earnings to buy and develop land in Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island. Her motivation and endless energy are easy enough to explain, Leslye says: “When you have four mouths to feed, you learn to do what it takes to get the job done.” In addition, those who know Leslye say she possesses an innate ability to anticipate the next big wave before it breaks the surface.

In 1996, Leslye acquired a small tract of land from her mother at the intersection of Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet, just north of the Georgetown County line where a hot dog stand and miniature doll house stood. For years her mother had let vendors and bike riders park there when the spring and fall rallies were in full swing. Harley Davidson had recently moved its operations north, and SBB was establishing a stronghold on the adjacent site. During the spring bike rally that year, Leslye filled a large garbage can with ice and bottled water which she sold to bikers for $2. The next rally, she added a second garbage can for beer. Standing in the parking lot hawking her beer and water, Leslye noticed a man nearby on his phone attempting to give directions to his location. She tried to help the confused man – finally saying, “Just tell them you are at the Beaver Bar.” And that, my friends, is the origin of the legendary watering hole’s eyebrow raising name!

For over a decade Bike Week at the two adjacent venues was a phenomenal success. Over time, however, noise concerns brought mounting complaints from nearby residents and increasing control efforts by officials. By the spring of 2009 Leslye was tired of trying to deal with the turmoil and ready for a new location with room to spread out. She acquired the former Ghost Ship seafood restaurant on a half acre of land just over Georgetown County line. Though she still operates the original “Little Beaver” during Bike Week and periods of nice weather, the new 13,000 square foot facility has become the heart of a booming operation that also includes a spacious outdoor picnic pavilion Beaver built on the wooded site of a former used car lot. A short time later, she acquired the gas station across the highway to use for overflow parking. Then, in what she calls an epiphany, Leslye and her sister Electa Drake converted the property’s former convenience store into a primitive antiques and Beaver Bar memorabilia shop. Electa, the previous owner of Ricefields Antiques in Georgetown, handles day-to day operations of the shop which the sisters look forward to expanding. Just outside it sits the wildly painted “Beaver Bus” that provides free rides after a night of dining and dancing.

Leslye’s shrewd business eye and the area’s recent economic challenges have provided the Beaver Bar with opportunities to go main stream. In the last year, civic and political organizations across the community have hosted events at the spacious picnic pavilion which she offers at no charge except for food and beverages provided. Terri Larkin of the Surfside Rotary Club says, “Our club held its end-of-year celebration and officer installation there in May. At first a few members were wary of the District Governor coming to install new officers at a biker bar! It was a great time, however, a perfect spring evening with really good food and service. We would do it again without hesitation.”

Monday through Friday the Beaver Bar draws crowds of locals. Especially popular is the Wednesday night Flounder Special followed by free Shag lessons. A very diverse group of people gather each week to learn the S.C. State Dance, one which includes tourists, locals and even some bikers. Surfside residents Lynn and Bill Livesay are Wednesday night regulars. Lynn laughingly says, “The Beaver Bar has made a real contribution to my baby boomer social life.” Another regular, Brenda Quincannon of Murrells Inlet, has been Shagging most of her life. Several years after losing her favorite dance partner and beloved husband, Brenda longed to dance again. She started attending Shag Night at the Beaver Bar and says, “It’s a great place to hang out with my friends, enjoying the music and dancing. Leslye and her staff always make the Shaggers feel welcomed. That’s why we keep going back.”

Perhaps the Beaver Bar’s most popular weekly event is the Sunday Breakfast. Several hundred customers gather on a regular basis to enjoy an amazing full spread buffet and help a good cause. Leslye gives all proceeds from the breakfasts to local non-profits, an average of $700-$1,000 each week. Leslye says, “I believe in giving back to the community. We have worked hard and been lucky. We need to help our own.”

Despite these successful ventures, Beaver makes it very clear that the bikers are still the basis of her business and her remarkable success. During Bike Week upwards of 30,000 bikers flock there every day. Many know one another and have ridden long distances to re-unite with fellow riders once again. Though she is known for her laid-back, easy-going attitude, Leslye gets fired up when the subject of bikers arises: “By and large, they are good and generous people. In these hard times, they have made a huge contribution to the local economy and to the area’s tax base. I think some people are starting to realize how important they are to our economic survival. Unfortunately, the economy has affected many of them as well. Some have had to sell their bikes; others can no longer afford the trip to come here.”

All agree that behind Leslye’s laid-back approach lies a shrewd business mind and innate ability to visualize the next step – like her latest one: concerts in the outdoor pavilion. Country singers Colt Ford, Sunny Sweeney and Lee Brice performed before large crowds in October and plans are under way for more outdoor concerts. Beaver is also looking at new and innovative ways to develop her property across the highway.

Though she is a walking success story in a time when such is rare, Leslye often gives the impression she is just getting by. Whether this is an intentional effort to connect with those around her, a ploy to mask her sharp business acumen, or a long term effect of her early hard times, one thing is clear: she is unreservedly proud of what she believes is her greatest accomplishment, her four well-adjusted and successful adult children who all live nearby with their families: James “Bo” Price, twin daughters Ava Doutt and Allyson Antol, and Charles “Bean” Beaver, owner of Driftwood’s Seafood and Steak across from St. James High School.

She credits her grandmother as a tremendous influence on her life and her outlook. When facing challenges while raising her children alone, Lesley remembered her words to her: “After a day of hearing me whine, she asked if I was cold or hungry. When I said no, she said, ‘Then you are fine.’ And she was right.” Leslye’s congenial personality and natural likability are perhaps the greatest keys to her success. A former elected official who for years wrangled with Leslye over regulations says of her, “Even when you are on different sides of the fence, you can’t help but love Leslye Beaver and admire her hard work and innovative approach. She is a good businesswoman and a good person.”

Local sports fans will recognize the beautiful, blond ESPN reporter and host, Wendi Nix. What they might not know is Wendi grew up in Murrells Inlet and, if you listen very carefully, you still might hear just a touch of the south in her on-air remarks. Wendi’s friendly, positive outlook, along with her up-to-the-minute knowledge of professional and college sports, has made her a favorite of viewers tuning in to her commentary. Her contract with ESPN has just been renewed, and Wendi will be spending more time in the studio doing NFL and college football reporting. She graciously agreed to talk to Sasee and give us a little more insight into her life and work.

“Growing up in Murrells Inlet was great,” remembers Wendi. “I’m a beach girl and would be perfectly happy to be on the Inlet or the beach 24 hours a day.” Typical of many teenagers along the Grand Strand, Wendi and her friends spent sunny days lying on the beach watching the local surfers. The beach and school activities, especially Friday night football games, were the hub of her social life as a student at Socastee High School.

“I was exposed to a lot of different things at Socastee High School. You don’t know for sure that you’ve gotten a good education until you get out around other people and experiences. But, I’ve traveled around the country and met a lot of different people and never felt unprepared. I’m still a big proponent of public education.”

After high school, Wendi attended Wofford College, graduating with a degree in French and Economics. “I chose a liberal arts education because I wanted to be well-rounded.” But, Wendi always knew she wanted to be a reporter. “During career day in the 5th grade a reporter came to school, and I stalked her! We were supposed to go to three different sessions, but I stayed with her the entire day.”

Wendi went on to say that today’s graduates are much more technically savvy than she was when she entered the business. “Now, the students know how to edit, shoot and understand all the latest technology. I learned to write and to communicate because I knew I would change as I got older. You never know how long you’re going to want to do something.”

Sports were always a big part of Wendi’s life. Her father was a high school football coach and the entire family was involved in practices and games. “I was born on a Friday night, and my dad was coaching! Even after he left coaching, both of my parents went to my high school games. I am a big believer in involving girls in sports. It’s great for self-esteem and reducing the chance of teen pregnancy, as well as counteracting that feeling that they’re defined by their appearance.”

After college, Wendi went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and did an internship at a television station in Boston. Her first on-air position was with WPDE 15 in Myrtle Beach, where she reported the news and was able to fill in for the sportscaster. “It was like I was living a dream,” Wendi laughed. “This was the most wonderful job; I thought I had won the lottery. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited.”

Before she was on-air at ESPN, Wendi was a viewer and was influenced by some of the great women sportscasters, like Robin Roberts, who now works for ABC’s Good Morning America. “I never knew any of them personally until I went to work at ESPN,” she remembers, “but they let me know that it can be done. During each stage of my career someone has given me a shot, even though I wasn’t sure I was quite ready – those people are so important; you can’t get experience without actually doing it.”

Being a celebrity has it downside; just search anyone famous on the internet, and you’ll find pages of doctored photos, off color comments, etc. I asked Wendi how she felt about some of the less than flattering information posted about her, and she told me she doesn’t read any of it. “Eventually, you have to decide that you’re comfortable in your own skin. For the most part I just tune it out. I make sure I’m comfortable with the choices I’m making and, it’s important to me that any young person watching be comfortable with what they see me say and do.”

Wendi’s typical day starts eight or nine hours before the actual show goes on the air, and she told me one of her favorite things about her work is that there really isn’t such a thing as a typical day! “We meet and brainstorm first thing. After we come up with a plan for the show, we catch up on what’s happening then come back together and start writing the show. Our day is almost done by the time we start doing the actual broadcast. Information cycles are so short now that it’s a struggle to stay on top of everything. I have to constantly watch, even on my days off.”

I just had to ask Wendi the locker room question, and she told me that it was all she knew, really, and rarely thought anything about it. Her skill and knowledge are what’s truly important, and she and the players she interviews mostly forget that she’s a woman in a men’s locker room.

Our community loves sports and our local teams, and I asked Wendi’s opinion about a couple of favorites. “The Gamecocks have a great baseball team – they are a powerhouse team with some remarkable talent. South Carolina’s team is the premier program in the country right now.” Wendi also feels that the Gamecocks’ football team has stepped up and made some real progress. “I almost feel like they’ll have a good season, but know that I’m notorious for making bad predictions!” Also, our own Chanticleers baseball team has also caught Wendi’s attention. “Without the same resources as the larger teams, they’ve really done great. The area and the region are attractive and are noticed by a lot of northern kids who would love to go to school at the beach.”

Blessed with beauty as well as brains, I asked Wendi how she stays fit and attractive. She laughed and told me she spends a lot of time running to catch planes, but this sports-minded woman loves being active and plays golf and runs often. “I also love kayaking and hiking, but I have a short attention span and have to change it up.” Living in cold country has given Wendi a new love for winter sports as well.

I expected Wendi to tell me about extensive beauty regimes, but she doesn’t really do anything special. “I spend a lot of time in the fresh air; I have a beach house in New England where I spend as much time as I can. In general I’m happy and that seems to help me look my best, but a little concealer doesn’t hurt either!” Like most of us, Wendi does love shoes. “I want to kick down the glass ceiling, but I do not have to do it in ugly shoes!”

During rare times off, Wendi loves to travel. “Greece is one of my favorite places in the world.” But, she is proud of her roots. “I have never felt limited by coming from the South. It’s home and that will never change.”

Several years ago internationally renowned quilting expert, and Conway resident, Charlotte Angotti was taking a cab from Logan Airport into Boston. As five lanes of traffic approached a tunnel clearly wide enough for just three lanes, she nervously asked her driver why there were five cars and only three lanes. The Boston cabbie replied dryly, “Lines are just suggestions.” On reflection, Angotti says the same could be true of the paths her own life has taken. Combining a background in fine arts and traditional quilting with her trademark use of bold color and sense of fun, Angotti has gained fame as an innovative quilt designer who colors outside the lines. One part artist, one part teacher, and one part stand-up comedian, she has created a successful life doing what she loves most and sharing it with others.

The daughter of an Air Force pilot, the late Norm Barikmo, and his vivacious wife Polly, Charlotte was born in her mother’s hometown, Montgomery, Alabama. Like most military families, the Barikmos and their four daughters moved often, but Charlotte always considered Alabama home. In 1978 after graduating from her mother’s alma mater, Huntingdon College, Charlotte was visiting her parents at Quantico, Virginia, sorting out what to do with a degree in fine arts, speech and drama. One afternoon while browsing in the nearby little marina village of Occoquan, she stumbled upon a quilt shop, and her life changed forever. She fell in love with the colors and amazing patterns of the craft and immediately began quilting lessons, steeping herself in all elements of the revered early American tradition. Charlotte’s free spirit and artist’s soul could not be contained by these boundaries, however, and she soon developed her own visionary design concepts. Like the Boston cabbie, Angotti says, “I had to start out by learning the rules then over time began to use them more as suggestions.”

Charlotte sold her first quilt creation immediately after completing it, and she has been making and selling quilts ever since. This is the mainstay around which she has built a creative, multi-faceted career. Soon someone approached her asking how to make a quilt, so Angotti became a teacher as well, ultimately sharing her talent, skill and sense of fun with thousands all over the world. In 1981 she opened a quilt store in Virginia Beach where she sold quilting supplies and taught classes for 18 years. During this time, she also began working with Alexander Henry Fabrics, a small California manufacturing company for whom she still creates display quilts for its market show booths.

Along the way, Charlotte developed yet another dimension to her repertoire: pre-cut kits containing everything needed to create one of her original designs. These soon became so popular that she had difficulty keeping up with orders. Fortunately, about this time she crossed paths with John Flynn, a Montana quilting expert who uses a laser to cut and sear fabric pieces. She says, “John’s work is so precise – it is within 1/500th of an inch in accuracy. That is about the size of a hair!” Together the two worked out an efficient and effective system for assembling the quilt kits. John warehouses thousands of yards of fabric for Charlotte who keeps half yard samples for new designs. After she tests a kit for quality control purposes, Flynn cuts, packages and ships them. Janice Broussard of Katy, Texas, says of Angotti’s design kits: “When you work on a quilt designed by Charlotte, you are assured your finished product will be beautiful, unique and virtually perfect.”

As with her kits, Charlotte’s quilting classes had long waiting lists as well. Boston quilting expert Anne Boyce visited Virginia Beach for one of her workshops. She recognized Angotti’s extraordinary talent and offered to help spearhead her move into large national and international arenas. Ten years after starting her quilting adventures, Charlotte found herself presenting workshops at the country’s largest quilt shows such as in Houston with up to 60,000 participants, Long Beach, California, and more recently, the quilting capital of Peducah, Kentucky. Angotti jokingly calls these one-day classes “Sweat Shops” – an apt image of the huge room filled with intent quilters bent over their machines. Her classes have become so popular that participants are given passwords to keep out unregistered interlopers.

In addition to her widely acknowledged expertise, Janice Broussard attributes Angotti’s popularity to her relaxed teaching style and riotous sense of humor: “Taking a class with Charlotte is a new and different experience. Other teachers often have their classroom doors opened, with dutiful students at their machines or taking notes while the teacher stands at the head of the room. Not so in a Charlotte class. Her classroom door is closed, windows covered with paper, as loud, rambunctious laughter emanates from the classroom, echoing down the hall. All the secrecy, coupled with the roar of hilarity, makes the outsider long to be on the other side of the door.”

This sense of fun pervades everything Angotti does. Broussard says, “She looks at the world out of the corner of her eye, telling stories about normal people moving about the world in farcical situations…poking fun at herself as much as others.” This sense of fun carries over to the titles she chooses for her workshops and quilt designs, along with sometimes raucous tales regarding their provenance. Her most popular class is entitled “Let Me Surprise You.” Until they arrive at the workshop and receive their kits of pre-cut fabric, participants have no idea about the design or colors of the quilt they’ll make. As Charlotte describes it: “Finally, a class where you know you’ve brought the right things!” Other whimsical titles include workshops, “Cure for the Common Quilt” and “Chain, Chain, Chain,” and quilt designs “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Why Walk When You Can Fly.”

Angotti also leads small workshop sessions, including several in 2011 sponsored by local quilt guilds in Charleston and Columbia, and conducts privately hosted sessions in such beautiful spots as Hawaii, Isle of Palms and a large oceanfront home in Garden City. At these, invited guests arrive from around the country to enjoy three days of gourmet meals, fine wine and Charlotte’s entertaining lectures.

As word of her popularity spread, another exciting adventure presented itself to Charlotte, one that combines her two most favorite pastimes: travel and quilting. Sew Many Places, a specialized travel company which sponsors quilting trips to destinations all over the world, approached Angotti about leading travel workshops. The company provides all aspects of the trip, even sewing machines. Instructors bring quilt designs, fabric and supplies, so the participants can just sew, travel and have fun. In 2007 Charlotte led an eight day quilting tour of Italy with a memorable group that included her mother, Polly. This year she has just returned from an unforgettable ten day August cruise through Alaska appropriately titled “Quilting under the Midnight Sun.” For 2012 she is working details for a quilt shop train tour.

In 2008 Charlotte moved to the Grand Strand realizing, as she put it: “I can live anywhere as long as it has an airport.” She enjoys the opportunity to be near her mother and sisters as she works in relative anonymity from her Conway home, constantly moving in new directions and adding new dimensions. In addition to designing, traveling and teaching, Angotti is also working on two quilt design books to be featured on line next spring on “The Quilt Show.” Her designs are also featured in the current (September) issue of the magazine, McCall’s Quilting.

A wise person once advised: “Do what you love; the money will come.” This has certainly proven true of Charlotte Angotti over the past 30 years as she has carved out a unique and fulfilling life. Described by her friend Janice Broussard as a human vortex, Angotti naturally draws others toward herself and her projects. At the same time, her success has clearly involved large amounts of risk-taking and hard work. Her publisher and friend Debbie Caffrey says, “Charlotte leaves it all on the stage or in the classroom, just like an athlete on the field…There are many, many creative people in the world. What impresses me about Charlotte is how much she accomplishes with her creativity.”

[To learn more about Charlotte Angotti, visit these sites: www.charlotteangotti.com; www.QuiltMakerStudio.com; www.sewmanyplaces.com.]

I met 79 year-old Jean Benson at her lovely Wachesaw Plantation home, where she met me at the door looking fabulous, wearing perfect makeup and fashionable clothes – and a huge welcoming smile. During our visit, I learned that a week before our interview, Jean, an avid golfer, shared a win with three other women at a member-member golf tournament. I also learned that in October of 2010, only a few short months ago, Jean was told she only had six to eight weeks to live!

Jean and her husband of 57 years, John, a pharmacist, retired to the area 20 years ago from Westchester City, New York. Both love golf – John maybe a bit more than Jean. “John would play five days a week, but I’m happy with one or two days.” As the years passed, Jean made many friends and even became Mrs. Claus in the Murrells Inlet Christmas Parade. Neighborhood children knew where to come each year for trick-or-treating when Jean would dress up as the Cat in the Hat and wait on her porch with treats.

Jean’s journey through the hell of cancer began in 2008, when she found something “not right” on her left breast, just below her nipple. “I’ve always taken good care of myself and had annual mammograms,” Jean told me, and so she immediately made an appointment to make sure nothing was wrong. After a mammogram and ultrasound everything looked normal, and Jean was told it must be just fatty tissue.

However, late in 2009, something changed, and the spot on Jean’s breast began to pucker. Jean goes for checkups every three months due to diabetes and talked to her doctor, Philip Nicol, about the change. He immediately sent her to Dr. Craig Brackett at Coastal Carolina Breast Center. A biopsy confirmed the worst, and on March 23, 2010, Jean found out she had cancer.

“You could’ve taken a 2 x 4 and smacked me in the head, and I wouldn’t have been any more shocked,” remembers Jean. “Cancer picks whoever it feels like choosing – it’s an ugly disease.”

Even in the face of this devastating news, Jean stayed upbeat. She had her husband and soul mate behind her, as well as the love and support of her three children, her niece, their spouses and her six wonderful grandchildren.

On April 12, 2010, one day past her 56th wedding anniversary, Jean had her first lymphectomy. All six nodes removed were positive for cancer. Two weeks later, Jean had surgery again, this time sixteen lymph nodes brought the grim news that the cancer had spread.

“I went from Stage 1 to Stage 4 cancer just like that,” remembered Jean. “I was shocked! I couldn’t understand how this happened so quickly.” Jean’s next stop was at Dr. Darren Mullins’ oncology office in Murrells Inlet, where she made the decision to begin chemotherapy.

“I have been so fortunate to have the nicest doctors. The doctors and their staff have treated me with so much kindness.” Jean laughed and continued, “They must take classes in how to be kind, because they treat me like I’m family!”

Although she was never in pain during her chemo, she was exhausted and had no appetite, losing nearly 30 pounds. “After the first three treatments, I bragged about not losing my hair, but then it started falling out in clumps.” Jean asked her daughter, Janet, who lives in Calabash, North Carolina, to come and cut her hair. Janet buzzed her mother’s hair, but the two women were able to laugh a little and joked with each other about Jean’s “beautifully shaped head!” “There was no use to cry about hair,” said Jean. “It will grow back.” Today, Jean’s hair is still thin and she wears an array of beautiful hats that coordinate with her outfits. The day we met, she wore a cute, white billed cap studded with sparkly stones.

Jean was determined to make the best of her situation and to never give up, even in throes of cancer treatment. On Saturday, October 2, she participated in the “In the Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness Walk with friends and family walking beside her “chariot,” a pink golf car. “I was too sick to walk, but I was determined to participate.”

By the end of October, Jean was a very sick woman. The surgically implanted port used to deliver her chemo had become infected; her blood count was so low she had to have six units of blood transfused to keep her alive. Dr. Brackett did surgery to remove the port and told Jean and John that the cancer had spread to her lungs, and he would like to do a biopsy that involved surgery.

When Jean, John and her daughter came home, Jean asked them all to sit down around the table. “I wanted to know what they’d been told. How long did I have?” John was barely able to talk about what he had learned and had to leave the room. But, Jean’s daughter, Janet, gently told her mom that they had been told she was not expected to live past Thanksgiving.

“I made up my mind right then that I was going to live my life, however much time I had, the best I knew how. I decided not to have the lung biopsy or any more treatment, and I called Hospice. If I’m going, I’m going my way,” Jean said in a voice filled with acceptance and peace.

The staff of Tidelands Hospice was wonderful to Jean. They supplied oxygen and all necessary medical equipment, but more than that, they gave her the support she needed during this difficult time and enabled her to keep living. “John and I never really cried too much, once in awhile we did cry at night, but during the day we had droves of company!” Jean brought out a large basket filled with greeting cards that she received, some from Canada, England and all over the country.

Jean planned her funeral to spare her family that grim ordeal. She and John had both decided they wanted to donate their bodies for medical use and, with the help of the Hospice social worker, the arrangements were made. The pastor of Belin United Methodist Church in Murrells Inlet, Mike Alexander, is a neighbor of Jean’s, and he agreed to officiate at the memorial service, stopping by her house to iron out the details.

But Jean did not die. Thanksgiving came and went, then Christmas. On New Year’s Eve, Jean felt well enough to go out, and wearing a black fedora, she and John rang in the New Year with friends, dancing the night away. Jean continued to improve. After St. Patrick’s Day, Jean told John that she thought they might make it to their 57th anniversary on April 11.

And then, miraculously, after becoming well enough to begin treatment again, Jean was discharged or “graduated” from Hospice. “The girls from Hospice came, and I wore a big pink hat. It was a real celebration! Not many people graduate from Hospice, you know,” Jean said laughing.

On a visit with Dr. Brackett, he mentioned that radiation treatment was now an option for Jean. At first, she was hesitant, but then decided to give it a try and made the drive from Murrells Inlet to Georgetown Radiation for 32 days of treatments. However, she decided not to be tested right away to see if the cancer is still present. This plucky woman is taking life one day at a time.

“Cancer thrives when people feel sorry for themselves. I did feel sorry for myself sometimes, but I had to accept it and do what I had to do. I have had so much love and support from my family, my friends and neighbors, and caring doctors and staff.” Jean tears up when she thinks of all the people who’ve shown her so much love during her illness.

Her friends and family remain steadfast and are amazed at Jean’s strength and determination. One friend, Sasee writer, Judie Schaal, says that “Jean is a constant inspiration to all her friends. She handles every situation with a smile and a positive attitude. This includes the heartache of missing a winning putt on the 18th hole to facing the challenge of life threatening cancer. She’s the first to help out a needy friend and the last to exit the dance floor. And all this never changed when she planned her own funeral thinking she only had a few months to live. She is still under treatment and still a marvel to all who know her.”

Miracles do happen. Just ask Jean.