A place to be, rather than to seem to be

The things you learn when you're just trying your best not to learn anything more often amaze and amuse.

While trying to accept doctor's orders and relax this week, consider these anecdotal tidbits of an ill-spent vacation:

• I have two friends, we'll call them Steve and Helen, who used to live in Goldsboro, North Carolina. I've been through and around Goldsboro several times, but almost always at night or in the pre-dawn early morning hours.

A few days ago, I drove through Goldsboro in the daylight. I never knew the town was the home of Seymour Johnson.

Apparently, Mr. Johnson was popular in Goldsboro.

The Seymour Johnson Air Force Base was named in honor of Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a Goldsboro native who died in an airplane crash near Norbeck, Md., on March 5, 1941.

According to the Goldsboro News-Argus Oct. 3, 1997 edition, Lieutenant Johnson was born in Goldsboro on Feb. 15, 1904, and was the son of Dr. John N. and Lilly Johnson of Goldsboro.

He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. In 1937, he volunteered for duty as a test pilot and was assigned to Anacostia Naval Air Station beginning in 1938 and served as a test pilot until his final mission on March 5, 1941.

Lieutenant Johnson reported that he was at 43,000 feet and was getting low on oxygen. His Grumman F4F-3 fighter plane crashed near Norbeck, Md., and his death was attributed to a lack of oxygen at high altitude. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Seymour Johnson is the only Air Force base named in honor of a naval officer.

May God bless Seymour Johnson.

* * *

• Another local point of interest, courtesy of our good friend John Levo, is that Goldsboro is home – or close to the home – of North Carolina's annual pickle festival. (See www.ncpicklefest.org.)

The festival is held annually – for the past 26 years – just a few miles south of Goldsboro in Mount Olive, N.C.

Some readers may recall that former UC Bearcats basketball coach Bob Huggins used to be a spokesperson for the Mount Olive Pickle Company.

• And another Goldsboro institution is Wilber's Barbecue.

Nothing fancy, Wilber's is right on Highway 70 somewhere between Pilot Mountain and Pine Knoll Shores.

When we passed by this week, it looked like they were hosting a farmers' market (off the roadway, of course).

Local reports say that Wilber's vinegar-based barbecue has been enjoyed by the likes of President George Bush, President Bill Clinton, Governor Jim Hunt, Gov. Terry Sanford and Sen. Jesse Helms.

But this vacation isn't about Goldsboro. Very few vacations are about Goldsboro. Not that there's anything wrong with Goldsboro, mind you.

When I was much younger, I thought of North Carolina as the eastern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We'd drive from Gatlinburg, Tenn. to Cherokee, N.C. and think we'd seen the Tar Heel State.

We hadn't.

North Carolina has some 300 miles of Atlantic coastline. The state has a rich history of pirates and shipwrecks and fish stories.

One of America's most baffling mysteries happened near Manteo. In the 1580s, a group of colonists sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh suddenly and mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

New Bern is the second-oldest town in North Carolina and was its first state capital.

New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola and the home of a famous author, Nicholas Sparks.

The Gulf Stream makes its closest approach to land off the coast of North Carolina. This warm water current helps to make this one of the best fishing spots on the Atlantic Seaboard.

More importantly, North Carolina's Atlantic Beach is home to the Monkey Bar and Grill.

With a name like Monkey Bar and Grill and a menu that includes the Congo Burger, it can't be all bad. I'll have to get back to you on that.

After walking more than 10 miles today on various islands and beaches, my next destination is the Monkey Bar.

Esse quam videri (To be, rather than to seem).

Indeed, North Carolina is a good place to be.

Rory Ryan is publisher in absentia of The Highland County Press.