The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-08-17
IT TAXES
ALL KINDS
BY DAVE WEST

We know about one-trip authori-
ties on the Lower Banks. :.
We've had the one trip now-but
hope to go back and learn some
thing about Hatteras Island; so
we'll not set up as an information
expert just yet.
Our getting there and back we
owe to Stockton Midget, the bus
driver. (Fact is, our jaw still hangs
slightly agape, so much did his ex-
pert driving impress us.) He drove
without difficulty through spots on
that Inlet-Rodanthe road that
we'll never be convinced ANY
BODY ever hocus-pocused car
through before. Eyes, we've heard
that people go through every day
and, yes, the bus runs every day.
-. But just permit us our pre-
rogative: we DON'T believe it,
If we lived in any of the pleas
ant villages on the island, we're
afraid we'd be selfish enough to
wish that that last link of hard
surfaced road should not be COM
pleted. Everything we like is
already there, but a lot of things
we don't like might slide in if
there were easy access. But,
since we don't live there, we'd like
to be able to get there easily.
What's the Highway Commission
waitin' for?
The road didn't stump our bus
driver, but here's a thing that did.
When we arrived on the north side
of the Inlet on the return trip, a
well-dressed, earnest-looking fell
low got out of a shiny new Buick
and came to the bus to speak to
the driver. "How's the road on the
other side?" he asked. No reply.
"Driver, l say, how's the Rodanthe
road this morning." the tourist
"Good!" was the quick reply.
Every good!" Then Midget threw
the bus into gear and pulled away.
Everybody in the bus looked at
each other and laughed aloud.
Stockton drove silently for a
moment; then he turned to face
the assengers: "Well, how
WOULD you describe it? How can
you tell anybody how that road is
I don't know HOW it is if it isn't
good"
Saw a man holding up the heavy
jowl of Boxer dog the other day,
with a Coca Cola bottle thrust in
the corner of his jaw. The Boxer
howled for more when the bottle
was drained, and he looked re-
proachfully at his master when he
got in the car to drive out of the
S g. M Station. There's a
for you: Don't be a
dumb dog - smart dogs drink
Coca Cola!"
On one of those broiling after
Moons last week Edwin Midget
held a thermometer against the
bricks of the building on the west
side of the Manteo ABC store. He
got a reading of 112 degrees-just
about what everybody we saw that !
lay was estimating the tempera-
:ure to be where each OF them
stood.
Pressure's been piling up. It's |
,een three weeks since one of the
'acier (shaI we call IT'D officers
# the Manteo Lions Club got |
picked up for driving in excess of
he speed limit at Mays Head.
We've been accused of covering up
or this latter-day Barney Oldfeld
y some of his neutrality-suspicious.
elbow Lions. The fact is that he
unlimited and paid his fine i'm
nediately; but the arresting of
Icer hadn't filled out the necessary
orms to make the thing illegal"
n time for last weeks paper. We
an only hope the officer will take
he heat off us-by putting it on,
he Manteo Flash.
If you've never seen the Balcony
'cene from Romeo and Juliet en-
.cted, it might be worth a little
# your time to take view of the
facsimile thereof which
S enacted at least once every day
n downtown Manteo. We happened
o catch it when we glanced out
# a window at the courthouse one
fternoon. We saw Romeo, played
o the hilt by Hadacoi Green, in
he space between Fearing's Cafe
md the Bank, calling what we as
ume Though we could not hear)
we're POLITICALLY phrased "sweet
lothings" to Juliet who seemed
o be at the window of the Selective
Service Office. AS he did not, ap-
'arently, get any response at first,
is likely that he reversed
,hakespeare's phrase, to call out.