The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-03-09
IT Taxes
ALL KINDS
BY DAVE WEST

| For us it was an exploit. Drove
back from Belhaven through Hyde
county last Friday and got up the
gumption to turn off Highway
264; for once, and see a little ter
ritory you can't see from the main
road. Turned off at Scranton and
went to Sladesville, Germantown,
Nebraska and Middletown, all new
to us, before we hit the beaten
trail again at Engelhard.
Wondered why Sladesville does
MT have post office. 1t must be
as populous as Scranton; yet we
noted Scranton RID signs on all
the mail boxes along the street.
The ratio of churches to the
total number of buildings in and
near town must be about as great
| in Sladesville as anywhere. No
large city could begin to compare
with it in this respect. 1t would
be interesting to know whether
Sladesvillians, with all those chur-
ches, are more pious than resi-
dents of Roanoke Island, which
hasn't anything like the proper
ton of houses of worship that
Sladesville has.
We followed a well-marked sand
road to Germantown. For a while
we followed John Deere outfit
which, going to the days field
work, was lightly discing up the
road. Didn't appear to be doing
the road much harm. Doubt if it
did it much good.
Turned as the sign directed and
found ourselves in the midst and
then on our way out of German
town. Pulled up before we landed
on the deck of the "Percy E.
Shores" which was moored at the
end of the road and the beginning
of the roadstead.
Recognized "The Ditch" that
we've read about in the Nebraska
personals in the Herald. Between
Nebraska (and how did it get its
namely and Middletown we saw
a sight completely new to one
who's lived in farm country half
way between the oceans: tractor
plowed a big fiat field; behind it
down the long fresh furrow was a
solid line of white. Disconnected
us for a moment, until we saw
more blobs of white settle down in
the furrow from the sky.
There was plenty of time to
catch the ferry "a bridge couldn't
regulate peoples lives like the
ferry schedule-makers now do.)
So we stopped in the Engelhard
Cafe for coffee and a sandwich
and another coffee. We noted a
curious thing. Across the lunch
counter was a card of green and
white dice for sale. Searching for
something to think about that
wouldn't be an overmatch for US,
we languidly counted the dice on
| the card. The number was uneven.
We counted 'em againa Still I'M
even. Then we HAD something to
think about. Why in the world
would anybody buy one of pair
of dice? What could he do with a
die? We've heard "the die is
cast" but we've never heard "the
die is rolled" nor ever heard of
anybody "shootin' die.'
Another thing happened in the
Cafe that troubled US, what with
the knowledge that we can't put
off showing the Collector of Inter
nal Revenue what an insignificant
fellow we are much longer. A mid
dle-aged gentleman came into the
Cafe while the waitress was in the
kitchen. He walked over to US
with evident purpose and looked,
for moment, as though he were
about to speak to US. When he was
but step away, he stopped, peer
ed at US appraisingly, and shook
his head. He continued to look at
US for some seconds before the
waitress appeared, but we never
had the feeling that he was warm
ing up to us much. He asked the
waitress, "Can you change a
twenty dollar bill?" and we felt
partially indicated when she said
she couldn't. Our own answer
would have been, "For WHAT"
If we reached Manns Harbor
"puffed and bowed" it wasn't be-
cause we had to rush to catch the
| ferry. The fact is, riding all day.
we'd forgotten that, if YOU hav-
emit got a machine, it takes exer-
| ton to get places; so we stopped
at the watch tower between En-
gelhard and the Stumpy Point
| junction and climbed the thing. By
fourth landing all desire to see the
panorama from the top had peter
ed out-but somebody drove by
about then; so we felt (for a rea-
son that has entirely lost its rea-
sonableness now that we HAD to
go all the way up, and we did.
There's a view, all right. and a
good one-but we'll admit that the