You know that feeling you get right before a huge storm?  When it feels as if you could plug an appliance directly into the air and it would roar to life?

I am getting that feeling now. My oldest daughter turns 13 tomorrow.

Her vocabulary is reducing to two words:  "whatever" and "ri--ight."  Both are delivered with as much sarcasm as she can muster, and she never verbalizes when an eye-roll will suffice. When she's addressing me, that is.  When she's addressing her friends, 5,000 texted words on a cell phone per hour cannot express all that she has to say. 

Sometimes she starts screaming and crying and slamming doors.  For no discernable reason. 

Mary is a candidate for Commissioner of Labor in the North Carolina primary May 6th. She is the daughter of Palmer and Sidney Fant and grew up in Grayson County. Mary has impeccable credentials and numerous endorsements including mine.

• News and Observer
• Campaign website

Update: The results from the North Carolina Board of Elections are as follows.

On Saturday, May 10, on Main Street in Independence, Grayson County will hold its first community-wide Earth Day celebration.  This all-day festival wraps up three weeks of Earth Day activities in the community, which have included river-side and roadside clean-ups, the planting of gardens, and tours of local businesses which are mindful of the environment.

The festival will begin at 10:00 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting for the new Farmer's Market and will conclude with a concert by Earth Mama at 4:00 p.m. in the middle of town.  A Procession of the Species Parade is scheduled at 2:00 p.m., in which participants will dress as their favorite species, and which will also feature environomentally friendly vehicles. 

Polls open at 6:30 AM Tuesday. All means of registration have ended for this election.

A Washington DC group whose leaders have ties to the former Clinton administration and several of whom have made contributions to the Hillary Clinton campaign have been making bizarre calls to black North Carolina voters. At best a mistake, at worst a crime intended to suppress targeted voters from showing up on Tuesday.

If you run into irregularities, stay at the polling place and inform poll watchers of your concerns.

It's not that we don't have stuff.  To the contrary.  This farmhouse is exploding with stuff.  I give away and throw away truckloads of stuff, and still we have way too much.  We have so much stuff that there's barely room for us in this joint.  So why are we constantly going out to buy more stuff, to haul back here and add to the groaning, teetering piles we already own?  My kids could tell you.  It's because none of what's crammed in here is the right stuff. 

Sami was caught in Pakistan armed with a camera, a large amount of cash and an ID card from Al Jazeera. Having endured several ARB reviews (Administrative Review Board), he has been released from Guantanamo and is in Sudan. Much more detail is available at Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Al_Hajj

While at Guantanamo, Sami has engaged in suspicious activity such as vocally resenting his detainment, fasting, teaching the Koran and teaching other inmates English.

السلام عليكم

Willing Partners opened a new thrift store in Independence today, May 1, giving away free snacks to customers. The new store is right next to Walters' Drug on Main Street in the old Grayson Garment factory building. Willing Partners is a nonprofit member agency serving the Twin Counties and Galax. In Galax, the Willing Partners food bank gives away more than 1200 food boxes to needy families a month. The mission of Willing Partners is to “bring together people, churches, and groups who share a common desire to improve the lives of those in need.”