Hearsay's World Tour

At this very moment, Hearsay is on the first leg of what will be an amazing world tour. Please check back often to see where he winds up!!!

Hearsay's Cousin Hits Europe

We haven't mentioned Hearsay's European cousin, Habeas, before, have we? Habeas lives in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia.

He recently went on a tour of the city, and sent back these photos ...

This is a panoramic view of Bratislava.

Here's Habeas at a World War II memorial in Bratislava.

This castle dates to the eighth century. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Here in the background is St. Martin's Cathedral, where 13 Austrian and Hungarian kings were coronated during the Turkish occupation of Budapest in the Middle Ages.

Finally, Habeas overlooks a bridge over the river Danube, with a round, UFO-shaped restaurant on top.

Hearsay, by the way, is headed for points far and wide in the next little while. Check back ...

We Won

This is, by far, the nicest post that I have made since beginning this blog in early February.

I won, by a total of approximately 2,700 votes.

How can I possibly thank the people who worked the polls for me? Words escape me. One gentleman worked the polls for me today with a temperature of 101. Friends stood in the rain all day long, into the cool of the evening. Again, I can't find the words to express my gratitude.

Thank you. The election, by the way, won't be the end of this blog. I plan to maintain the blog on a regular basis, so please stay tuned.

This Is It!!!

Polls here in the 23rd Judicial District open in just a few minutes. If you've already voted, thank you. If not, what are you waiting for?!? Thanks so much for all of your support over this last year. It's meant more to me than I could ever say.

Happy Halloween!

Adam and Jesse hit the trick-or-treat trail last night, with Rick and I fully in tow.

That's Adam in the Superman outfit (he wore Jesse's costume from last year, but don't tell him) and Jesse as Batman. We went to my mom's house, of course, and both decided to ride their bikes while we were there.

And both promptly got their capes fully entangled in the bike chain and spokes. There for a while, I thought they were going to have to drag the bikes along with them!!!

One Week To Go ...

With a little more than seven days left before the election, the amazing rollercoaster that has been this year is drawing to a close. What has this year meant?

It's meant having the support of my family -- Rick, the boys and their "Vote For My Mommy" T-shirts, my mom and dad. It's meant having the support of friends that I've known for decades, and it's meant getting the support of friends I've just met. It's meant printing what seems like a million brochures. It's meant yard signs, big signs, banners, newspaper ads and recording a radio spot. It's meant playing bingo and watching Adam and Jesse flat-footin'. It's meant spaghetti lunches, a couple of brunches and too many barbeque dinners to count.

It's meant crowning Debbie's Snack Bar in Hamptonville the unofficial world headquarters of my campaign. If you want to know why, just visit the place. It's meant putting up campaign signs in the rain. It's meant hammering sign frames together. It's meant my mom and dad hitting the campaign trail all over the district, on their own. It's meant handing out a yard sign ... and then another ... and then another ... and then another. Rick's record for heading back out to the car for more signs is at least three times, and not once did he complain.

At least not to me.

What else has happened this year? In January, Rick had what he calls the most memorable experience of his career in journalism when he drove a race car at Talladega. That he did so less than three weeks after surgery is completely besides the point. I had surgery and was later found to be completely cancer free for the first time in two years. Adam hit the first home run of his baseball career and Jesse flourished at his summer art camp. Richard graduated from high school and is a freshman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

And ... it's still tough to write these words ... Rick's dad, Sid, passed away. Sid had never smoked a cigarette, but instead developed lung cancer as the result of the Agent Orange he encountered in Vietnam. He fought the disease for four long years.

Thank you so much for all that you've done for my family and I over the past year. I'll see you at the polls.

Child Support Ceremony

District Court Judge Jeanie Houston took part in a ceremony today at the Yadkin County Court House recognizing those in the area who have never missed a child support payment. The event was hosted by the Yadkin County Department of Social Services, and coordinated by Valerie Zachary, the agency's child support attorney.

Zachary said the selection process for the ceremony started by looking for unfamiliar names on the Department of Social Services list of child support payments. It was a comment echoed by Judge Houston.

"We like these folks, because we don't know them," Judge Houston joked. "They're never in court for not paying their child support. We have a lot of people we can't say that about."

Below, Judge Houston is shown with Marcelo Mimiaga, Trent Shore, Edsel Wooten (the director of the Yadkin County Department of Social Services), Shamus Jackson and Jim Stanley.