Jeff Hargett: Where I Live and Why I Like It

I've known Jeff Hargett for about three years now. He's a strong writer of sci-fi/fantasy and a terrific blogger with a growing following. He's had to deal with the worse kind of adversity for the past year or so and has shown us what the meaning of love really is. I've followed closely his journey over the past year or so, as has his many friends, and I think we all agree he is on the verge of something great with his writing.

1.      Geographical Information:

Country: United States of America

State or Province: North Carolina

City or Town: Randleman

District within City or Town: n/a

Neighborhood: n/a

2.      Is there any place in your area that's considered a pilgrimage site, such as a religious shrine? If so, have you been there?

I'm not aware of any nearby locations that hold any significant religious importance, however, there are a number of places in the area that have some historical significance.

One such place is in Greensboro, a larger town a few miles north of Randleman. On Feb. 1, 1960, four young black NC A&T students sat at a Woolworth store's whites-only lunch counter just one block south of where I currently work. Those students were refused service, but held their seats until the store closed. The next day, over twenty students, including some from Bennett College (a college for black women) joined the sit-in. On day #3  there were sixty students participating. Four hundred students took part on the fourth day, expanding the sit-in to the lunch counter at a nearby Kress store.

The peaceful sit-in protests expanded to cities throughout the southeast. On July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth store rescinded its segregation policy and served lunch to their black employees at that same lunch counter. That store is now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

3.      Is there a site that has special meaning for you? There's a small park/nature trail nearby that my wife and I would visit on occasion. A river runs alongside it. It's a peaceful, relaxing place to visit.

4.      Is this where you were born and/or grew up? If not, how did you come to live here? I was born on the west coast near Los Angeles, California. (My father was in the United States Marine Corps and as such, we relocated numerous times.) However, I did grow up in this area.

5.      What do you like best about where you live? Randleman is a short drive away from both the Appalachian mountains and the Atlantic coast beaches. The people are friendly and the climate is temperate, humidity notwithstanding.

6.      Do you plan on living here the rest of your life? Yes. My wife is buried just a few miles from our home, so I don't intend to ever leave this area--or this house.

7.      Do you have family in the area, or have you ventured out on your own? My mother, brother, children and grandchildren all live within a few miles of me. I'm grateful that my immediate family isn't spread across the nation--or globe! More family = more fun at Holidays too.

8.      Are you happy where you live? I do like calling North Carolina home. Randleman has a population of under 4,200, but it's within 30-45 minutes of five decent-sized cities.

9.      For tourists, what would you recommend seeing? The North Carolina Zoo. At over 2,000 acres, it's the world's largest walk-through zoo.

10.   What do you do for entertainment where you live? Sporting events, theater, concerts, so on and so forth. I'm somewhat of a homebody, but I'll catch a movie or a Grasshoppers baseball game on occasion.

11.   If you're a writer, have you included where you live in the settings of any of your stories? If you're a painter, have you painted any of your area's features? I am a writer, but have never used this area as a setting. I did make reference recently to a couple of local schools (UNCG and Duke) in a short story.

12.  Would you recommend others to move to where you live? Why? I would recommend it to those who prefer a more relaxed environment, not to those who crave the faster paced excitement of big city life. Lovers of ACC basketball and racing will find plenty of folks here with whom to share their passion.

Thank you, Jeff, for participating in my series of posts about where people live. 

You can visit and follow Jeff as his blog Strands of Pattern.