Fergitude Circa 1986

As a child, I use to fantasize about traveling the world, interacting, submersing myself into the many cultures that I met.  My office was going to be in the canopy of the Amazon.  I planned to make a difference in the world.  I wanted to be Indiana Jones.  To the left is yours truly at age 8.  Notice the survival knife with compass as the "rear bolster"(there was also a survival kit inside the handle).  It obviously was my favorite Christmas present that I wore everywhere.  "You never know when you may stumble upon an adventure in which you'll need your trusty compass survival knife" was my motto.  It would be hard to miss the gigantic crown on my head.  It was my cousin's(who I adored).  I feel this picture still represents me well.  I'm still a tomboy ready to explore unchartered territory, yet I have a real girly(feminine, compassionate, sensitive) side too.  Due to picture quality you could never discern the "swatch watch" I am sporting but that doesn't really have much to do with this story.  My purpose in torturing you with  a 1986 photograph is to trace back to when fergitude started to take shape.

While we are reminiscing...Heather lived across the street from me.  We met when we were 5 years old.  She and her Dad were standing in their front yard playing with glowsticks.  From that remarkable meeting, we rarely spent a day a part from each other for about 10 years.  We were very different in many ways.  She had straight blond hair and blue eyes, I had brownish red curly hair with brown eyes.  She was a Tarheel fan, I was a State fan.  She was more subtle and quiet, I was rambunctious and loud.  Despite these differences her and I were "two peas in a pod".  We were linked by our love for adventure!  After watching the movie Goonies, we started a Goonie club.  You had to complete an obstacle course to join.  We had about 7 members(Stevie, Joey, Edward, Lindy, Tabitha, Heather and I).  At my family's restaurant Ferguson's, we had a signature "Goonie" Hotdog(ketchup, mustard and cheese).  We spent most of our days in a forest that we called "the woods" hoping that we were going to get lost and have a "Goonie" experience.  We would take off for "the experience" with some cheese and mayonaise sandwiches, oatmeal creme pies, and a soda.  That was going to be our provisions for the duration of our time out there...we were normally back before dusk.

There are MANY adventures I could share with you from this 10 year period and I probably will when I have  scanned in some of the pictures to better illuminate the stories(Spotlight, jumping ditches, Porkchop Hill, the underground tunnel, the House of Shoes, trolls, Lake Waccamaw, oh the list goes on and on).  I may give those involved fair warning...or I may not.