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The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current about 40 miles off-shore from Morehead City, NC where fishing has been great for as long as I can remember, and I'm sure as long as people have been able to get boats out to it. In the summer of 1970, when I was 13 years old, my friend Doug and I decided to go the Gulf Stream to go fishing aboard the Captain Stacy. Docked in the downtown Morehead City waterfront, it was a "Head Boat" which we thought was a funny name, but it was called that term because it charged a fixed fee per person, or per head, for regularly scheduled trips. I still think it's a funny name.  ..

I've never met a Jack I didn't like and I've met a lot of Jacks in my life. In fact I've liked 'em all and some of them I've liked a lot, especially Jack Saylor. And if you don't know Jack Saylor like I know Jack Saylor, you need to get to know him.  ..

A long time ago, in a world far, far away (OK, at Atlantic Beach, a few weeks ago) Susan and I had the pleasure of hosting one of the star guests for Anna Wooten Gauss and Randall Loggin's wedding. When I first saw her, I was stunned by her classic beauty and her timeless style. She was a member of Randall's family and a star of the wedding party and she was familiar to me (and you're thinking oh my God here we go again) but no one else in the wedding party knew her. In fact she was from South Georgia but she was familiar in a different, non-familial way.  ..

To explain who I am you may want to start with the old beach cottage at 511 Ocean Ridge Drive at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. It was built by my great grandfather, Furman Nuriah Bridgers in 1950. Here is a picture of the cottage and it was bought by my grandfather, Tom, who we called "Big Tom", from his father's estate in 1956 for $15,500. He must have had regrets about making such a large purchase because among his personal belongs I found after his death, there was an agreement dated in 1957 to list the cottage for sale at $16,900. Thankfully, there weren't any interested buyers or he had sellers remorse because the house stayed in the family for many more years.  ..

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