Spring is almost over, yet Summer is already here... and I've got a secret !!!

 
Well, I've almost missed Spring without blogging anything about it here.  Now, Summer is almost upon us, yet it already feels as if it has arrived.  Right now, it's 105° on my deck in the shade.  I'd planned to go down to take some photos of Main Street Park this afternoon, but have adjusted those plans to go possibly early evening when it's a little cooler.  Instead, I'll use this piece of carved out time to play a little catch up on All Aboard Hamlet.  If you notice the ice and snow pics on the right hand panel, I was going to switch them out today, but they're such contrast to the early Summer heat we're experiencing in Richmond County today, I'll believe I'll leave them in place for a few more days.  

First off, my apologies for taking a Spring hiatus... 

If it appeared as if I've abandoned this place, nothing could be further from the truth.  Since March 4th, much of my time has been devoted to an animal advocacy stance for justice that kept me busy networking on the internet for most of my waking hours until very recently.  Justice hasn't been achieved as yet, but awareness most definitely has; some of which through a new blog I created that's devoted to the cause for justice.  We're at a place where it's questionable as to whether it will ever be achieved.  But, we will never forget and will never give up in our efforts to secure it.  I don't want to go into the details about the case here, but only sharing so you'll know a bit of what I've been up to, and how passionate I am about things that mean something to me. Time was very much of the essence, so it trumped other things I much would have preferred to do.  Also, I have hard time switching gears from gut wrenching, to blogging "up stuff".  It just didn't feel right, either, to take time out to search for beauty in the imperfections in my less than amateur photography endeavors.  That being said, between my husband, Steve and I we did manage to capture some cool shots of some interesting "stuff" for train buffs that's timeless, which most definitely will eventually make its way here.

It's important to me when I have heartstring ties to anything to try to make a difference and give whatever it is as much of my focus as possible.  It's very similar to my feelings about Hamlet as a town and community and my very reasons for creating this blog.  My heartstring ties are what drive me to promote Hamlet and want the best for it.  To see it as it will be one day as a wonderful historical tourist venue for the full gamut of train or railroad enthusiasts.  From train lovers and watchers aka railfans, to those who have a passion for train and railroad history and model trains alike.  To those who are serious history buffs, or have an affection for museums, and old timey Victorian era architecture.  And for anyone in between, Hamlet will be a fun taste of small town America and southern hospitality for all.  Locals, transplants and tourists; kids and adults, included.

Obviously, Hamlet, The Little Town that Can and certain venues in Hamlet are rarely off my mind.  One of those venues, of course, is the Hamlet Historic Depot & Museum.  Even though I've been tied up with a fight for justice elsewhere, I've also been busy working behind the scenes on a couple of HHD&M related projects.  And boy, do I have a secret!  One I will not divulge today, but expect to very soon!  The only hint I'll give you is that it involves two of my favorite Hamlet locals...

                                                               Mr. Riley Lee Watson

                                                                               Mr. Sam Ballard

Besides these two gentlemen full of railroad stories, all I will share further is that they will soon be in a spotlight, along two or three others and Hamlet's rich railroad history.  That's it and no more... except to say it gives me much joy to be a behind the scenes part of it... so stay tuned!