Is there a hole in your bucket list?
Plus: Top news of the week — Allegations against NC House Speaker Tim Moore; CMS adds sexual harassment training; Apple store headed to Birkdale; Headlines from Hornet picks at NBA draft
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Column: Skydiving? Rocky Mountain climbing? Charlotteans weigh in on what’s left on their life to-do lists
By Colleen Brannan
Bucket lists sound like fun until you remember the term comes from the phrase “kick the bucket,” which is slang for death.
Media stories and surveys suggest typical bucket list items focus on themes like career, travel, relationships and wealth. Sounds expected and boring to me, but with a big birthday approaching this fall, I have been thinking about where the holes are in my bucket list. Spoiler alert: It isn’t skydiving or Rocky Mountain climbing like my friend Tim McGraw, although I do share his “live like you were dying” mantra.
Bucket list items, big or small, are unique to you and can change over time. At the beginning of my career, one of my big dreams was writing for late-night television, thinking Jay Leno could really use my help with his monologue. Fast forward decades later, on my list is being the one behind the microphone. I’ve known for a while they give stand-up comedy lessons at Comedy Arts Theatre of Charlotte (CATCh) but have yet to summon the courage. However, their tagline, “Be Bold, Say Yes” is calling me and getting louder.
More recently, reigniting my passion for roller-skating made the list, after a 30-year-hiatus. Inspired by my friend Fran Marie and the rollerskating videos on her Insta account, I signed up for one-on-one lessons with her coach at Kate’s Skate Rink on Independence Boulevard. I held my own for the first 50 minutes of a one-hour lesson and then fell backward hard, whacked my head, suffered a slight concussion, scared the crap out of my teacher and hung up my skates forever — all in one hour.
Hearing about people’s altruistic bucket list pursuits, like working to end polio and building schools in Third World countries, can be intimidating and make you wonder if your list is silly. I decided to check in with some accomplished female friends and colleagues, age 50s-90, to see how their lists were faring and if they had any holes:
Career commercial banker Heather Osterweil, age 52, has already checked off her biggest bucket list item of being 100% debt-free by age 50, as a single mom no less. What’s still on the list? Vacationing in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora and going to a Super Bowl with the Panthers. Anything’s possible at this point, with a new head coach and QB, but she may want to set a Bora Bora Google Flight alert in case the season goes south quickly.
Cottingham Chalk residential broker Cay Craig, age 60, visited all 50 states with her family as a bucket list item. What’s next? She’d like to have a drink with City Councilman Ed Driggs and meet convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh. Since one is in solitary confinement and the other is in the minority on City Council, that’s a tough call. Cay, if you’ll settle for iced tea, come to Uptown Rotary with me any Tuesday for an Ed Driggs sighting. And perhaps start with a letter to Alex?
Truliant Charlotte commercial market executive Judy Wishnek, age 56, has raised three children, traveled the world with an adventurous group of friends and learned how to play golf. On her bucket list? A hole in one, of course, AND she wants to be in a parade? Dear Novant Health and Charlotte Center City Partners: Please put Judy on a float in this year’s Thanksgiving Parade.
Retired public relations executive Marilynn Bowler is 82 and says it’s the new 55. She’s proud of her marriage of 60 years and keeping her hair the same color blonde her whole life. While she says cleaning the attic has and will always be on her to-do list, at the top of her bucket list is returning to her childhood home in Rochester, N.Y., where she hid her initials, at age 10, inside a closet in her bedroom.
Grant Thornton’s senior director of marketing operations, Kim Beal, who says a lady never tells her age, claims her bucket list is long. The big one that has eluded her is having a child, and she jokes at this stage and age, “there would have to be a star rising in the East.” Where’s the hole for this woman who has stood on The Great Wall of China and visited six out of seven continents? Meeting Keith Morrison from “Dateline,” which she says is a dead giveaway for what she does on Friday nights.
Perhaps the spunkiest (and only) 90-year-old I know, retired Southern Shows founder Joan Zimmerman, has the better idea. She says: “I never had a bucket list. Batting 100% on fulfillment. Life filled my bucket with great surprises.”
List or not, this is all a great reminder that if there’s something you want to do, just do it. While all my fears and recent roller-skating scare may prevent me from doing 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu, I might ride the aptly-named Intimidator one day soon.
Colleen Brannan owns BRANSTORM PR and recently checked off a bucket list item by joining this year’s “Charlotte Squawks” writing team. Follow her on Instagram (Colleen_Brannan) and Twitter (@colleenbrannan).
➡️ What bucket list items are you still waiting to check off? Share them in the comments (open to Ledger members only 🔒), or email them to colleen@branstorm.com. We might include them in a follow up article.
This week in Charlotte: NC House Speaker Tim Moore faces allegations; CMS adds sexual harassment training for high schoolers; flooding causes water contamination worries; Hornets turn heads with 2 draft picks
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Politics
Allegations against House Speaker Tim Moore: (WRAL) A lawsuit filed by former Apex councilman Scott Lassiter accuses North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore of having an affair with Lassiter’s wife and exchanging sexual favors for political favors. In a series of interviews with media outlets, Moore said he had an “on-again, off-again” relationship with Jaime Lyles Lassiter when she was separated and he was divorced and denied using his influence in exchange for sexual favors.
Education
School bonds: (Ledger) School bonds usually pass easily in Mecklenburg County, but this year some voters are concerned about a proposed $2.5B CMS school bond, the largest in county and state history, due to leadership issues and dissatisfaction with recent school boundary decisions. School board members emphasize the need for improved buildings and learning environments for students and teachers.
CMS sexual harassment training: (Observer) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools plans to add lessons for high school students about sexual harassment, dating violence and sexual assault.
Local news
Rain and flooding contaminates rivers and creeks: (WCNC) Flooding caused by the relentless rain this week has caused bacteria and pathogens from streets to rush into local creeks and rivers. Catawba Riverkeeper Brandon Jones asks people to stay out of creeks and rivers until experts are able to test their safety.
Charlotte Fire assists in deadly explosion: (Observer) A worker at the Darling Ingredients Company plant in Wadesboro died in a chemical explosion, according to officials. The plant specializes in collecting and repurposing animal byproducts for various purposes. The Ansonville Fire Department responded to the incident and requested assistance from the Charlotte Fire Department.
Business
Apparent date for Uptown Cabaret closing: The owner of longtime Morehead Street strip club Uptown Cabaret says it “will close after July 1,” The Charlotte Observer reported.
New Apple Store: (Biz Journal, subscriber-only) The town of Huntersville says a permit for an Apple Store at Birkdale Village has been filed and approved, following the recent closing of an Apple Store at Northlake Mall.
Sports
Leaky Black stays close to home: (Yahoo Sports) Former North Carolina Tar Heels forward Leaky Black has signed a contract with the Charlotte Hornets after going undrafted into the 2023 NBA draft Thursday. He’s expected to play for the Hornets in the NBA Summer League.
Hornets pick Brandon Miller, fans boo: The Charlotte Hornets drafted Alabama forward Brandon Miller with the second overall pick in the NBA draft. Videos of fans watching the draft at the Spectrum Center showed “plenty of audible boos from the crowd, as well as fans standing up and giving the thumbs down sign,” the New York Post reported.
Good reads
The transformation of Tupelo Honey: (The Assembly) Asheville’s Tupelo Honey Cafe has expanded from a small, late-night Southern restaurant to a chain with 22 locations from Boise to Pittsburgh — and it keeps growing. Longtime food writer Hanna Raskin takes a closer look at its burgeoning Southern food empire built on sweet potato pancakes and fried chicken.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Meet the Hornets’ new owner: Gabe Plotkin is the leader of the new Charlotte Hornets ownership group that is buying the team from Michael Jordan, who announced last week that he’s selling his majority stake in the Hornets. The investor group includes financier Rick Schnall, rapper J. Cole, country music singer Eric Church and the daughter of the late Family Dollar founder Leon Levine, Amy Levine Dawson.
2023 Charlotte election preview: Filing for key offices in Charlotte is set to open soon, with expected re-election bids from Mayor Vi Lyles and incumbent council members, along with potential changes in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education.
🎧 New podcast: The Charlotte Ledger Podcast examines Feeding Charlotte’s work in an interview with co-founder Kim Aprill.
Wednesday (🔒)
The Park Church sells Pineville campus: The Park Church in Charlotte has sold its 39-acre campus in Pineville to Nikao Church, a non-denominational congregation, for an undisclosed price, as Nikao Church plans to establish it as a second campus in Charlotte.
Friday (🔒)
Family’s home destroyed by sewage overflow: The Suber family, whose east Charlotte home was flooded with raw sewage due to a mainline blockage, is seeking compensation from the city of Charlotte, which has offered them $45,000 for property damage despite their estimated expenses exceeding $400,000, prompting them to consider suing the city for negligence in maintaining the sewer lines.
Students tour American Airlines’ maintenance base: Thirty-five high school students had the rare opportunity to tour American Airlines' maintenance base in Charlotte organized by the local chapter of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.
Eastside groups give thumbs-up on Eastland plan: A coalition of community groups in east Charlotte expressed their support for a public-private partnership to build an indoor sports complex at the old Eastland Mall site, stating that it would promote sustainable economic growth, serve as a family-oriented destination, and fulfill the long-awaited revitalization of the corridor.
LoSo welcomes new pickleball venue: Rally, a new pickleball venue with eight pickleball courts, a full-service restaurant, a cocktail bar and a coffee bar, will open June 28 in the LoSo neighborhood on Southside Drive.
Ways of Life (🔒)
Janet LaFlamme lived a vibrant life filled with line dancing, word puzzles, bowling, and breakfast at the Waffle House, embodying a spirit of connection and joy that inspired those around her and served as a powerful antidote to the epidemic of loneliness affecting many seniors today.
Meet CASSI: CASSI, a self-driving eight-passenger shuttle, is undergoing a six-month experiment at UNC Charlotte to test its autonomous-driving capabilities in navigating a 2.2-mile route while encountering traffic lights, pedestrians and other vehicles.
Veteran midfielder to join Charlotte FC in July: Scottish midfielder Scott Arfield has signed a deal with Charlotte FC, joining the team as a free agent after his contract with Rangers FC expired.
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Kiss the Blarney Stone!