Attending Heroescon 2019 With My Sister's Kids

Well folks, its that time of the year again! 

Once again Heroescon arrived at the Charlotte Convention Center and, once again, your favorite blogger braved Interstate 77 and the traffic of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina to attend. 

However, this year's trip was different for two reasons. 

The first was that this year I decided to go on the first day of the event on Friday, June 14th rather than on Saturday, or Sunday. It turned out the con was far less crowded on the first day. While that was good in terms of helping me cope with the noise levels due to my autism issues, it did mean less cosplayers though -- although there were some really good ones that day.

The second was that this trip I was not alone. Accompanying me were my nephews, Jacob Tyler (J.T.) and Caleab Morris. This was their very first comic con ever, and both of them really enjoyed themselves. 

The artwork, exhibits, and wonderful people attending were all exceptional, as always. I was a bit bummed that one of the artists I wanted to meet cancelled out a few days before, but I was able to acquire the autographs of several others, including syndicated comic artist, Mr. Bill Amend, who draws one of my favorite comic strips, FoxTrot.

The following are the photos I took from the event. 

Caleab and J.T. Morris with Imperial Scout.

We try to lift Thor's Hammer -- J.T. was the only one who managed to lift it.

The boys checking out Ecto 1.

"Zuuuuuuuuul!"

Caleab enjoying trying out the VR headset.

My two favorite cosplayers of this trip portraying
Link and Zelda.

Yours truly posing with Rocket Raccoon from
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

The highlight of my trip was getting FoxTrot
creator, Mr. Bill Amend's autograph.

We left just before the event closed for the day around 7 PM EST and on the way back to the interstate, I had to pull over and capture a great shot of the Waxing Gibbous Moon over the tallest buildings in downtown Charlotte.

The boys had an awesome time and really enjoyed their very first comic convention. I hope y'all also enjoyed taking this trip with us through my photography. Let me know in the comments section. 

Until next time, have a wonderful Dixie day, and y'all come back now, ya hear? 

Betsy's Battle Flag

The first flag of the United States was formally adopted by the Continental
Congress on Saturday, June 14, 1777. The first flag was allegedly made by
Betsy Ross and presented by her to General George Washington.

Betsy's Battle Flag

By Minna Irving

From dusk till dawn the livelong night
She kept the tallow dips alight,
And fast her nimble fingers flew
To sew the stars upon the blue.
With weary eyes and aching head
She stitched the stripes of white and red,
And when the day came up the stair
Complete across a carven chair
Hung Betsy’s battle flag.

Like shadows in the evening gray
The Continentals filed away,
With broken boots and ragged coats,
But hoarse defiance in their throats;
They bore the marks of want and cold,
And some were lame and some were old,
And some with wounds untended bled,
But floating bravely overhead
Was Betsy’s battle flag.

When fell the battle’s leaden rain,
The soldier hushed his moans of pain
And raised his dying head to see
King George’s troopers turn and flee.
Their charging column reeled and broke,
And vanished in the rolling smoke,
Before the glory of the stars,
The snowy stripes, and scarlet bars
Of Betsy’s battle flag.

The simple stone of Betsy Ross
Is covered now with mold and moss,
But still her deathless banner flies,
And keeps the color of the skies.
A nation thrills, a nation bleeds,
A nation follows where it leads,
And every man is proud to yield
His life upon a crimson field
For Betsy’s battle flag!

The author of this poem, Minna Irving was born on May 17, 1865 in Tarrytown, New York. She died on July 4, 1940 at the age of 86, and is buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Visiting The 2nd Annual Lizardman Festival & SC Button Museum

Greetings & Salutations, Y'all! 

On Saturday, June 1st, my travels once again took me to the small town of Bishopville, South Carolina and the South Carolina Button Museum for the 2nd Annual Lizardman Festival 2019 to kick off this summer of travel blogging.  

The festival itself is little more than a small gathering of people whose hobby includes cryptozoology, the hunt for unknown species and legendary creatures, from Bigfoot (Sasquatch or Skunk Ape) to the Loch Ness Monster, whose existence hasn’t been scientifically proven, but the stories of which none-the-less intrigue some individuals like this blogger.   

I briefly touched on the local legend of the Lizard Man of Scape Ore swamp (also known as the Lee County Lizard Man) in a previous blog post when I visited Lee County with my grandmother Carolyn (RIP) and my youngest brother, Alex. Later next month I will be posting a more detailed account of the Lizard Man legend, and my theories about what people who allegedly witnessed this creature claim they saw. 

Festivals based on paranormal events and local encounters with strange creatures are not unique to Bishopville, South Carolina. Point Pleasant, West Virginia, has an annual Mothman festival.  Flatwoods, West Virginia, has a festival honoring the Braxton County monster. There is also a Western North Carolina Bigfoot Festival in Marion, North Carolina. Roswell, New Mexico has annual events based on the alleged UFO crash in 1947. And every year, you can go to Fouke, Arkansas, to celebrate the Beast of Boggy Creek. 

Nor is the United States alone in this phenomenon. There is a huge tourist industry surrounding Lock Ness, Scotland, U.K., centered around the lake monster that has allegedly been spotted there.

It turns out that legends like this bring in plenty of tourist dollars. According to the Point Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, the Mothman Festival is probably one of the largest economic driver between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Charleston, West Virginia. 

With literally hundreds, if not thousands, of legends of strange creatures, haunted places, and strange phenomenon across the world, tourists and curiosity seekers of all kinds are always bound to turn out to see for themselves. 

This brings us to the 2nd Annual Lizardman Festival, hosted by the South Carolina Button Museum. This event was sponsored by the South Carolina Paranormal Research and Investigations. This small gathering of crypto-hunters, paranormal investigators, and some really talented artists, was an interesting couple of hours that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

When it comes to travel snacks, nothing beats
Chick-O-Sticks.

The nearly 2 hour drive to Bishopville from my home is a pleasant one that took me through several beautiful parts of my home state. Lee County is located along the sand hills and upper coastal plains region, and is a largely rural community. Lots of lovely farmland and corn crops growing along SC Highway 34.

The following are the photos I took of the event, including more photos from inside the Button Museum itself. Enjoy.

Mr. Mark Luncy, author of the books Eerie Florida and
Freaky Florida, giving a presentation on someof the cryptids
and local legends in his part of Dixie.
His work can be seen at: eerieflorida.com.

Astronomer and planetary photographer, Mr. Eric Colley.
He was inviting folks to look at the sun
and sunspots through his telescope.

I totally loved his shirt!

As I departed the Lizardman festival to return home, I stopped at the bridge over Scape Ore Swamp -- the alleged home of the legendary creature. It occurred to me that the very first Lizardman sighting took place just over 30 years ago in June of 1988 on a deserted stretch of road just like this. I didn't really get out of the car as I had a couple years ago when I visited the site with family; I just pulled over long enough to take a photo.

Well folks, let me know what you think of my trip in the comments section below, and also tell me of any similar events of stories you've heard of. Also be sure to check out my upcoming blog post on the legend of the Lee County Lizardman later this month on June 28th -- the anniversary of the first reported sighting.

Have a Wonderful Dixie Day, and y'all come back now, ya hear?

RIP Tony Horwitz

Anthony Lander Horwitz
(June 9, 1958 - May 27, 2019)

This week I was saddened to hear of the passing of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian, Mr. Tony Horwitz.

Mr. Horwitz was best known as the author of several non-fiction books, including Confederates in the Attic for which he won the coveted Pulitzer Prize, and which I enjoyed....well, to a certain extent. 

While I cannot say that me and Mr. Horwitz were good friends, or anything, we did share some cordial moments over the last couple of years. We corresponded and met on a couple of private chats. I will say that he was always very respectful to me and what I brought to the discussion, even when he politely disagreed with my approach to certain key points. He would always listen to my personal stories and seemed to understand where I was coming from when it came to the defense of my Southern-Confederate historical heritage. 

He and I also shared a few good-natured jokes at the expense of a certain Black Confederate Denier from Texas a couple of years back. He was a man of good humor and someone I think could get along well with just about anyone.

I am not certain if he supported my views on their service, although I was thrilled to get a short, but positive review from him on my article Busting The Myth Of Black Confederate Denial: The Common Sense Defense Of Confederate Veterans Of Color (April 8th of this year). I was both surprised, and somewhat pleased that learn that he actually read my piece. It was dated May 17th in an e-mail to me and was likely one of the last things he probably reviewed before his passing. A part of me will always feel a bit of humility knowing that. 

Thank you, Tony Horwitz, may the Good Lord rest your soul.

"Death is a commingling of eternity with time; in the death of a good man, eternity is seen looking through time." ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe