Been thinkin' about our Capitol City

We have some new neighbors down the street who moved here from Iowa. When we took them some "Welcome to North Carolina Barbeque" from Wilber’s, they told us all the wonderful things they had read about Raleigh. The first in this, the best in that, how wonderful the Chamber of Commerce claims we are. All their gushing got me thinking about the other side of this city… things that you learn only AFTER you move here.

Raleigh, the capitol city of North Carolina, with its constant, annoying, urban neighborhood sounds of blowers, mowers, trimmers, hedgers and edgers. Our logo is The City of Oaks but our City Council decided it could not afford to pick up oak leaves in the fall.

We have a morning newspaper that used to be called the Old Reliable but could now be labeled Yesterday’s News Tomorrow. If you have given up on print, we are covered by TV stations that ensure you know about every shooting, wounding, attempted murder, murder, house fire, business fire, brush fire (and California forest fire), one car, two car, multiple car accidents, AND, the weather… especially the tornadoes in Kansas and the droughts in California. All with seven or eight automobile ads.

As one of the fastest growing cities in America, our focus is on short range highway planning and construction so we are constantly expanding and improving streets and exchanges. For example, construction began on I-540 (the outer loop) in 1992 and the loop may be completed by 2028 and part of it is a toll road. Feel free to drive the congested freeways and streets whenever you have thirty minutes to travel ten miles and then find no place to park. Do not believe any traffic sign that reads SPEED HUMP-25mph unless you are a thrill seeker. It should read SPEED HUMP-18mph.

Learn to love the sound of fire trucks, emergency medical vehicles, and blue&white police cars all day and especially around 3:00am. The Amtrak and other trains pass through the middle of the city at irregular intervals tooting horns and blocking traffic.

We pride ourselves on roadside litter. You know that because litter stays in place for months. The bigger the better. Old mattresses with stuffing hanging out are guaranteed to decay in place for at least six months. Entire auto hoods are good for a year. Crushed orange&white highway construction barrels are constant, four-season decorations. We do not recycle fast food cups, napkins, plastic utensils, wrappers or bags. They are tossed out of car and truck windows to gaily trim the highway shoulders like disgusting ornaments from some hideous holiday.

Our local newspaper reported that the Wake County Homeless Population in January 2025 was 1258. This number resulted from an actual count by about 150 volunteers. Of the 1258 homeless, 61% were male and 37% were female. About 25% are chronic (homeless for 12+ months). The average age for adults was 45 years and 156 children were under age 17. One child with no family was counted at a shelter. These numbers are reasonably accepted as they are part of a required federal report. There are over 500 Christian churches in the city. Do the math…that’s about two and a half homeless per church…go figure, Samaritan!  A few homeless persons want to be homeless. Others are only homeless for a short time. Sensitive souls in Raleigh keep a bag of crackers and a water bottle in their car so they can feel righteous at every major intersection where the panhandlers hustle. If you are super-sensitive, stick a $5.00 bill above the sun visor for the women and children with the hand-lettered cardboard signs. Do not pay attention to the trash piles that are inside the intersections… the homeless have to loiter somewhere.

Finally, if you have migrated here from a place of ice and snow, we will bring comedy to your winters. About a week before a 'Weather Event," all the television forecasters flash the latest  weather models and begin predicting the expected storm. How severe the storm will be is carefully modified by such words as "Likely" "Maybe" "Possible" and "Might". As the event date draws nearer, "Potential" becomes the ominous key word. Potential strikes fear in the Department of Transportation, Public Works Department, School System, Hospitals, Fire Departments and 90% of all super market shoppers. During the day before the storm, bread, milk, and toilet paper disappear from the shelves, and the highways and streets are salted. Fearing accidents and inconvenience, schools, community colleges and universities are closed. Old people leave their faucets dripping and nearly everyone "hunkers down". The STORM is thirty minutes of snow flurries followed by twenty minutes of rain. With a sigh of relief, we tell each other, "Better safe than sorry."

Our state’s motto is Esse Quam Videri, whatever that means…

Welcome to Raleigh.

P.S. You may never have a White Christmas!