Welcome!

Yo! My name is Charles, and I live in Carrboro, NC. I'm originally from Fayetteville, NC, and I have a goal...Visit all 100 County Courthouses in NC!

Why? And why do it now when gas costs an arm and a leg...and another arm...?

Because they're there.

The same reason George Mallory gave when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest. Except I had to make the quote plural since NC has more than 1 county. There's only 1 Mt. Everest, and MANY people have climbed that. How many people have taken a picture of him or herself in front of all 100 NC County Courthouses? Far fewer than the number of people who have climbed Everest, believe you me.

It's also a great excuse for road trips, not to mention I love experiencing new places, walking through history, and finding the same appreciation that locals have for their own communities. I love seeing how places help shape people (and vice versa). And people ask what I'm doing with my Geography major.

For those of you who know me, you may be familiar with The Crapendium. Back when I was in college at UNC, my freshman year, my dorm neighbors Adam and Eddie (in particular) who were seniors, decided that they wanted to do a #2 in all the buildings on campus before they graduated to find out which bathroom was the best. Adam went to Kinkos and got a huge blowup map of the Campus and put it on foam core board, in which they stuck pins to mark which buildings they had "hit." Not only that, they had to fill out survey while on the john, to rank certain aspects of the bathroom 1-3, including: flushability, seat comfort, locking mechanism and grafitti (the more the better). All these were placed into The Crapendium Notebook. They hit about 20-some buildings total, and I forgot which was the "best" bathroom. In an end-of-the-year ceremony, which happened live in a phone call to Talkback Live on STV (Student TV), The Crapendium notebook and map were handed to me to keep the tradition alive. There was a 3-Toilet Flush Salute on the hall and a 4th Floor Grimes WOOOOOO!, and with that, I became the keeper of The Crapendium. I was charged with making The Crapendium even better.

(One day, when I get better at blogging, I'll try to put The Crapendium Notebook [in pdf!] on here.)

The following year, Amy Brothers--a fellow band member and MusicMakers Christian Fellowship buddy--and I started the new Crapendium. Amy "Did You Know I Have IBS?" Brothers didn't want to fill out the survey forms, so we just made a website to track who could hit more buildings (http://www.unc.edu/~brobro/crapendium.html). Amy waxed me--Charles "Imodium In My Wallet" Williams,--hitting all 135 buildings between September 2002 and April 29, 2003 (Crapendium Day). We also sold 80 t-shirts, complete with a Thinker statue on a toilet with the catchphrase, "Giving Your All In Every Stall."

Charles, what the HECK does that have to do with Courthouses?

Good question.

Amy continued on to seminary in Kentucky, and proceeded to whoop another of her friends in "Crapendium 2: Droppin' the Deuce". They had to hit every TOILET on campus (there were many fewer buildings than UNC, so Amy had to make it more of a challenge).

Charles, that still has NOTHING to do with Courthouses.

You're right. Go get yourself a cookie.

Since I was younger, I dreamed of visiting every county in NC. Many people have done this, so I wouldn't be special. Before I started this project, I had been to about 83 of the 100 counties. This time, I wanted to PROVE I had been to every county. And what does every county have? A courthouse! Yes, there are people, churches, schools, parks, oxygen, yadda yadda yadda. But those don't work. Courthouses do!

So, this has become my very own Crapendium 2.

My friend Kris responded to the away message in my instant messenger by saying, "when i started reading your away message i was really hoping you were going to try to take a dump in all of the courthouses." Unfortunately not. This blog is going to be more family friendly. My parents were embarrased when they heard my grandmother and aunts and uncles knew about the Crapendium. Though I know deep down, they really liked it and thought it was funny.

What are the rules?

There aren't too many.

1. I try to take a picture of the working courthouse. Sometimes, the working courthouse is new and ugly, and the old courthouse is near it and small and pretty. I still take a picture of myself in front of the current one, and then just take a picture of the old one for kicks.

2. Anyone that goes with me can (and should) be in the picture. This makes it fun for everyone involved, and encourages participation. Anyone can come with me, and it makes the drive more fun. This rule emerged after my 2nd courthouse. The only problem with this rule is that many of the pictures are taken from arm's length. But hey, it makes for funny pictures.

And to let you know, as I'm writing this, I've "hit" 29 courthouses. It's also April 29 (ok, actually April 30...but close enough), and I've hit 29 courthouses...catch the theme? 29, 29, 29 on the 3rd Anniversary of Crapendium Day! I was slow to the start in making a blog, and it will take me a while to get it all up. Hopefully I can maintain this!

That's really it. I think. If I think of anything else, I'll post it.

Alrighty, enjoy the show and let me know what you think!

Thanks for all the support and weird looks everyone has given me so far, thanks for the folks that have gone with me (and paid for gas!), and random people that ask to take pictures (only 1 so far...the lady at the Lee County Courthouse...but I had taken the pic already!).

And about the gas--as my mom says, "Nothing will ever be as cheap as it is now." You can argue, but that's my philosophy. I got a B in philosophy in college, so I'm not perfect in philosophizing. Or using proper words.

I'm the one on the bottom of the picture sticking my tongue out, and the other's my friend, Jason.

Take it easy!