Morganton Brick Art Magic!

Brick Art at it's BEST!

Let me check ...

Got it!

I mean, come on, I KNOW it's in Morganton, at some "Food Store", ahh, just down the street from where I always STOP to photograph "my other" FAVORITE Brick Art (Moses!), which is right downtown, but yeah, the name of the store this one is located on, slips my mind at the moment, or, yeah, like, FOREVER!

Been there many times, even have walked into the place before, but yeah, it's not a "Well Known, Brand Name Store", well, to me anyways, so yeah, I can't think of the name of it at this moment, you know, like I said earlier!

Silly me!

But it's on my phone, or at least the address is ... I kid you not.

Give me a second! Or two or three, whatever ...

GOT IT!

I kid you not, it's listed under, ahh, BRICK ART ... Perfect.

"FOOD MATTER MARKETS" (see, I told you!), which just so happens to be located at the corner of ... Ready?

Get this.

Ahh, AVERY and SHORT Streets, right over there in Morganton, North Carolina. On your RIGHT ... You know, if on your way "out of town", headed West!

Not far, no worries, just a few minutes ... Or so it seems to me!

You got this!

I mean, I FOUND IT!

With no clue as to where I was, or where I was going, except on my way OUT of the city, you know, a few years ago (like during that whole Pandemic thing!), while looking for more BRICK ART!

Morganton is one of my FAVORITE places around here ... Yeah, I even see "Moses" looking back at me, every time I turn on my phone!

Really.

That's right downtown, "behind" Main Street, or whatever it is called ... THAT is my real FAVORITE, you know, if I would ever admit it, which I just can't do!

Remember, I was a middle school Special Ed. teacher ... Over the years, so yeah, I've had SEVERAL, ahh, "FAVORITES"!

Every year!

You know how that goes ... But I am HUMAN, so yeah ... Work with me here people!

Trust me, it was tougher at TRACK (and Cross-Country!) ... Yeah, I had many, many teams with over FIFTY/SIXTY kids out there with me running!

I counted 'em one day ... Really.

There were over ONE HUNDRED kids out there that very first day of practice! I couldn't believe it!

And that was back when it was ONLY the 7th and 8th graders!

True story!

I never cut anyone in my TWENTY-FIVE years as a coach!

Now, true, many (MANY!) students quit, but never because of me ... EXCEPT when they broke the SCHOOL RULES! That is! Oh yeah!

Did I mention, ahh, "MIDDLE SCHOOL", and it being the ONE team (plus my "unofficial" OLD MARINE Running Club, which I stated so the 6th Graders had something to do after school back in the day!) that had both BOYS and GIRLS out there at practice, at the very same time!

Lots of them!

Even my "SMALL" teams had around THIRTY/FORTY something kids out there! Or however many we could fit on a bus!

In fact, for several years, yeah, we had to make TWO bus trips over to South Caldwell High School once a week for our meets!

Bigger teams!

It was CRAZY!

But could we run!

Girls won EIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS over the years, the boys, ahh TWO.

Just remember ... It was, and still is, I'm sure, a "BASEBALL COUNTY", no question!

Need I mention, ahh, another former Granite Falls Blue Demon, ahh, MADISON BUMGARNER?

Yeah.

No question, when he was playing, ahh, when they had a HOME GAME, and he was pitching, yeah, like HALF the track team went to the game!

A "fight" I couldn't win!

Nor tried!

Hey! I was on two "Championship Baseball Teams" as a kid myself! Both in Little League, and Babe Ruth, ahh, back in the day!

Centerfield, baby!

Loved it!

Would have played in high school, but yeah, I loved POLE VAULTING too, so yeah ... Track won out! All four years!

And yes, I'll say right here, that yes! I was the first "TV PERSONALITY" (or whatever!) to ever interview Madison after he pitched in the "Championship Game", as a 7th grader, and yeah, WON!

See, back in the day, I did "THE MORNING NEWS SHOW", at GFMS, back in the day, and yeah, I had the whole boy's baseball team team come up, and be "on the air", that very next day!

I believe I might have gotten, ahh, ONE WORD out of Madison that morning, while everyone else was, you know, being the "wild", normal, ahh, "middle school kids", while on live TV!

Yeah, he was very polite, QUIET, and yeah, much taller than I was, as a middle school teacher!

He was something, and took that same attitude with him to the high school (South Caldwell), and yeah, then on to the next level!

Need I remind you? Ahh ... Three MLB Championships for the San Francisco Giants back in the days!

Now, where was I?

"BRICK ART", over there in MORGANTON, of course!

You know me ... One thing leads to another, and then another ... I blame it all on those "youth books" I read to my students for all those years ... Something about a "Mouse and a Cookie", oh, and a "Moose and a Muffin", you know, great stuff like that!

I'm sure you remember them!

Anywho ...

Where was I?

MORGANTON, MADISON, MAGIC ... 3M.

Come on! Give me a beak! I get carried away sometimes!

But yeah, just get over to MORGANTON for yourself, and check out their wonderful examples of BRICK ART!

Both downtown (out back!) and headed WEST, out to that FOOD PLACE store ... She's on the side of the building, ahh, along with all the other, colorful examples!

A GREAT Brick Art Wall, to say the least!

Hope you get the chance to see it in person one of these days!

FOOD MATTERS MARKET.

On the corner of AVERY, and SHORT Streets, in Morganton, North Carolina!

Gotta love GPS!

Just use your "phone" ... You know how all that works!

Enjoy.

I know I still do.

You know, since Madison is no longer pitching (I even watched one of his games out in San Diego one summer! He didn't pitch, but I did zoom in, and see him in the dugout!), while out there visiting one of my cousins, while on one of my "Around the United States" in one of my Honda Element Summer Tours, you know, one summer, back when Madison was still playing!

Those were the days!

Now, you get out there, anywhere, and see what you can come up with!

Enjoy!

And still do.