I reckon I know this man.

     His name is Edgar Govan.   I went to school with Edgar at Manteo Elementary, Junior High, and High School.  We played football on the same team.  He is accused of killing a man named Steven Stewart, Jr., whom I do not think I ever knew.

     Back then Manteo was a quiet, little town--the kind (like Wanchese, its' closest neighbor, where I spent a good portion of my youth) where everyone knew everyone else.  Which is the long was of saying that I reckon if I had to say anything about him, it would be this: if he is anything like the boy I knew, the man he killed was shot in the back.

I hope this wasn't some kind of wannabe "Fight Club."

     The first thing you learn about knife fighting is that knife fights end up one of three ways:

     1. You kill the other person.
     2. the other person kills you.
     3. You both kill each other.

     The last one is apparently what happened at North Topsail Beach this week.  Maybe if these guys had known the rules, they would still be here.

And you thought video games were bad.

     I have seen trouble caused by soccer before, but this takes the cake!  Please, everyone, if you know someone who is playing soccer, or thinking about playing it, or if you see one of those soccer moms with the magnetic sticker shaped like the ball on the back of her minivan, intervene now and help stamp out this imported menace before it can infect any more of our people.  Keep your children indoors, as any kind of physical activity can be a gateway to soccer.   Ideally you should have your whole family seated in front of a game console 24 hours a day--playing Call of Duty or one of the Skyrims...or even...yes, if you must...even Dance Dance Revolution--whatever games it will take to keep your loved ones inside and thus safely away from the perils of athletic activity.  Otherwise, they might end up drawn and quartered, too.