Today, I wanted to bring someone else into the limelight who has slipped under the radar and been overlooked by many people.
Travel with me (You know I like to travel) to the small town of Seagrove, North Carolina.
Now most of you have never heard of Seagrove. I know I hadn't. It's a small town just about 12 miles south of Asheboro, North Carolina. As of 2007 there were about 257 people living in this town.
Seagrove by the numbers:
(I got off track a bit while I was studying the demographics of Seagrove. Please bear with me.)
Of the 257 people, this is how some of the numbers break down:
- White Non-Hispanic (94.7%) about 243
- Hispanic (3.3%) about 8
- Other race (2.8%) about 7
- Black (1.2%) about 3
- American Indian (0.8%) about 2
(some people were included in several categories)
Males: 122 (47.6%)
Females: 135 (52.4%)
Median resident age: 40.8 years
North Carolina median age: 35.3 years
For population 25 years and over in Seagrove Education levels:
High school or higher: 74.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 5.6%
Graduate or professional degree: 0.0%
Unemployed: 1.7%
Divorced: 4.1%
Estimated median household income in 2007:
$29,795 (it was $31,250 in 2000)
Seagrove: $29,795
North Carolina: $44,670
There was 1 full time law enforcement officer and 5 registered sex offenders.
Now you might want to draw you own conclusions about Seagrove based on these numbers but before you do, think about this:
In a town this small, I'm sure everyone knows everyone. So if you were a stranger just walking or driving around town, you would stand out like a horse with it's head stuck in a tree. But you'd also be 5 times more likely to run into a registered sex offender than a full time police officer. And if you have a graduate degree, you'd probably be the most formally educated person in the town, unless there happened to be someone else just passing through. If you were visiting from say, Plano, Texas where the median income was $84,492 in 2007 - then it's possible that your annual income could be the highest in the surrounding area. We could go on and on....... But let me get to the point. No matter who you are or where you come from or how good you are at playing a guitar, golf, or shooting a bean shooter. The numbers just don't work in your favor. You might be smarter, richer, prettier, faster, bigger, taller than many of the people in Seagrove but the odds are you are not as good as Rufus Hussey at making or shooting a bean shooter. The late Rufus Hussey from Seagrove, NC was simply the best! Not just in Seagrove, NC but everywhere!
Don't just believe me, take a look.
How's that for sling shot skills?
Hussey was not only known for his quick and accurate shooting but also for his quick wit. On January 23, 1986, Rufus Hussey and Johnny Carson went head to head on national television. At the end of the night, viewers seemed to think that Hussey pummeled Carson and introduced him to a good ol' down home spanking. One of the classic lines went like this:
Carson asked if Hussey would like to demonstrate his talents with the slingshot after a commercial break.
"I'd rather shoot the bean shooter than shoot the bull"
That was Hussey! Simply the best Bean Shooter Ever!
