My favorite swimming spot is a little piece of Heaven on the Pamlico River. My great-grandfather bought a small farm in Blount’s Creek in the early 1940s. Five generations have enjoyed swimming there. There is a cypress tree growing at the shoreline that has been there as long as I can remember. The tree stands tall but leans. I call it my “leaning tree.” As a small girl, my cousins and I would look for fish and crabs by the cypress knees. As a teenager, I would sit there sunning and contemplating my future. I have enjoyed watching my children play there. As a middle-aged woman, I look forward to returning to my roots there when I retire. The sound of the tide coming in and going out soothes my soul.

Lois Beck, Williamston