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On those days when overcast or gloomy weather has you down, let me put a little sunshine in your day! Just look around you folks. If you’re a resident of Dare County/the Outer Banks, if you’re here as an absentee property owner, first-time visitor or repeat guest, you probably feel the goodness in the air. How could you not? But just in case, let me remind you of why you should feel it!

Good people – first and foremost! At 72 years old yes, we are surrounded by good, kind and generous people all over and around Dare County.

When a family suffers the loss of a home due to fire, storm, flood – whatever the case may be – folks come from every direction to help. They bring clothes, food, offers of temporary shelter or accommodations and sometimes money or gift cards for necessities. When someone suffers an illness, or they lose a loved one, or even when they’ve gone through a non-life-threatening surgery, prayers are frequently spoken with earnest pleas for those who hurt, heartfelt prayers even for complete strangers they’ve never laid eyes on are fervently spoken to God’s ear because they (we) care.

Our homes located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina come in all shapes and especially sizes – a little get-away camper, a one level 1,200 sq. ft. modular, a big very nice home in a beautiful subdivision or a humongous multi-level mansion – regardless, it doesn’t matter, they’re all sanctuaries for singles, couples and families who live in them, people with good hearts, those with charismatic attitudes toward life and men and women who embrace every opportunity to serve others in our communities, our state and our world.

Business owners from Hatteras village to Corolla and everywhere in between support our veterans, our wonderful and deserving veterans. They do it by offering monetary discounts typically 10% – 15% – 20% off their goods and services to veterans who show their Dare County Veteran Discount Card. Each discount card has a printed number on it which is registered and the card itself acknowledges to proprietors that the holder is a U.S. military veteran that we (Dare County Veterans Advisory Council) has verified. The card is issued to veterans who can provide the following: verification that he or she is a property owner and property tax bill or renter resident (by lease agreement or utility bill naming the veteran and address of the leased property in Dare County; their DD-214 (official document showing they were discharged under honorable conditions from the military) and a driver’s license (not necessarily a North Carolina license).  We do not make or keep copies of your documents, we only review them for confirmation. That’s it! It only takes approximately 10 minutes and the discount card is issued. If you’re a veteran who has not obtained your card and would like to, please call me (Marsha) on my cell at 252-202-2058 or Dare County Veteran Service Officer Patty O’Sullivan at 252-473-7749. Also, if you do not have your DD-214, you can go online at www.va.gov/DD214 to request a duplicate or contact Patty and she will assist you in that endeavor.

When you consider how veteran-related matters have improved overall in Dare County since 2012, its pretty impressive. Our highway signs proudly display pride in our veterans; we don’t only celebrate Veteran’s Day on Veteran’s Day, instead we celebrate and honor our vets for a whole week. We boast our former and active duty servicemembers with activities, entertainment, veteran writing classes, special discounts at various lodging sites, restaurants and on and on it goes. We love our veterans – all who live and visit this beautiful County of Dare!

Speaking of signs, please help me! In anticipation of the exceptional event that will touch all of us this coming November – The Wall That Heals, a beautiful 375’ replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. along with its education center – The Wall That Heals Committee is working diligently to create, establish and engage effective marketing, advertising and promotion about our hosting this event. If you own private property that abuts U.S. Highway 64 or Hwy. 158 from Moyock south and you would be willing to allow us to put a temporary, professionally-made sign announcing this event, could you please call me? Again, my number is 252-202-2058. The sign size would likely be 4’x8’ or smaller and from the time it would be established on your lot, field or wherever, it would remain until shortly after the Wall departs Dare County on Sunday, November 19, 2023.

The goal of the council/committee is to take every opportunity available to make the public and travelers coming from the west and north of Dare County aware that we will acknowledge, honor and celebrate our Vietnam veterans and their families during the respective dates of The Wall That Heals being here arriving the afternoon of Tuesday, November 14, 2023.

Our committee is comprised of very devoted veterans and veteran supporters and available placements for the signs we will have made would help us greatly. This event is a non-profit undertaking supported by donations. Also, if you would like to make a monetary tax-deductible donation, please make the check payable as follows: Dare County Motorsports Charity Group, PO Box 999, Nags Head, NC 27959 and please memo: The Wall That Heals.

I can tell you all that once you can know all that is being done to give extreme honor to our Vietnam veterans through this very special event, you will be thrilled!

Until next time, be healthy, safe and happy. We live and love in Dare County … we are so blessed! Please call me or Patty with any questions and thank you all for reading Gig Line. For previous columns, see giglineheroes.com and if you wish to email me, please write to giglineheroes@aol.com. And folks, please just know the good Lord loves you and so do I! God bless you and everyone you love. Stay tuned!

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