Loyal reader Mr. Adams left this comment on my recent post wondering aloud whether Diva Darcel still has the goods to deliver the teevee news. I honestly don’t know what to make of this:
There are few opportunities that we have in life when we are granted a glimpse into what the inhabitants of Eden truly look like to the human eye. Aside from Perseus, the little girl on Poltergeist, and maybe Oliver Twist, I can’t think of any examples….except the one when I turn on my idiot box and stare up in awe at that majestic ebony angel squiring me the news on a pedestal of grace and pious dignity.
It doesn’t matter whether she’s talking about wicked aldermen in Oteen, pig races at the NC state fair, or how Homer Honeycutt was expelled from a town he built out of sweat and tears, every story that this woman lets graze her lips comes off as if it is vital news that speaks to the very core of our existence.
The first time I met Darcel Grimes, I was actually at the NC state fair, working as a popcorn vendor near the stage where the Platters were set to perform. She was doing a live remote, speaking about the days events to come to a crowd of seemingly undeserving, disinterested locals. I offered her some peanuts at a discount and she kind of ignored me, but I could tell from the moment when she took that mic that something very special was about to happen.
The following year I lost my job at Seneca due to bottling cut backs, and after a forgettable stint at Community Cash in Brevard, again I found myself strattling my dignity in the unemployment line. Darcel was about to do a story on the corruption in the Transylvania county city hall administration…when she caught my eye. She asked me if she had seen me somewhere before…I grinned and looked away in shyness…she giggled at me and said she was going to do a story on the unemployed in Western North Carolina, and asked if I would like to be a part of it. I was so flabbergasted, so awestricken by her larger than life beauty and the way she commanded the attention of a room, I immediately had to excuse myself. I went into the bathroom and vomited for what seemed like minutes, but I think must have been hours…as when I emerged ready to be interviewed, the security guard ushered me outside and locked the building.
The last time I saw Darcel, I was at Sam’s club. She was in the produce section picking up some squash and what appeared to be ripe persimmons. I sauntered over to the aisle adjacent to her..ducking between columns and rotting pineapples, trying to get close enough to fain an impromptu conversation. By the time I got over to her, a gentleman walked up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and asked forcefully for me to leave the premises before he alerted the authorities. We got into a little scuffle and I reached out to Darcel only to see her back slowly fade away as I was dragged out of the establishment by security.
I’m going to be honest…I wanted her to help me…to save me…to lend me validity and legitimacy if only for a few fleeting moments. I wanted that strong mahogany queen that I used to stare at in wonder every night at 6 and 11 pm through my t.v screen, to somehow deliver to me a personal newscast that would speak to everything about me that has been right, and assure me that it was going to be ok.
I thought long and hard before I typed this post…and I feel the same way now as I did when I started it. I need Darcel. Taking her off the air is like taking me off the air. To cancel her news show would be like canceling me…as a person, as an entity. I hope everyone reading this understands that North Carolina is a very punishing place to raise a family or to be raised as part of a family. Without Darcel Grimes…well let’s just say that an occasional Cicada infestation and Governor Easley losing thousands in Harrahs as our children watch in horror will be the least of our concerns.
4 Comments
I’m relatively certain Darcel has never done a remote from the NC State Fair. If he’s talking about the NC Mountain State Fair, then at least one later element of his story is bogus, since that fair didn’t start until after Darcel had left behind the out-in-the-field reporting that would have her covering alleged corruption in Transylvania County.
So, "what to make of this"? Exactly what it looks like: either he’s a nut (say it in your best Barney-talking-about-Ernest-T voice) or just some loser like the rest of us testing his limited creative writing prowess.
Wow, this guy sounds like a creepy stalker. But I’ll say this: I’ve know Darcel for 20+ years. She is strikingly beautiful, funny and kind in person. I can see why this guy fell in love with her since he met her in person.
HOWEVER, I think her delivery is terrible and I’ve always thought this, ever since she came to town to anchor the Saturday night magazine show "Main Street." (short lived) It bugs me because I really like Darcel a lot in person, just not as a newscaster. Not as an emcee, either. She’s just too stiff, whereas in an informal conversation it’s completely different.
I’ve heard all the horror stories about how she doesn’t get along with other staff, but I’ve never witnessed or experienced any of it, so I find it hard to believe…but then again it has been a while since I worked there.
Uh, ditto John.
What a freak!!!!