You know that I find it tough to think of NC as a Republican state since all the friends I got to know on the trip we made to the USSR with the peace group that my grandmother joined were anything but - and I not only loved them all, but learned a lot from them, too. And of course the point of the trip was our initial visit to our "sister town," Krasnaya Polyana, 2 1/2 hours up in the Caucasus Mountains - and Black Mountain. 
And they were also a pretty impressive group, ordained ministers, president emeritus of colleges and experienced travelers. Ben was president emeritus of Warren Wilson College and was always looking for foreign students and we brought greetings from then-President Reagan because Ben's wife was first cousins with George H.W. Bush. I asked him once what he thought of Bush and he told me that "he's a nice guy, but I don't agree with his politics." As you can imagine, Reagan was not popular in the USSR. 
And Paul was the eldest of the group (pushing 90), while I was the youngest, but he became a real friend. He was not only a former college president, an ordained minister and had run the YMCA based in Geneva until he was forced to retire at 65 - in 1962! So he came to Black Mountain to run Blue Ridge Assembly, the YMCA southern convention center - and became involved in working for civil rights. There were times when I was too tired and said I'd just stay on the bus, but I'd see Paul heading up some hill to visit some cathedral and I'd get going and yell "Paul, wait for me!" 
So thanks so much for the explanation, I know how my old friends would have voted... 
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