THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407290295
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 54 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Ronald L. Speer
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
In any city in the country the stories would have been buried, if they made the papers at all. Robberies and gunplay are so common in metropolitan America that they get about the same play in the papers as a sunrise or a sunset.
But on the Outer Banks, the headlines thundered louder than an old-time paper boy hawking the news:
``Gang steals Wal-Mart receipts'' shouted Tuesday's North Carolina section of The Virginian-Pilot.
``Armed intruders crash birthday party, steal receipts'' bellowed Wednesday's edition.
And with those stories, about the business-hours robbery at the big store in Kitty Hawk and the shooting and robbery in a drug-plagued part of Manteo, I realized that you can't escape the troubles of modern America by moving away from the city.
I never really thought I could, but we all have our dreams. Unfortunately, it didn't take long to convince me that the violence and drug dealings that are an unwelcome emblem of urban life must be faced, too, in small towns.
But somehow criminal activities seem more personal on the Outer Banks than they did in Hampton Roads, where in 17 years I started the day depressingly scanning news stories about murder and mayhem.
I never got used to it, since I came from an isolated rural area where everybody knew everybody else and folks just wouldn't tolerate people who did bad things to others. It's hard to live in a community where you're scorned by everyone else, so most of us tried and succeeded at treading the straight and narrow path.
If we didn't, it was a cinch somebody would see us and make a quick telephone call, guaranteeing that there would be a stern-faced reception committee waiting when we got home.
That's true here, too, in the communities where the year-round residents congregate, away from the beaches and the throngs that come to the Outer Banks.
Permanent residents are a closely knit bunch, and they keep an eye on what's going on in their neighborhoods.
But when thousands and thousands of outsiders pour into our fragile communities, that Outer Banks intimacy sometimes disappears.
Most of the visitors are delightful guests, trying to escape the pressures of city life.
Most come for fun, for a chance to relax. They come because they enjoy the lifestyle that reminds many of them of days gone by, where people speak, wave to strangers, and often don't lock doors for days on end.
But some come to cause trouble.
That apparently was the case of the two crimes that made the news last week.
The gang that created an uproar in Wal-Mart so others could collect the store's receipts don't sound like locals. And four Norfolk, Va., men were charged in the Manteo incident.
Nevertheless, times are achangin' here as they are everywhere else. No longer can you move into a castle surrounded by a moat, pull up the bridge and sleep soundly without fear of trouble.
The drugs that trigger much of the violence in America are in demand here as they are elsewhere. Until America comes up with a way to solve that terrible problem - and tone down the blood-spattered movies that dominate theaters and television - we can expect to see more and more headlines screaming out the news that we've got trouble here in river city.
But in the meantime, I'll keep trusting folks - residents and visitors alike - just like I always have.
After all, vioent crime is rare on the Outer Banks, and there hasn't been a murder for nearly a year.
In South Hampton Roads last year, 173 were slain, a killing almost every other day.
The Outer Banks may no longer be Eden, but it sure ain't sin city, USA. by CNB