Valuable life experiences and work ethic gained from summer vacations in Carteret County.

I treasure our summer vacations in Carteret County. My wife and I grew up going to Carteret County public schools and enjoying our summer vacations. We grew up enjoying all there is to love while growing up at the beach...surfing, sailing, boating, fishing, water skiing, scuba diving, beach volleyball, horseshoes, camping on Shackleford Banks.

But we also gained a valuable work ethic by maintaining summer jobs in our community: JungleLand; Beach Bums chair & umbrella rentals; life-guarding at the Country Club Pool, Oceanana and Dunes Club; bus-boy, golf-cart driver and cocktail waitress (my wife) at Channel Marker; waiting tables in downtown Morehead at Raps, and as a banquet waiter at the Sheraton; serving as a mate on the Mystery and on the Jan D. running tourist trips to Cape Lookout....

My wife, Mary Moran Day, and I moved back to Morehead City specifically so that our kids could grow up with the same school, fun and work experiences that shaped us while growing up here. Nothing in the world would make me want to deny those same experiences for my own children. I believe it is possible to meet the calendar needs of schools while still preserving summer vacations. I hope we are successful in reaching such a compromise for all, because the alternative could be a sad situation for the Carteret County community as a whole.