A Diamond Hidden Right Under Your Nose

     An old-timer shuffled up to the bar and sat down. “What can I get you?” the bartender asked. The man glanced up and came face to face with a pretty, dark-haired girl sporting a smile to weaken the knees of any mortal man. “Hatteras Red,” the man responded. The man glanced around the room as the bartender turned and went to fetch the man's glass of beer. When she returned, the old-timer raised the glass to his lips and drank deep, then set the glass back down on the bar. Bartenders are well-known for giving good advice; some are better at that skill than others. “What is the best advice you can give a man?” the old-timer asked the girl. “My best advice is the way you do anything is the way you do everything.” She replied.

     In many ways, Jaimie Miller is still that same little girl roller-skating on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. When Jamie moved to Washington County, North Carolina, in the second grade, she brought with her a curious mix of adventure, personal growth through self-evaluation, and an expectation that others should hold to the same high standards she holds for herself. After graduating from Plymouth High School, Jamie pursued undergraduate studies in Rehabilitation Services at East Carolina University. Jamie continued her education at ECU, completing a Master's Degree Program in Human Development and Relations. After some time, her adventurous spirit and desire to travel led her to complete Flight Attendant training, and she is currently on furlough here at Mackey's. She has been based in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the last two years with Spirit Airlines. Jamie currently works as a bartender at The Landing Restaurant, serving some of the best-made drinks in the Albemarle Sound area. When asked what the most challenging situation she has had to overcome, she responded, “Going away from Mackey's Marina and coming back, but lucky to have Mackey's in my life.” Jamie thought for a moment and then added, “And the town is lucky to have Mackey's. It's not the place, it's the people.”

     Jamie says that for now, she will take one day at a time and spend some time with her parents. Her greatest inspiration is her mom, a statement I might have easily guessed. Sima, her mother, is well-known at Mackey's Marina for having a good work ethic, a determination to hold herself to the highest human standards, and a heart as big as the Albemarle Sound, and Jamie is an unbroken reflection of her mother. What does the future hold for Jamie? She says she is still trying to figure that out; in the meantime, she is working hard in her spare time to finish her Air B and B, a four-bedroom house built in 1831. The house was originally owned by the famous Davenport family of Mackey's. The residence is located on Highway 32/37 where it meets Highway 308. The house should be ready to occupy sometime in the spring of 2026.

     Jamie has used her time here on earth, not focusing on what others are doing or how others act, but on honing herself into something rare, something beautiful, and, in my opinion, as well as the opinion of all those around her, she has been quite successful.

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self," Ernest Hemingway.