Front Porch Perspective
Charlotte Magazine|November 2017

A devil cat, godly men, and an understanding

Michael Graff
Front Porch Perspective

TWO GOD-FEARING MEN in white shirts and ties approached my front door the other morning with pamphlets in their hands. I was on the porch with a laptop on my knees, and they saw me before I saw them, so there was no escaping.

“Working from home today?” one guy asked.

“Yeah,” I said, looking intently at the screen to exaggerate the act.

“I won’t take up much of your time,” he promised. “Just want to drop this off. Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Someone’s watching over you’? That’s what this is about. Have a good day.”

He was gone as soon as he’d arrived. I picked up the periodical. The cover story was, “Angels: Are They Real? Why It Matters.”

I’m not a religious person, but I enjoy a moment when the universe sends timely remarks. This was an interesting day for such a question—“Angels: Are They Real?”—to arrive on doorsteps. That morning, the attorney general and president said they’d end a program that protects children of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Of the 800,000 young people in the United States who benefit from the protection, about 27,000 live in North Carolina, many of them having moved here at such a young age that they don’t have memories of the country in which they were born.

This story is from the November 2017 edition of Charlotte Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2017 edition of Charlotte Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CHARLOTTE MAGAZINEView All
‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'
Charlotte Magazine

‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'

Pediatric neurosurgery is technically and emotionally complex—and traditionally dominated by men. As Novant’s first female pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Erin Kiehna Richardson has had to learn the intricacies of a demanding field and battle sexism along the way

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021
The Dumbledore of CMC
Charlotte Magazine

The Dumbledore of CMC

A surgery resident wrote a series of children’s books and created a special kind of medical magic

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2021
LGBTQ HB2+5
Charlotte Magazine

LGBTQ HB2+5

Five years after the furor of House Bill 2, the LGBTQ community—in Charlotte, in North Carolina, and across much of the nation—fights attacks on new fronts

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2021
Oh, Snap!
Charlotte Magazine

Oh, Snap!

New ‘selfie museum’ in Concord celebrates the 1990s

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2021
ALLISON LATOS
Charlotte Magazine

ALLISON LATOS

The WSOC anchor on her hard trek from one episode of loss and grief to another—and the meaning of resilience

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2021
GOOD HEALTH
Charlotte Magazine

GOOD HEALTH

For years, Charlotte has been one of the largest American cities that lacked a four-year medical school. The health care professionals who finally made it happen overcame a series of setbacks, false starts, and failures, and they plan to use their clean slate to create a new kind of community asset

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021
Summer Partee
Charlotte Magazine

Summer Partee

From woodwork to retail, the kindergarten teacher-turned-designer has learned how to do it herself

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
Uptown or Downtown?
Charlotte Magazine

Uptown or Downtown?

Archives illuminate how long we’ve argued over the perennial question

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN
Charlotte Magazine

NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN

Paul Verica brings a simpler version of the city’s hottest food trend to NoDa

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
TOP DOCTORS 2021
Charlotte Magazine

TOP DOCTORS 2021

The annual list you can't without

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021