For the past month TownDock.net asked:
What's your Caption for this Pamlico County picture?

In a lot of towns, the water tower is the target for high school grafitti artists. TownDock readers this month had the chance to virtually tag the tower right on the edge of town. And a lot of you did take up the latest “Pamlico Captions” challenge -- to come up with an appropriate slogan for the currently bare water tower.

Entries fell in to two categories -- Slogans and Anagrams.

SLOGANS
For slogans, the winner is the entry that would resonate with anyone who stepped on to our soggy land mass this summer.

HIGH WATER
John Collier
sv "shirtail", Boonedocks

Second place went to an entry that captured the essence of Oriental: Great place to live, but man does the water leave a funky taste in the mouth..

Oriental --
Hard Water
Easy Living
-- Barbara Pilcher of Minnesott Beach

It must be something in the water.
- Jacksie Pitts

Steven Drew suggested the name and logo of NSA's Newsletter be slapped on the tower:

The Neuse Juice
Steven D. Drew, Greensboro
(Skeptics are still not convinced that’ll make the water taste any sweeter. But now that we have his attention, maybe Steven --who is the Water Supply Manager for the City of Greensboro --can help us out in that dept too!)

Don Corley wasn’t as concerned about taste …
Stand back, Ma, I'm gonna flush !

Susan Conley suggested we paint slogans on both sides of the tower. Coming in to town: Got Water?
On the side you see going out: Sea Ya

(Got Water? was also suggested by Ray Reilly of Hopewell Jct, NY)

Water, water everywhere... and it's all for SAIL!
Oriental For The Sail Of The Sensory!
-- Don Southwick - Merritt & Beach Haven, NJ

"Straight From The River"
-- David Grunwaldt

“Do not fear; we come in peace."
Carolyn Fenton, now teaching at Moberly Community College in Missouri, grew up in Pamlico County, apparently on a diet of sci fi films. As she explains, “The photo of the tower reminds me of the space ships in those old 50's alien invasion movies in which the aliens often delivered similar offers of friendship to earthlings. Plus, considering the recent influx into Oriental and surrounding area of people non-native to the area, the line just seems to fit both situations.”

Some entries saw an opportunity to put Oriental on the map:
Oriental, Where the East is in the West.
--- Jeremy Schrauf, West Wardsboro, VT

ORIENTAL, WEST OF SUEZ.
---Per & Marian Erichsen, who now live in Marlton, NJ but hope to be in Oriental next year.

The Neuse Starts Here
-- Jonathan Evans, Raleigh
(well, actually Jonathon, the Neuse starts north of Raleigh and ends in Oriental. That’s why we get a little touchy here about Raleigh’s water-treatment plants…)

ONC Dragon Country
---Harvey Hardison

Welcome to the "O" ZONE
--- Gordon Pickett

Oriental - The Pearl of Pamlico
--- Daniel and Adirenne Johnston

ORIENTAL - Where "Small Town" suits us JUST fine!
---- Kathie Bogue

ANAGRAM CATEGORY
Of course, we could simply put the word ORIENTAL up there on the tower in moveable letters so that we could rearrange them to form another word or phrase. Several entrants took up the anagram challenge..

Charley Bratton of Raleigh gave us a lot of options and some explanations:

Inlet Oar (the next propulsion device after the wind and gas are exhausted.I did this from Adams Creek one night)
Into Real (ask Coldwell Banker)
Loin Rate (more apropos for Jacksonville?)
Nail Tore (what happens when my girlfriend comes racing)
Rail Tone (the abs exercise for movable ballast invited along for a race)
Lie An' Rot (Bock's Marine? - please don't sue me, I meant Lay-an-Rot)
O Latrine (other side of the river)
But Charley adds, “the only anagram I found that reminds me of what I like to do in Oriental:” Rot In Ale

Rick Terwilliger had some anagrams, too.
Something to hint at the general, laid-back work ethic?
EARN = TOIL
Or your own private town sponsor?
NITRO ALE

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From Michael R. Foster, Public Radio East in New Bern:
This may only be accurate this summer:
"lot 'e rain" or "rain 'e lot".
Since it used to be the terminus for Fairfield Harbor Yacht Club’s "Oar Race", then "Oar Inlet" would be appropriate.
In answer to all the stories told at the Bean I suppose you could go with "Aint Lore"

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Bob High in Durham writes that he just found TownDock.net. While some of these anagrams were suggested before, Bob has his own unique ones:
A LIER NOT
RELATION
TRAIL ONE
...and one that some of your merchants might not appreciate:
NO RETAIL
...and one that your kayakers might...
OAR INLET
...and lastly, a my personal favorite and a real eyecatcher for any water tower:
ALIEN ROT
--Bob High Durham, NC

Thank you for submitting so many odd and wonderful captions. Captions and Pamlico Poetry are always welcome at captions@towndock.net

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Previous Pamlico Captions
TownDock.net readers have some brilliant creative minds - check out previous Captions winners:

May 2003 - "The Tubs"

February 2003 - "The Pain Store"

December 2002 - "Chimney Santa"

November 2002 - "Buc"

October 2002 - "Telephone Booth"

September 2002 - "$1,000 FIRM"