Weaverville – Longtime residents of the Weaverville area recognize the familiar face, or more likely, the gob of hair sticking out from under a ball cap, walking the roads and streets in the community.
Out-of-towners may find his appearance uncommon, but who is he? Who is the man with the ball cap, long hair, and sunglasses who walks pretty much everywhere he goes?
He’s David Arrington, better known as “Wahoo” in the community. Arrington, 63, was born in Gary, Indiana, but moved here with his parents when he was a child. “Out of the original family, I’m the only one left. I have a half brother and sister,” he told the Tribune one day last week when we caught up with him at the Tri-City Barbershop. One might find it ironic that Arrington regularly visits the barbershop, given that he told the newspaper he hadn’t had his hair cut in three years.
Instead of taking advantage of the barber’s expertise in cutting the towhead colored hair protruding from under his Greeneville, Tennessee, cap and extending past his shoulders, he frequently stops to converse with staff and customers as well as engage in good-natured joking with barber Jerry Angel, whom he teases as the “ugliest man in Buncombe County.”
Arrington graduated from North Buncombe High School in 1978. “I try to keep my eye on them [the sports teams]. However, he confesses, “They ain’t my number one team.” Asked who his favorite team was, Arrington proudly states, “The Greeneville Green Devils out of Greeneville, Tennessee.” Asked why they were his number one team, Arringting explained, “I went over there to do some work with a friend of mine, and I just fell in love with the place.”
If nothing else, Arrington is a sports fan, remembering back to his high school days when North Buncombe “beat Reynolds 59 to nothing at North Buncombe.” He went on to say, “North Buncombe used to be the littlest high school in Buncombe County with the meanest football team.”
After high school, he said he did odd jobs and worked at the Mediterranean Restaurant on College Street for about 20 years. “Plus, when I wasn’t doing that, I was mowing or weed-eating. I’ve done a lot of that all over Weaverville,” he explained. He still does odd jobs for people who can’t do them themselves.
Arrington lives near the high school in Flat Creek and walks everywhere he goes, explaining that it keeps him in shape. He walks through rain, sleet, and snow, saying, “The year of ’93, when we had the blizzard, I came out, and he’s passed away now; he lived on Dula Spring, Phil Johnson. I came and got him firewood. I did a lot of work for him.” Also, Ronnie Bishop (also deceased) stated, “That way, it [work] don’t seem old, and it don’t seem boring,” when talking about his odd jobs career.
Asked if he ever had a vehicle to drive, Arrington said yes. “I had a car and a truck. The insurance, tag, and stuff, it just costs so much, and I just make so much.” As for walking, he doesn’t mind because “it keeps my legs in shape and keeps me in shape for mowing and weed-eating.” He said he occasionally accepts a ride, but only with people he knows. Otherwise, it’s too dangerous.
While you might see Arrington on a weekday, when it comes to the weekends, he admits he’s at home watching sports; Clemson Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, NASCAR, and WWE wrestling are his favorites. That is if his Greenville Green Devils aren’t playing. “I’ve got to keep up with my Greeneville Green Devils.”
“There’s a lot of work in the area,” responded Arrington when asked what he liked about the area. “And I know a lot of people; I come up to them… (Arrington gets unexpectedly loud.) ‘How are you?” he yells at a woman who he sees during the interview. She responds, “Pretty good. How are you?” He replies, “I’m fine, ma’am. Good to see you.” “I greet the people; I don’t care who they are or what color their skin they are. I love to speak to the people.”
He also loves the Weaverville Library, where he will go in and spend time looking at their magazines. “Them [sic] ladies are good. I like them [sic], ladies. I don’t check out a lot of books…but they have the free magazines. They have sports and ‘The State’ magazine. I like to get them and look at them. You go buy a magazine and see what it costs you.”
Next time you’re in or around Weaverville, and you see a toe-headed, bushy-headed man walking toward you, say hi, as it’s more than likely ‘Wahoo.’ Unless he beats you to the greeting and then replies back with a friendly greeting and a smile.