A Visit to Foxfire; Karen and Joe; the Bridge Girls; and Gracie Turns 6!!

Savannah House, Jackson County NC

One Saturday a couple of weeks ago, JR and I decided to go down the mountain and do a little rat-killing.  We had some errands to run, so we headed down to Clayton, GA.  It's not very far and offers a little more in the way of commerce than Sylva or Franklin do.  (Jim loves the Home Depot there.  He says it has more employees than customers...and I believe it.  We counted 33 employees and only 15 customers.  Makes you wonder how they stay in business.)  Anyway, we finished our messing around and were headed back home.  On a previous visit we had noticed a sign showing the location of the Foxfire Museum.  When we passed it this time, we decided to detour up the mountain and visit it.  Those of you who are of a certain (not to be named) age will remember the advent of the Foxfire books, but I'll bet you don't know any of the history of them.  The books were (and are still) an anthology of magazine articles.  The magazine was (and is) created by high school students in Rabun County, GA.  In 1966 they had a new teacher who was woefully unprepared for the classroom, and who in a last ditch effort to salvage some degree of professional dignity, conducted a pow-wow with his students, the upshot of which was the decision to author a magazine.  The students then proceeded to interview the grandparent generation (my grandparents' generation).  They found that these mountain people were not "hillbillies", but were, instead, smart, hard-working, resourceful people who were steeped in the lore of the mountains and who lived their faith and values everyday.  The result was magazine articles that were put in anthologies, some about life in general, and some about specific topics (building a log cabin, medical remedies, cooking, etc.)  After operating on a shoestring budget for a number of years, and after the publication of the first of the Foxfire books, the Foxfire group amassed some money with which they purchased 110 acres of land. (The treasurer of this little group was 14 years old, and it was he who signed the check and the closing documents.)  Subsequent groups of Foxfire students have bought old mountain structures, dismantled them, and rebuilt them on the Foxfire land.  There are 22 structures, most of which are original.  Those that are not were built using the old methods (before gasoline and electric tools, etc).  A trip to the outdoor museum is an immersion in a time long forgotten or never known.  It is well worth the couple of hours it takes to navigate the exhibits, and the gatehouse has a collection of all the Foxfire books as well as other publications that have sprung from this examination of mountain history.  By the way, do you know what Foxfire is?  It is a fungus that grows on dead wood.  In the spring and summer when it is propagating, it gives off a greenish glow which is visible at night in very dark surroundings and is common in mountain forests.

Karen and Joe came for a weekend.  Karen is the high school friend that I lost for 45 years (see last post).  I called her one Thursday night and asked if she was a spur-of-the-moment person.  She said she could be, so I invited her and Joe to come for the weekend.  We had a WONDERFUL time!  Karen and I picked up right where we left off 45 years ago.  It's just like we're talked every day of that time.  The best kind of friend...yes, she is!

Karen and Joe on the Ridge

 The bridge girls came for our semi-annual weekend bridge game.  There are usually 4 or 5 of us (it's hard to get 8 people together).  This time there were 4 of us and we had our usual good time.  I like the weekend because it gives time to talk and to get to know people better than just a few hours at the bridge table.  I still missed all of you who didn't come!

Grace, Lynn, Gayle and Susan

Gracie turned 6 this week (May 9)!  I can hardly believe it.   On that date 6 years ago, Jim and I sped off from Charlotte to Chapel Hill in a quest to be the first to see her (except for her parents).  We beat Ghi-Ghi by only a small amount of time (we were closer)! And Gracie was just beautiful.  She had managed to inhale come amniotic fluid and had to spend several days in the hospital, but she has been a doll baby ever since.  We love her very much...even though she is a little snaggle-toothed right now!

Grace at her 6th Birthday Party

 I planted my garden this week.  Things went smoothly except for the fact that Chester kept digging up one of my tomato plants.  While planting, I discovered that he had buried a bone in one of my raised beds.  I removed it, threw it down the hill and forgot about it...until I came back up the hill from planting some other items.  One plant was dug up.  I fussed at him and replanted it.  The next morning when I went out to look, that same plant was dug up again.  Still fussing, I went down the hill and found the damn bone!  No more digging!

And just one more thing...those of you who know me well know that politically I am pretty conservative.  It will come as no surprise to those that I think that Obama is the worst president in living memory, and his administration's policies are taking this country down a road that I don't want to travel.  He disgusts me in many ways, and I rarely agree with him on any subject.  Having said that, I do agree with him regarding marriage between homosexual men and women.  NC recently conducted a vote that added an amendment to the NC Constitution that recognizes marriage between a man and a woman as the only valid marriage contract in the state.  In addition, it also outlawed civil unions between same gender couples.    I voted against the amendment,  unlike many conservative voters.  I made that choice because I just couldn't see how enabling people who want to be in a committed relationship could hurt me or anyone else.  I don't know if marriage is a "right", perhaps it is only a tradition, but I am unable to find logic in its prevention for an arbitrary segment of the population.  I confess to being conflicted for a long time before I cast my vote.  I attended presentations from both sides, and this is what I came away with...I was totally astounded at how each side demonized the opposition!  I respect the rights of religious conservatives to have their opinion.  Being for the amendment because of their religious conscience does not make them bigoted or hateful members of society.  I likewise respect the opinion of those who are against the amendment.  Being for the extension of marriage to a currently exempt portion of the population does not make them miscreants.  Each position has reasonable thought on its side, and each side bolstered its position with lies about the consequences of a vote contrary to theirs.  I am tired of the incivility of political discourse in this country.  I am tired of the demonization of the opposition, and the distractions that we are forced to endure as citizens in this representative republic.  We are facing unsustainable debt and deficit and we are being treated to arguments about high school bullying, old girlfriends, and dogs.  Puh...leeze!!!  We have more sense than this.  We can take it, whatever IT is, and we can make our decisions and deal with any eventuality as adults.  We are being treated like we are in kindergarten, so thoughtless and immature that we cannot be entrusted with the truth.  Both parties (and all the add-ons) are to blame.  When are we going to demand a change in this behavior?  I am well-read and well-informed and I am forming my opinions right now.  I will work tirelessly to defeat Barack Obama and his minions because I believe that they are wrong, but I will think no less of you if your opinions differ. Let's not demonize each other because of the difference.We're too good for that.

Love to all!