Gatlinburg Wildfires

Last Monday, two weeks since the Gatlinburg wildfires, Hub and I drove through there looking at the damage. The worst damage was in the mountains above the bypass from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge.

My friend who works at Apple Annie's was there when it all happened. She had been warned that evacuation was possible, so she went to the store across from the police department to fill her gas tank. Fire was all around them, and people congregated at the store because no shelters had been opened then. Hurricane force winds caused power lines to break and people lost electrical power and cell service at the same time. In addition, emergency sirens were everywhere, adding to the panic. Thankfully, there were no fatalities in her neighborhood, and the arts and crafts community on Glades Road was not damaged. For my quilting friends, we stopped at Susan's Quilts and they are all fine.

It will be a long, hard winter for the folks who live here, but spring will come again. The trees will put out new leaves and Smoky Mountain wildflowers will push through the ashes on the forest floor.

We drove by the ruins of the Alamo Steakhouse. Already, heavy equipment was moving the twisted metal, getting ready to start construction of the new building. I'm guessing they will be serving that delicious food again by spring break.

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Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures. We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything. Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

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Like every reader, I have my favorite writers. There have been so many that have stirred my emotions and made me a part of their world, and I'm thankful for that. The one is love the best, the one I cherish , is Rick Bragg. Yesterday, Rick was in our area. We were privileged to see a newly released documentary about his life called Out of the Dirt . Afterwards, he talked to us about family and roots. His first book, All over but the Shoutin' , was recommended to me years ago. Very early in the book, I was thinking, "Who is this? He is writing about me, about my family." I have never actually met anyone in the book, but they are all my neighbors and kinfolks. His other books are just as well-written. In his book, Writing for the Soul , Christian author Jerry Jenkins had this to say about Rick Bragg: I read other writers and strive to be like them. I read others, like Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, and simply surrender, knowing I will ...

Faith, Folklore, and Friends

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