Greetings from the Tennessee Farm !!

Well,I have lots of news..today i saw 100 years in the past. yes . Brandon our 16 yr old neighbor that has been mentioned in previous blogs, was over just to visit. Lately i have been helping him with his driver's licence book, and some homework that he has from school. Actually he is doing fairly well, and likes the attention and praise he gets from us. So, today was just a visit day and he mainly wanted to talk to Dudley about guns and machines. I took it that this was man's talk and just sat quietly and observed them. Brandon was telling wild tales of his adventures riding a bulldozer up a steep hill, and how every one else, "even grown men" were 'fraid' to do it...how he dug this hole with a bobcat, and how he fixed that , and how he shot that and what a big gun it was , etc...you get the picture. Anyway, as I watched this skinny little kid, hard as dry tack, and dirty as a pig, with a combination smell of gasoline, sweat, and old clothes. And hearing him brag and laugh on himself, with that decidedly most mutilated application of the English language, Appalachian hillbilly talk, I couldn't help but think of a boy long ago, that lived on this property and most likely sat in this very living room, bragging about his adventures,how he stole his girlfriend and got married in the woods, and how he was the best 'team(horse) driver in these here parts'. ( That story we got from the Johnson County Book of Early Settlers) Zachariah Linkes probably rode a horse like Brandon rides his dirt bike, fearless, and probably had all the same scars and broke teeth that Brandon has, But, ironically Zachariah was dead at 17, from bad cider. As I looked on in curious wonder as if I had a glimpse into the past I hoped that we would have the joy of that unfettered enthusiasm for life in our lives longer than the Linkes's family did . Life was and is hard here in the Mountains, There are no guarantees.

More news, I have made myself available to the neighborhood school, Little Milligan, it has a population of 150 students from pre school to 8th grade. I was almost rushed when I said i was there to volunteer if they needed....So, I will start Monday and work with the new kindergarten teacher, She has 25 students and no $ for an aide of course. Brian was quick to remind me that this age kid, crys, wants lots of hugs, and then poops on themselves, and not necessarily in that order. I was really thinking about 4th grade, but I guess they saw the motherly type and knew that at least I couldn't do much harm in Kindergarten. I won't be wearing my designer clothes to work to say the least. Why does Kindergarten Cop come to mind ?

Have a nice weekend everyone. I' ll be thinking and wishing you all the best !! Love much Sandi