Happy 100th Birthday, Fuzzy!

I have never known anyone who reached their 100th birthday. I know this is quite common - at least if you watch Willard Scott announce centenarian birthdays on the NBC Today Show. But, REALLY - I have never known anyone personally who reached this impressive achievement - until, Ruby Haynes, aka "Fuzzy". What's even more special is that she was my mom's best friend and 1st cousin. My mom would have also been 100 years old this year.

Now, this isn't just any 100-year old. First of all, does she really look like she's 100? You might guess 80. How many people still ride their bicycles (3-wheelers) at 100 years of age? Or even 80 years of age, for that matter? And, how many pills do you take each day if you are over the age of 60? For myself, I take 3 (including a "baby aspirin"), and I consider myself healthy. Fuzzy takes 1 pill per day. When asked what her secret was for living so well and so long, she talked about eating well and staying active - can't get away from the diet and exercise routine! Boring, I guess, but face it, it's worked for her.

We had a great party - two parties, actually - on Saturday and Sunday. So many relatives I haven't seen in years came in for this celebration and to pay tribute to this remarkable woman. She still attends church every Sunday, so part of the celebration was a covered dish dinner after church services in one of the local elementary schools. There was plenty of time for sharing stories and memories and many spoke of the impact Fuzzy had on their lives. The principal of the elementary school was in the Brownie Troop Fuzzy led and many remember her from Ruby's Kindergarten.

Fuzzy started a kindergarten after World War II because she believed children needed a head start - and this was years before the Head Start program was even thought about. She loved to teach and put herself through college in order to realize her life ambition.

As I write this, I am reminded of the women in my life who have paved the way for my generation of women to achieve what we have been able to achieve. In the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament I find the phrase "We drink from wells we did not dig.." Surely Fuzzy and my mom and other women who surrounded me dug these wells from which I so freely drink today. And, I am grateful, as this year comes to a close, and I think I have just discovered my New Year's resolution - "Keep digging those wells!!"

Stairway to Heaven

Whew! It's been a fast and furious December. My blogging habits have definitely taken a big backslide. I'll try to post more frequently this week and catch up on all the happenings.

We have so many beautiful outdoor spots here and we have been in the process of making it more user friendly. The first floor deck is now completed, thanks to our friend and semi-professional carpenter Lee. I can't wait for the first spring days now! We should have plenty of room for cookouts looking out over the gorge.

For the last two weeks, we have watched our stone staircase take shape from the upper parking lot down to the front door and then around the house to the new deck and continuing on down to the point. Our visitors can now park on the upper lot and walk down the stone staircase without having to hop over roots and overgrowth. In the spring this path will be lined with pink and white mountain laurel - should be breathtaking!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season and that you have had time to spend with those you love and care for.

Let It Snow!!

It's winter here on the mountain. We awoke this morning to snow on our third floor deck and it has continued to snow all morning. Are we in Montana??


The Cumberland Mountains continue to dazzle us with year round beauty. No sooner had the leaves fallen off the trees, the snow arrived. Now, we aren't sitting on the deck watching the sunset, but we have enough windows all around that we can enjoy this beauty from the comfort and warmth of our own living room, or bedroom, or just wherever.


The little chickadees are still here and were all over the feeder this morning. Most of the migratory birds, like the "snowbirds", are gone south. We still have a few species around - the Tufted Titmouse and the Nuthatch.




Oh... and one more thing, we are building yet another deck. Our good friend, Lee, who is quite a carpenter, is building the deck for us on the ground floor. This is the first step in the landscaping design. The deck is just 5 steps down toward the point; then the path to the point leaves from this new deck all the way out to the point of our lot. The boulders are already here and the work on this project will begin as soon as weather permits. The idea is to have all this work done by spring so that we will have yet another beautiful outdoor space to enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Families are Thanksgiving - and, oh yeah, FOOD! Here's our Thanksgiving menu:

Turkey with Cranberry Glaze

Apple Raisin Stuffing

Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Cheese Grits

Broccoli Cheddar Bake

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Souffle

Cranberry Marshmallow Salad

Bread Pudding Bars with Vanilla Creme

YMMM!! And best of all, most of it was prepared ahead of time at the Dinner Afare. Marci prepared the Garlic Cheese Grits, a family tradition and favorite. I prepared the Cranberry Marshmallow Salad and Jim prepared the Green Bean Casserole, both old family recipes.

BEST THANKSGIVING MEMORY: Will was anxious to perform the Merry Christmas song in Spanish - Feliz Navidad. As we all listened attentively, Will started singing, "Elise Bobby Dodd" - too cute. Of course, we had to immediately call our real life friend, Bobby Dodd, and let him hear his newly christened namesake song!!

But, really best of all was having our whole family together. Check out our pictures to the left. From our family to yours, a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

Lady Vols vs. Lady Mocs

I'm always so impressed with the determination and discipline of the Lady Vols and Pat Summitt. So, we were thrilled that we had tickets to see them in Chattanooga. Jim's brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Pat, got the tickets and all 4 of us headed down the mountain for the game.

We stopped first at Jimmy's and got a big hug from Will. They were actually headed out to see the opera at the Tivoli that night. So, we didn't stay long - but long enough to get our "Will fix"!

The Lady Vols are a young team this year with all of their 2007 national championship team now playing in the WNBA. We were anxious to see the new talent. On the other hand, we had no idea what to expect from the Lady Mocs, but we happened to be sitting next to a former Lady Moc who was very excited about their team.

The first half (and frankly, the entire game) was very close. During the first half, the Lady Mocs were open on so many 3-point shots, I really just couldn't figure out whether the Lady Vols had no respect for the Lady Moc 3-point shooters, or just weren't effectively playing defense. In the 2nd half, I found out as the Lady Mocs proceeded to nail every 3-point shot they took.

Actually, two things could have swung this game either way: (1) the Lady Mocs could have hit all the 3-point shots in the first half and won; or, (2) the Lady Vols could have hit their foul shots - unbelievable!! There were more fouls called in this game than any I have ever seen - 29 in the 1st half alone - so, there was ample opportunity for the Lady Vols to win this one going away on foul shots alone. I would bet that they will be spending day-in and day-out at the foul shot line this week.

The Lady Vols were up by a few points at the half. During the halftime, we were entertained by the Sugar Mocs, a rhythm dance troop of students who performed to the music of the pep band.

The Lady Mocs came back out in the second half and started hitting the 3-pointers. Half way thru the period, they had an 8-point lead and showed no signs of slowing down. Slowly, however, the Lady Vols started making their way back and finally hit a couple of 3-pointers themselves.

Then the most amazing thing happened. The Lady Vols had a 1-point lead with 35 seconds left in the game. They took the inbound pass and froze the ball at half court and the Lady Mocs let them do this while 21 seconds ticked off the clock!! By the time the Lady Mocs challenged them, it really was too late. They had no choice but to foul, but in my opinion, they should have fouled them as soon as the ball was inbounded. The Lady Vols weren't hitting their foul shots anyway.

Miraculously, the Lady Vols missed their foul shots, and the Lady Mocs got the ball for an inbound pass. They couldn't get the ball into play, and called a time out with 2.6 seconds left. Problem was - they had no time outs left so they were charged with a technical foul. The Lady Vols made both foul shots and ended up winning the game 66-63.

This one came down to coaching - Pat Summitt is just hard to beat, all other things being equal. Both teams played hard, but the UTC coach was just outcoached at the end of the game. Great game! I'm looking forward to the next 4 years watching this team grow.

My Spot on MSNBC

This is truly the gift that keeps on giving!! As I was easing into the morning today, watching MSNBC reports about a possible Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, what to my wondering eyes appeared!! Yet another clip of Barack Obama's visit to the campaign headquarters in Charlotte, NC.



About 1 minute into this clip, look for me sitting in a chair just in front of Obama. Notice the great big smile on my face - and no I can't tell you what I was saying to him - I was way beyond rational thought at this point!!

The clip is actually quite good - 6 minutes in all - and features Jon Meacham who grew up and attended St. Nicholas School in Chattanooga with my children. Jon is Editor of Newsweek magazine, and has a new book out about Andrew Jackson, American Lion, which is getting very positive reviews.

All this is very exciting and I'm almost about to stop pinching myself. It really did happen!

Happy Birthday to ME

Yes, another year goes by and a good year it has been. I marked my 62nd birthday by filing for Social Security benefits. I did it online and it was really easy - can't wait to get my first check!

There has been much to celebrate this year. This was my first birthday in our new home here on the mountain. My good health, as well as that of our family, is always reason to celebrate. And, I'm still celebrating our new President-Elect! Best of all, our family was all together for the big day.

Marci and Ryan drove in for dinner at High Point on Saturday evening. Jimmy and Will were here, too, but got to bed early and, of course, 5-year olds don't know that weekends are for sleeping late!! Will was up at the crack of dawn and ready to go - and go we did. Legos seem to be the toy of choice currently. Aunt Marci put in some significant effort in building the police station - Will was an excellent supervisor!!

The weather was beautiful so Jimmy and Will took a short "hike" to the rock outcrop on our property. This picture was taken from our first floor window.

Will always manages to get in "tickle time" with Aunt Marci and Uncle "Rymie". The game goes like this: Will says "I'm going to get you" moving closer and closer, until Marci or Ryan make a move. Then he screams, "Don't get me, don't get me" then laughs and laughs when they do. Of course all of us have as much fun as he does just listening to his belly laughs.

My birthday gifts were 2 oil lanterns from Jimmy and Will, and an unusual stone lamplight from Marci and Ryan, all of which will be perfect for our new first floor deck. My children and grandchild truly are the lights of my life - perfect gifts!

At the end of a happy, fun day, all waved good bye and off they went - the memories are still with me.

Thanks to all of you who sent cards, phone calls and well wishes - every year I cherish my friends and family more and more!

More Election Reflections

This campaign has been a major focus in my life since last spring when I signed on to go to Asheville, NC and work in the primary. I have knocked on doors, made phone calls, cheered and held signs at rallies, and spent countless hours keeping tabs on the campaign's progress as reported by the media. At times, it seemed that the election could not come soon enough. Now that it's over, it almost seems like a dream that Barack Obama will be our next President!


But it's finally sinking in - and now the real work begins. One of the things President-Elect Obama wants is for all of us to stay involved in our government, and as proof of this please check out the website Change.gov from the office of the President-Elect. As he says, "Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today." On this website you can find anything you want to know about transition plans, the inauguration, press releases, cabinet offices, biographical profiles, and you can even apply for a job in the new administration. But the most important feature of this website is that it asks us to share our vision for what our country can be. I recommend that you spend some time exploring this site, bookmark it, and go to it often during the next 4 years.


There are so many memories from this past 6 months, but some of the best are the people I have met and worked with along the way. Last week, I knocked on doors and made phone calls along side Daidee and Steve from Chattanooga. We rode to Charlotte together, shared a guest house together, and celebrated together at 11 pm on election night. Our hosts, June and Phil, also joined in the champagne toast. Their "labradoodle" Dawson was so excited he jumped up in June's lap.


Kevin, our intrepid field organizer, never let us forget that we were making a difference in NC, calling us in from a late lunch at 4pm on Tuesday afternoon to go back out and find voters who had not yet made it to the polls which closed at 7:30 pm. At 6:45 I knocked on a door and a young woman answered and started apologizing that she had just gotten home from work and hadn't voted. I simply said, "Get your shoes on and let's go!" We made it with 10 minutes to spare. Kevin was right - NC was so close that those last-minute voters gave Obama the extra edge needed to squeak out a victory in NC.



As I walked through the phone bank room, back at headquarters, at about 8 pm, I noticed that the basketball hoop used by Senator Obama was still on the wall. How can I ever forget being in that room with him and his tossing the ball up in the air and then into the hoop.



And the most exciting surprise - finding my picture on the front page of the New York Times on Nov 4!! That's definitely a first and perhaps the only time that will ever happen to me.


Another first for me was the paid TV ad. The local Grundy County TV station (GCTV) offers local community programming and our Cumberland Plateau for Obama group thought it would be a good idea to place some local spots for Obama on the air for the 5 days preceding the election. I was one of 4 people who did 1-minute spots - my topic was the economic crisis. Other topics included health care, education and religion (no, he's not a Muslim!)


I'm sure this afterglow will eventually mellow, but I hope that my renewed enthusiasm for participatory democracy will burn brightly for the rest of my life - "government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth." Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

My Incredible day with Barack Obama!

OK - Well, it wasn't the entire day. It was actually only 30 minutes, but a half-hour I will definitely remember for the rest of my life!

I have been in Charlotte, NC since Saturday night, knocking on doors, making phone calls and doing anything I can to help North Carolina go for Senator Obama. Yesterday, the field organizer (Kevin) in the Charlotte office asked if I could do some special phone banking on Monday afternoon to some still-undecided voters. I was to show up at 2:30 pm along with 14 other volunteers where we were given lists of undecided voters to call. There we are in the picture to the right. The fellow in the lower left corner of this photo is from Bristol, England, and came to Charlotte to spend 10 days working on the campaign!

Now, the twist in all of this was that Obama was coming to Charlotte for a campaign rally at 5:30 this evening, and I surely didn't want to miss this rally. Kevin promised me solemnly that I would not miss the rally as long as I promised him solemnly that I would show up at 2:30 and make phone calls until 5:00. He further said that I would have "almost VIP" seats."

Yes, I would call sitting right next to Barack Obama VIP seating! At 5 pm, Senator Obama walked through the back door of the office. Of course, we all erupted into huge cheers and he was so genuinely grateful for our work and our support. We started asking for autographs and photos, and he very promptly and kindly said, "We're here to work - this isn't an autograph party.

He asked us to go on with the phone calls we were making and to get some voters on the phone so that he could talk to them. I talked to a 3-time Iraq veteran who had questions about the length of the war and was concerned that it was time to bring it to a close and, at the very least, be sure that repeat assignments were not so close together that he had no time with his family. I handed the phone to Senator Obama who began by thanking him for his service and explained his policy regarding this voter's concerns.

I was so impressed with his genuine conversation with us. As hard as this may be to believe, after a few calls, it was almost as if he were just another caller in this campaign. There was no self-serving, photo-op, attention grabbing from this man. He even joked with one of the voters who was celebrating his birthday and whose wife and daughters were planning a party for him. I'm not sure what the man told him, but his response was - "It sounds like you are like me - surrounded by some strong women. My advice is - do what they tell you to do!"

If you are still an undecided voter, and if you still haven't voted, please consider voting for Senator Obama. He is the real deal!! I can't wait to see the change in this country, and in our politics and in our lives when he becomes our President!

Barack 'N Roll

Saturday was a great day on the "rock" - as we say here on the mountain. The Cumberland Plateau for Obama sponsored the Barack 'N Roll Music Festival this weekend. Our headliner was Milele Roots, a band started by our good friend Morris Thuku who is currently visiting here from Kenya. Morris (in gray shirt) was a college student in Chattanooga when he started the band and it has survived and thrived in his 10-year absence.

Milele Roots is a fabulous reggae band based in Chattanooga. They have been together for about 15 years and four of the original band members were there yesterday: Christian Craan (awesome dreadlocks!), Antoine Williamson, Morris and how great was it to see Earl, now in his 70s, who played awesome Caribbean drum beats in the original band, but now enjoys cheering the guys on.

The purpose of the festival was to pump people up to get out and vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday. There were lots of people in and out during the afternoon, and some stayed for the whole 2-hour show.

Morris had not sung with the band since he left the United States 10 years ago, but he was definitely back in the groove. The band led off with "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Answer: Obama!

Meanwhile, the McCain-Palin folks are very active - mostly with negative tactics. I don't want to join the negativity - so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

I'm in Charlotte, now. And, Obama will be here for a rally tomorrow afternoon - one of his last stops before he heads back to Chicago to vote on Tuesday! I knocked on 67 doors today and will head out again to go out putting door hangers on doors reminding people to go vote! I am totally pumped!!

Friends on the Mountain

Our friends, the Stohlers and the Dillards, had planned for weeks to come to see us during the fall color change season. Wouldn't you know it - they got here on Thursday night, it rained all night and was rainy and cold for most of the day on Friday! Not exactly what we had envisioned when we had made these plans weeks ago.

After the rain stopped, at about 4:00 in the afternoon, we were determined to enjoy a bottle of wine on our 3rd floor deck and enjoy the fall colors and the sunset.

It was a valiant effort, and we finally broke out the winter coats. But, by golly, we enjoyed the wine and the sunset!!

For some reason, we are having a very late fall color change. Stay tuned for some beautiful pictures once the leaves finally do give up their green and this mountain bursts into red, orange and gold!

On the Campaign to Charlotte

The Obama campaign is working very hard to win the state of North Carolina. Supporters from surrounding states are being called in to help knock on doors, make phone calls and recruit other volunteers. Last Friday, I was part of a group of UTC students who went to Charlotte to help in the campaign there. Even CNN took notice of our group. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/23/king.north.carolina/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

There were about 50 of us who made the 5-hour trip. My hat's off to the drivers of the vans who carried the students. I decided early on that driving a van full of college students was something I might have done 25 years ago, but not now. I took my SUV and followed with their luggage - which is much more peaceful than the live bodies!!

Again, as with my other experiences with this campaign, the group in NC was enthusiastic, well organized and we were all united toward the common goal of getting Barack Obama elected as our next President.

Along with my canvassing partner, Daidee, we knocked on about 200 doors encouraging eligible voters to vote early. Early voting started in NC on October 16 and continues through November 1. One-stop early voting is a great option in NC- an eligible voter can go to any early voting location (public libraries in Charlotte) and register to vote and then cast their ballot immediately. I wish TN had that option!

The campaign headquarters was absolutely full of volunteers and field organizers, who are mostly young college graduates, like our organizer Kevin, who have signed on to work in the campaign as interns. They work about 18 hours per day and told us that they will be on 24-hour shifts as the campaign comes to a close. The office is definitely not fancy - note the cardboard and duct tape cubicles for volunteer phone canvassers. Rented tables and chairs are the only equipment - didn't see one executive desk or padded chair! I don't think any of us care about luxurious work space nor did I hear one request for brie or latte - no intellectual elites here!!

Daidee and I plan to go back for the last weekend of the campaign and work through Nov 4. The Charlotte office tells us that there is no celebration party planned - they think it will be a race to the finish and there is no letting up. Yes we can!!

Weekend with Will

We are totally exhausted, but we have had a great weekend with Will! We picked him up yesterday after school and he wanted to go to the Riverpark. The favorite artwork of the day was the fish constructed from bricks on which he climbed and sat and rested. A large plume from the nearby beargrass became alternately a fan or a sword, depending on the direction of his imagination.

We drove to Knoxville on Friday night, and got up Saturday morning for an early breakfast with Dad who had to work at the Knoxville Brewers' Jam. Our plan for the day was to go to the Knoxville Zoo and do whatever Will wanted to do. The zoo was all decked out for Halloween Boo at the Zoo, from jack-o-lanterns to witches and scarecrows, you could hardly take a step without seeing spooks and ghosts.

The first place Will wanted to go was the reptile exhibit. Believe it or not, this time last year he would not go near a snake. But, this year his mission was to find the coral snake (of course, there wasn't a coral snake to be found!), but we found plenty of rattlesnakes, constrictors and gila monsters. We also spent a good deal of time in the dark rooms with a skunk, bats and perhaps the fattest raccoon I have ever seen. The dark rooms were not a place he wanted to go a year ago either. It's so much fun to see him grow and change.

No zoo visit is complete without a visit to the Kid's Cove. There are always so many kids to play with and Will always finds several friends who are ready to run, chase, climb, splash and slide. It's very hard to leave this fabulous playground to see the animals. However, eventually the reality sinks in that we haven't seen the elephants, giraffes or tigers, and off we go to the African savannah.

I was pretty impressed that Will had a list of animals he wanted to check out this year including the lion, the tiger and the snow leopard. What a memory! I guess it's more impressive to me at my age when short term memory seems to be a fleeting luxury. Will is also getting quite adept at spotting the animals camaflouged in their surroundings - he spotted a cougar that I would never have found on my own. This is probably a sad commentary on my sharpness of vision (or lack thereof!).

We managed to make it back to the hotel in time to watch the TN vs GA game. The final score was 26-14 in favor of Georgia - not the result we wanted, but not an unexpected result. Will and I spent most of the time playing hide and seek, working puzzles and reading books. It's fascinating how many places you can find to hide in a hotel room.

Dad picked Will up at the end of the day and the two exhausted grandparents drug ourselves to dinner at Chesapeakes and celebrated surviving a fun-filled day with Will. There is really nothing to compare to being a grandparent. The relationship is nothing but pure joy and love and we are most fortunate to have this little boy in our lives.