In those early months of my existence my mother briefly kept a baby book before being overwhelmed by the responsibility of another pregnancy.  Before that distraction, she managed to pen the words “Likes to be outside” under the heading “Baby’s Favorite Thing”.   And that, my friends, pretty well describes me and my interests. At our cabin on the Nantahala River in North Carolina, I feel safest, and closer to God (wherever She is) than in any church.  My beliefs are rooted in animism, sensing that everything has a soul.

Although I have resided in the State of Georgia for five decades now, the Tennessee soil yet surges through my veins and the breezes of the Appalachians whisper through my heart.  It is where I am from and it is who I am.

Additionally, as I grew up on those hills, that terrain explains why one of my legs is shorter than the other.

My strongest influence in those developing years was my paternal grandmother.  Among her many quotes, the one I am most fond of is “It takes a strong back and a weak mind to garden”.  Another was, “You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die”.  I am a regular adherent to both of these principles.