The heavy rain woke me up and as I lay there listening to it pounding our tin roof, I thought about how it used to be. Like everyone we knew, there was a little building out back at the end of the well worn path. The outhouse stood there in its regal majesty. It had importance and knew it.

In my personal opinion, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most fascinating places on Earth. I have been there more times than I can recall and learned many things each time I went. I learned about the rocks, the animals, about the different types of flowers and trees, and I learned about the people who once called this area home. I learned that after a hip replacement surgery, I could walk all the way up to the Mount LeConte lookout. I was tired, but I had done it! At times it was like a home away from home.

In 1773, German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze peered through his compound microscope and gazed upon a tiny, eight-legged creature he dubbed a “little water bear”. Cute, huh? The scientific name for these itty-bitty varmints is “tardigrade”, but there’s another nickname for them I like better – moss piglet. Can you believe it? I mean, look at that thing. Moss piglet! That’s perfect. I can almost hear it oinking.

Do you like bananas? I do and so does my daughter Anne. Since she does our grocery shopping nowadays, she has a method of choosing which bananas to buy. We have a friend from the Philippines who taught us how to select the best banana. She looks for bananas with thick fat ends, not pointy ones. She is right. There is more banana hiding behind the peel. She says they have a better flavor, too.

Mia Effler is eleven years old and can be recognized by her hard work, dedication, and success in her own business. A sixth grader at Horace Maynard Middle School, she enjoys soccer and fishing on Norris Lake, but with the help and support of family, Mia invests much of her time planting, picking, and selling produce for her business, Mia’s Market.

As the runners took their places on Saturday May 4, 2019, Union County Chamber President Thomas Sibinski's vision of Union County’s first 10k run became a reality. Thomas was looking to bring something different to town. With support from the Chamber board, a 10k, 5k and Fun Run was scheduled to start from Union County High School.

Now that spring is here, and the weather is warming up and leaves are turning green, many people will spend more time outside planting bulbs, mowing the lawn and pulling weeds. Gardening can provide a great workout, but with all the bending, twisting, reaching and pulling, your body may not be ready for exercise of the garden variety.

Mincey’s Musings
Year Two, Week Seventeen

A group of Baptists met at Cheddar’s on Clinton Highway yesterday for lunch after the morning church service. Two different people in the group ordered onion rings as appetizers, and they were exceptionally delicious.

I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the expression on my mamaw’s face. Let’s just say it didn’t exactly relate joy.

We had just pulled into the driveway after our week long trip to Florida. Our daughter Sara, who was 9 years old at this time, was showing Papaw all the treasures she had amassed at Sea World. That was when Mamaw whispered to Tim and myself, “I need you all to come down to the carport to look at something.”

Yep, this was not good.

My mother could put together a soup even when there didn't seem to be enough food in the house to make a meal. I grew up on soup, especially in the winter time. With a little meat to season it and the vegetables we had on hand, she could make a hearty soup for not much money. Cornbread goes well with most soups and goes well with this one.