Rainy weather has long been blamed for achy joints. Unjustly so, according to new research from Harvard Medical School. The analysis found no relationship between rainfall and joint or back pain.

The visual, sounds, physical contact, aromas, odors, and even flavors that on occasion we taste upon our tongue can roll back the pages of time without the opening of a book. Obviously, we take photographs, often organizing them into albums, to preserve and reinforce our memories. A familiar song, unexpected, all but forgotten and obscured by time, may carry us back to the days of our youth. An experiential learner myself, running my fingers across the texture of practically anything directly linked with the past makes history all the more tangible.

There was a day when spring cleaning was a real chore with a capital “C.” Let's start with the windows. After the house had been shut up all winter and the wood stove in the parlor and the cooking range in the kitchen spewing out smoke and soot all winter, the windows really needed attention.

Mincey’s Musings
Year One, Week Twenty-Three

Have you ever thought about the lives our ancestors lived? Once our forefathers boarded ship in the Old World, there was no opportunity the next day to decide, “I don’t think I want to make this trip after all.” I’ve never read of any lifeboats or rafts on the Mayflower.

Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), also called tupelo gum and sour gum, can be found in almost any woodland in our area. It grows on a wide range of conditions, from wet areas to dry ridge tops.

My Papaw E.O. was quite the character. He was rather fearless; in fact, there were times he was too fearless.

I experienced it firsthand back when I was in my early 20s. I was riding with my Mamaw and Papaw as we drove on I-40 through downtown Knoxville. We were in Papaw’s nice farm truck. It was the one without cow stuff on the tires and wheels. He drove it everywhere except to church or the funeral home.

The Pizza Parlor in Maynardville made good pizza. I worked there for a while as short order cook when they first opened. I prepped and made the salads as well as the spaghetti sauce. It was a time of learning for me. I had never before cooked ground beef in water, stirred to separate it and then drained before adding to tomato sauce to make a spaghetti sauce. Made that was, there was very little oil to skim off the finished sauce. Not enough to bother with.

With the steep costs associated with prescription drugs, chiropractic’s conservative approach makes economic sense as well. A 2012 study found that spinal manipulation for neck and back pain was cost-effective, used either alone or combined with other therapies first.

Another study based on Washington state workers found that 42.7 percent of people who visited a surgeon first for work-related back pain eventually had surgery, compared to only 1.5 percent of those who visited a chiropractor first.

It's that time of year again.

Time for Union County's libraries to welcome that onslaught of kids, fun, laughs, and excitement known as Summer Reading. Both Luttrell and Maynardville libraries will host Summer Reading this year, with opportunities for prizes, food and great programs at each.

Union County holds bragging rights for a long list of famous artists. Multi-talented musician/singer/songwriter Sarah Morgan has more than earned her place on that renowned register. The Union County native has just returned from a three-week-stint in the UK that included teaching, performing and sightseeing.

“I was hired to teach mountain dulcimer courses at a weeklong traditional music festival in southern England, and I also played at a couple of folk clubs,” said Morgan. “In between, I had time to relax so I did some hiking and explored a couple of castles.”