“Yours till Niagara Falls” or is it “Yours till the Statue of Liberty sits down?” Maybe it's “Yours till the United States drinks Canada Dry.” Could it be “Yours till they feed the corn on your toes to the calves of your legs?” No, that doesn't sound very nice. I know. It's “Yours till the barn dances and the fire escapes.”

Some people have pictures in their wallets or on their phones of the wives, children, grandchildren, etc. I have one picture of my wife in my wallet and maybe one of my stepson and me. I have several pictures on my phone of a special female who came into my life in May, 2009. It happened like this.

My wife was visiting the place where she lived before she married me, then as now occupied by her son and his girlfriend. One of the many cats that had been there had recently had kittens. The momma cat was run over by a car and died. No one knew where her kittens were.

I have a friend who told a humorous story about being in a meeting where someone was speaking of things that he knew to be untrue, downright bovine excreta. When he had taken all he could of it, he stood up, got up, slammed a dollar onto the table and cried out “gimme a bottle of that snake oil!” Snake oil is indeed a popular metaphor for anything being touted as true, but in reality is fraud. And those attempting to sell or convince you to accept something fraudulent are referred to as snake oil salesmen.

Whenever Mother and Dad had an argument, usually in bed at night, Mother had a litany of offenses Dad had been guilty of in the past. She never forgave him and she certainly never forgot. First on the list was when Dad punched Mother's brother, Uncle Johnny, in the nose and knocked him down. The second offense was the one I will now describe. Dad was officially listed as AWOL at the end of World War l. That sounds worse than what it was. I will explain.

Today we have much confusion in the Church about the word antichrist. However, when taken in context the scriptures are very plain about antichrist. The actual word “antichrist” is only mentioned 4-times in the Bible and all 4-times by the Apostle John. Just because the actual word is only used 4-times, does not lessen its importance, because the concept of "antichrist" is throughout the entire Bible.

Back in the 30's and the 40's small carnivals cross-crossed the country. It was before television and the Internet. Amusements were simpler back in the day. I'm not talking about the circus, just a carnival with some rides and a midway. They are gone forever.

I remember them. Dad allowed us one ride, a walk through the midway and a hot dog. What sights! What sounds! What smells! That was what childhood memories were made of. We went once.

Big improvements are afoot at Big Ridge State Park, and park superintendent Keith Montgomery said what park guests see now is just the beginning.

Montgomery has been superintendent for about three years now, and along with park staff he's been working to address a list of issues with infrastructure and aesthetics at the park. At the top of the list are safety concerns, followed by subjects of complaints from visitors.

"It's a menagerie of reasoning," said Montgomery.

Dixie Stampede in Branson, MO, Myrtle Beach, SC and Pigeon Forge, TN has a new name…. Dolly Parton’s Stampede. There was much talk about a name change, but the reality hit home after observing the new signage in Pigeon Forge; all remembrances of the supposed offensive word “Dixie” have been removed. This decision was made and quickly implemented after an August, 2017 Slate.com article was published. Dolly Parton has millions of fans, and many defend her by stating all the things she has done for literacy, her community and Sevier County during the 2016 fires.

The old rocking chair is empty on Thursday;
Grandma is no longer in it.
She is off in her car to the Senior Center, not far,
And buzzes around every minute.

You won't see her trudging off early to bed
From her place by her warm fireside nook.
Her computer's click-clicking long into the night,
Grandma is writing her book.

Grandma ne'er takes a backward glance
To slow her steady advancing.
She won't tend the babies for you anymore
For Grandma has taken up dancing -

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a common tree in our area, normally found growing in low areas where the soil is moist, such as near streams or drains. The name comes from the taste of its hardened sap that bleeds from wounds on the trunk.

The tree is easy to identify, with leaves distinctly star-shaped and with a small-toothed edge. The bark is gray and furrowed with flat ridges that form a diamond pattern. The twigs are showy in the winter with corky wing-like protrusions. The fruit is a spiny ping pong sized ball that hangs on well into winter.