Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
It’s late March of 1962 and spring is breaking in upper East Tennessee. We have had a late snow in March of this year, but here in Union County our last snow has melted and grass is greening up.
Flowers are popping out, fishing in Norris Lake is great and life here is good.

By Robert Wyrick
Nothing is colder than a winter’s night from childhood and this was one of those nights from long ago that remains frozen in time and space. I couldn’t have been over four, for the old man’s tombstone reads nineteen thirty-eight and that would have me about that age. I was rolled in a blanket and draped over my father’s shoulder. Both arms held me tight as he walked at a brisk pace across the field toward a flickering light in the distance.

The church at Corinth had a lot of problems! The Christian Bible doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a prime example of the blunt truth, often detailed in the pages of the Bible.

I have a relative who married on April Fool’s Day. As a result of COVID, the wedding reception was held several months later on Friday the 13th. I thought, “What brave souls.”
I also thought, “From the way some people’s marriages have turned out, these dates would have been perfect omens of what was to come!”
A politician once said, “I believe love is the answer, but you should own a gun, just in case.”
The politician wasn’t talking about marriage, but you have, Dear Reader, heard of a “shotgun wedding.”
Did you ever hear of a “shotgun divorce”?

It is that time of year again when tomatoes are in season. This is not a sweet relish like chili sauce. It is more like a salsa. Freeze a batch for next winter. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely. Meanwhile, in large bowl combine remaining ingredients. Add vinegar mixture and mix well. Spoon into pint or half pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headroom. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 12 months. Makes 6 pints.

I have been reading more Westerns since receiving large print books from the Tennessee Library for Accessible Books and Media. I have a special attachment to the late 1800s because of my father-in-law and my dad.
My husband’s father, Grover McMurtrie, was born in Pennsylvania in 1865, but didn't stay there. At five years of age, he walked behind his folks’ covered wagon to the Homer Flats in southern Michigan. That was the area between the present-day Battle Creek, Jackson and Eaton Rapids. It was not yet a settled place.

I don’t like to admit this, but when I was a little girl, I used to run over caterpillars that crawled into the carport with my tricycle. I thought they were nasty worms.
Then my mom told me those worms were special in that they were caterpillars that turned into butterflies. So, every time I killed one, I was actually killing a butterfly.
At first, I was horrified because I loved chasing butterflies. They were so beautiful and graceful as they flittered through the air. But, being the geek that I was (and still am) I wanted to know how the magical transformation happened.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Chicory was a popular wild plant back in early settlement days when it was used to make a coffee-like beverage. Its blue flowers are easy to spot right now growing along roadsides.
Close up, these dandelion-like flowers have fringed, flat tipped petals, which can sometimes be white or pink. The flower will usually close in the late afternoon or on overcast days. The leaves at the base of the plant also remind you of dandelion, being in the same family, and will bleed a milky sap when broken off.

For people challenged with chronic back pain, a new experimental treatment that focuses on retraining how the back and the brain communicate offers a clinically meaningful effect on pain intensity and a clinically meaningful effect on disability, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. People were happier, they reported their backs felt better and their quality of life was better. It also looks like these effects were sustained over the long term; Twice as many people were completely recovered.

Have you ever done something and not known that you did it? I’m talking no clue. Or maybe there was one.
Not many people know this, but my parents were talented bowlers. They not only bowled in a league, but their team won the championship one year. When I went to the bowling alley with them, I would bowl with the other kids. Most of them there were good bowlers. I bet you’re thinking: “I can see that since their parents bowl too.” Unfortunately, that didn’t apply to me. As we say around here: “I couldn’t bowl my way out of a paper bag.”