My Mountain

We own a very small piece of property on the top of a mountain in North Carolina. It's beautiful there. Lush green trees cover the winding roads that lead up to the top. The first time I was there it had nearly impassible, narrow, overgrown, weedy and we had to use a four wheel drive vehicle to get there. But when I got there I was hooked.

Off in the distance there are more mountains. The colors change the farther away it is. Way, way, in the distance they were almost a deep purple. All around me the sounds and sights of nature flooded my senses. The deep earthy smell of fallen branches and leaves released with each step I took. My big black dog sat there like the king of the mountain, now tired from chasing rabbits or whatever other wild creature he found. I knew then and there I was at home. It just hit me, the beauty, the quiet, the isolation, and the feeling that I was a small part of all of this overwhelmed me.

I felt a sense of stepping back in time. I wondered if I had stepped on the same soil that someone years ago had walked. They must have walked because I doubt that a horse could get up the steep inclines. Or maybe they followed trails made by animals. Had anyone ever had a cabin up there? Possibly a trapper lived there with his wife. Gnawing a life from from the land, having children, loving, and living. I was awed at the thought of it.

Of course anywhere in the mountains of North Carolina is like stepping into the past.

So that's when I knew it. I was home. Someday god willing I will be able to build a home there, living with the ghosts of the past and hoping they will share my mountain and let me make history too.

Today Was One Of Those Days

The first thing this morning I got a phone call, in which I was told that our vacation was ruined. The poor fellow we rented a cabin in NC for years from had gotten a divorce and the vindictive significant other took it as part of her settlement. Just to break the poor mans heart. He'd worked for years to build it up.

I love NC and finding out that we were not going to be able to go in October broke my heart. I have waited for a year to go and see our property cleared and redyed for the septic system. I was hoping my book sales could help pay to have it put in. Now after scrimping to save the money, we paid and waited for the contractor to do it. Now cleared land must look so much better to be able to view where to put your home. And it would show us what views we might have.

So I'm starting the day pretty bummed already.

Then I go to the Cracker Barrel to exchange my lamp which was purchased in December as a gift for me. The friend who bought it was with me. I had the box, and the charge receipt. I had previously spoken to a manager who told me, "No problem, just bring it in."

So as soon as I walk in I hear an obnoxious voice tell me that that lamp didn't come from this store. They never sold that in the store. So showing her the box with large Cracker Barrel logos, didn't convince her. Simply because she wanted to mess with me. She had an 'attitude' of the worst kind I have ever seen and was so obnoxious, she eventually had me in tears. I'm not done with her.

Next my car. My 1995 Ford Taurus with less than 51,000 miles on it, is messing up again.
The air conditioner had just been repaired, new tires, brakes checked and fluids changed.
Now the check engine light has started to come on, and the engine is missing.

So let me tell you, I had a day. I'm gonna go take a pill and go to sleep.

May tomorrow be another day, only better.