Gatlinburg fires can't erase memories
My heart aches when I see or read of the fire damage in and around Gatlinburg. My close ties to the mountains and love for them fills so many of my favorite memories - from my honeymoon at the Howard Johnson to annual visits with my close friends and family in Chalet Village cabins off Sky Mountain Road. Hikes on all the trails leading to the top of Mount LeConte and overnight stays in the Mount LeConte Lodge cabins are treasures of sight, sound, smell and touch that are forever ingrained in my soul.
Those hikes and along the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains were as close to God on earth as I have ever been. Year after year I took hundreds of photos trying to capture just a glimmer of the majesty I would see and experience from every mountaintop, beside every waterfall, along every path.
In October of this year we returned with our regular three other couples of which three of the four celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries this year. We dined well, toasted with fine wine and laughed our way through a memorable evening at the Buckberry Creek Lodge which is now in rubble, but the memory of the evening and the love shared will remain in each heart.
Virginia "Gini" Thompson
Soddy-Daisy
Thank goodness, no cell towers in heaven
Hello, who? I had forgotten what your voice sounds like, youngest daughter of mine. Sound familiar?
Seems we have lost our ability to use our God-given voice except maybe to say, "pass the gravy, please." TV has replaced conversation over the family dinner table, interstate highways have created distance among loved ones, and now the final straw. Nobody talks to one another anymore. I see teens texting one another as they sit across the table in a restaurant.
As we approach this Christmas season, do yourself (and me) a favor. Let me hear your voice saying "Merry Christmas, Dad." And that goes for my friends and business associates as well.
Of all the blessings of Heaven we look forward to, at the top of my list has to be God's answer to prayer that as I part the Pearly Gates, I won't see any cell towers. Praise the Lord that will mean none for eternity. Amen!
William Reesor
Ooltewah
Christmas tree return appreciated
Thanks again to the "Secret Santa" for the incredibly beautiful Christmas tree on Hickory Valley Road near the railroad tracks. I am certain that I am not the only one who more than appreciates this gift.
The simple and remote placement of this tree, away from the busy shopping areas and neighborhoods beaming with decorations, reminds us that a single Christmas tree can not only warm the heart but encourages the spirit. So, thank you once again. I wish you many blessings this Christmas season.
Libby Simmons
Harrison