THE HARRIMAN CLASS OF ’64 RE-UNITES

Look at us, still just as young, slim, trim, and happy as ever…well, we’re all still the happiest and closest class ever to come out of Harriman (South Harriman) High School anyway!

Friday night, about 24 or so of us old classmates met at Jerry and Judge Gene Eblen’s (our host in easy chair) for a reunion of sorts. This group, with a few missing, has always remained very close. Everyone brought “finger foods” and the dinning room table and kitchen bar was overflowing with everyone’s favorite dishes.

Judy and I brought our famous pork tenderloin rolls, which disappeared in no time. There was everything from those to chocolate dip strawberries! What a selection!

Judy and I still run into several of our classmates like Jerry (pink top), Regina (white top) and Steve (a.k.a. Danny – fellow in the yellow shirt) Webster, Sandy Hooks (patterned top), and Donna McAbee (black top) at the grocery or Wal-Mart occasionally, and we also saw some like Ronnie Thornton (on left in table shot with rust colored jacket) and Bob Hamby (in glasses and a blue short sleeve shirt) at work, when we worked, in Oak Ridge. I run into Arty Austin (in the middle of table shot) at his liquor store “Cheers” occasionally, but for Donna Hood (brown shiny top), Patti Arp Henry (light blue top - David’s sister), Sid Hudson (seen in bathrobe standing next to Tom Hooks), David Arp (blue long sleeve shirt), Jim Hall (brown shirt-big smile), and Lee Childs (on right in table shot) it had been at least 24 years since we’ve seen them!

One thing about us, we still know how to party…’course we always did that well! I think our class is a little noted for that fact, and is probably why so many non-class members join our reunion parties!

Everyone mingled well, eventually getting round to each person and telling their favorite memories on each. Some of the ladies even discussed their crushes and old rivalries over the same guy!

Note the two photos of Judy and me with David Arp (long sleeved blue shirt). David is famous for being a main character in several of my tales, but particularly for being a member of the “Fight Club” and for getting Judy and me together at the 15^th Year Class Reunion.

I appreciated the fact that David came all the way from Sarasota, Florida to attend this gathering. It was a very nice surprise to see him.

And, it was also good to see Patti's husband Jim Henry (former state senator - black top with the Tennessee logo). He's always enjoyed our class shindigs!

The other picture of me is with Jerry, who was the girl I described in “My Two Best Halloweens” that wore the “fuzzy coat!” She is also the girl that hung the moniker “MUSHY” on me over 45 years ago! Strangely enough, she did not remember the historic incident.

[NOTE TO CLASSMATES – To view older posts, scroll down to the bottom and near the bottom of the sidebar you will see “Go Back in Time and Read My Earlier Posts”. You can find previous postings that way, or look at the very top and in the SEARCH field, type in things like “school”, (your first name), “fight club”, “Harriman”, and other related key words!]

MY BEST FRIEND FROM 44 YEARS AGO

A few days ago I got a call that went something like this, “Hello?”

“Is this Paul Mashburn?”

“Yes?”

“This is Richard Lacher.”

“No kiddin’! Where the hell are you?”

“I’m down the road from you in Spring City…just started working at Watts Bar.”

Long story short, we agreed to meet at the Cracker Barrel in Harriman Tuesday evening and reminisce. So, we did just that!

The last time Richard and I saw each other was about 1964, just before I joined the Air Force. My cousin Mark and I (click for a flash back) drove from Florence, Alabama to Waynesboro, Tennessee to see Richard.

After forty-four years we still hit it off and seemed to pick right up where we left off! I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of hours we spent setting on the front porch of the Cracker Barrel asking each other, “Do you remember…?” and “Didn’t we once…?” Man that felt so good!

There has hardly been an event in my life that I hadn’t wished Richard was there. When you have a close friend that you grew up with, you want them to experience everything you did and that’s just the way I’ve always felt. I suppose part of the reason I wrote all my “Laugh & Times” was in hopes that one day Richard would come along and get caught up on all I wished he had experienced with me!

I told him about “Mushy’s” and gave him one of my “Blogness Cards”, so hopefully he’ll soon be checking out all the great stories he was partly responsible for me writing. Posts like “Cuddles and Puddles”, “Ol’ Smiley Burnette Got the Drop on Me”, “Night Moves”, “My Hands Felt Just Like Two Balloons”, “Breaking Into the Outhouse”, “The Mockingbird”, and “A Scout is Friendly, Courteous, & Kind”.

Richard and I lived in the Mockingbird Trailer Park in Florence, Alabama together twice and in Waverly, Tennessee once over a span of about five or six years. He and I went through puberty together, so, as you can imagine, we analyzed everything, but we were definitely “working on mysteries without any clues!” These were probably the most important years of our teenage life, and it really hurt when our families finally had to go different directions.

Hopefully now Richard and I can relive the past years, catch up on the lost forty plus years, and even renew our friendship. We have a lot of catching up to do!

Thanks buddy for making the effort and taking the time to give me that call.

Patrón Silver & Jalapeño Shooters!

The Dragons and the Knights met at Ron and Neena’s for a pre-mother’s day celebration Saturday, and it began innocent enough with cigars, beer, wine, and Wild Turkey. Later we feasted on grilled hotdogs, slaw, chili, chips, and several desserts (strawberry shortcake, coconut and lemon pies)! All of us were watching our weight – as usual!

However, leading up to this, Steve began giving everyone a Doritos chip with a jalapeño resting on top. Pretty tasty with my Turkey, and that soon evolved into half a shot glass of Patron and jalapeño juice, garnished with a jalapeño in the bottom! Don’t ask me how we got on this, but the thought just hit me and soon we were into a naming contest. Most agreed “Mushy’s Magma” shooters fit the bill! Naturally, Steve and I were the only ones fool enough to try one, but after the shot, he and I agreed we liked them! Don’t knock it ‘til you try one!

It burns all the way down…very warming and satisfying!

After the dogs, Steve and I competed in a “how many deer do you see” contest, and the Knights retired to the dayroom to watch Ted Nugent reruns of Spirit of the Wild! We learned how to clean, cook, and properly eat pheasant!

I hadn’t had a cigar since Christmas; actually I don’t think any of us had, so we made up for loss time. I had a nice Vintage Macanudo that Jeff set me sometime back and then a Madura Mac that Ron gave me after he swore off.

Incidentally Jeff, the reason I was hitting the Turkey was that I sat around and let the last case of Yuengling go bad! I know, a disgrace, but I haven’t been indulging very much lately and I sampled two Friday night, prepping for Saturday night while posting my contribution of Redneck’s Reserve, and the taste was way off. I wanted to stop and get a 6-pack of Flying Dog on the way over, but we were running late, so I packed a bottle of Turkey and we were off to Ron’s.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY MOM!

You’ve been my “Mommazooty” for nearly 62 years now, and even when you were dusting the seat of my pants I never regretted it. You have been a great little momma and I love you very much.

You are a towering (albeit a short one) example of strength to Wade and me. You have been through the loss of three husbands, half a lung, about 4 feet of colon, and one knee, and continued to fight for and enjoy life. We will try to be as strong when those times come to us, and will always remember your witness.

I realized long ago that I was a witness too, a witness to the world to the kind of mother I had. I knew that if I did wrong, it reflected on you. I still got into things I should not have, but I was very careful and very afraid that someone would see me and tell my mom. But worst of all, that they might think you were not the perfect mother.

That is what witnessing is all about – if you do wrong and you have been out there purporting that you are, oh say a “Christian”, then you are reflecting poorly on our perfect example.

Thanks Mom for all that you have done!

ROCK ISLAND STATE PARK

If you have noticed all the wildflowers I post or put on Flickr, you probably have surmised that we don’t kill ourselves on hikes. Ron usually has me lead and set the pace and I’m constantly stopping to look under leaves for “little brown jugs”, Mayapple blooms, “Dutchman’s pipes, and other things hidden under new green foliage or under last year’s leaves. I see no reason to miss a thing at my age. I’ve walked past so many things in my rush to get things either over or behind me that I will never be able to find them all again.

Sunday’s Pink Lady’s-slipper Orchid find, and Monday’s Doll's-eyes, and Cross Vine are things very rare and few ever see them. I love to stop and smell the roses, honeysuckle, laurel, and rhododendron. Life is just too short to zip by, head held high, and overlooking the best and primary part of a nature hike. At my age, one needs to walk steadily, but with a sharp eye out for shapes and colors of wildflowers burned into memory from countless web pages and lots of books on the subject. (Click on all photos for larger images or go to Flickr)

We ventured about two and a half hours away on Monday to Warren County, and the little town of Rock Island, Tennessee. Rock Island is located between Sparta and McMinnville, Tennessee.

Just about a mile from this arch, a sight I saw often as a child on the way to grandmothers, is Rock Island State Park. It is a beautiful little park with lots of trails, swimming, boating, and great waterfalls to view.

On the way into the park, you will pass the old Great Falls Cotton Mill, and its castle-like water-house.

Great Falls Cotton Mill was envisioned by early manufacturer, Asa Faulkner, and was built by the Great Falls Manufacturing Company that was chartered by Asa Faulkner, Jesse and H. L. Walling, and Clay Faulkner. The only textile mill built in Warren County before 1930; it is also known as Fall City Cotton Mills and is located in Northern Warren County within present-day Rock Island State Park. It began operation in 1892, and was best known for heavy sheeting. The wheel house which powered the mill was swept away in the great flood of March 1902 that wrought havoc throughout the county. It never resumed operation, but it is listed as a National Historic Site. (Source of the above info is THE WARREN COUNTY STORY by Eugene Wiseman)

From the old cotton mill on, you will see waterfalls and the Great Falls Dam to your right. One of the largest is Great Falls, which is one of the best waterfalls in the state, and perhaps on the entire East Coast. The Caney Fork River runs down the eastern side of the park and there is a beautiful sandy beach and a boat launch available from the park.

There are four main hiking areas in the park, but we took a trail called “Moon Shine Trail” (moonshine to us locals). It is just ½ a mile long, but winds itself down into a valley filled with wildflowers and back out again. You will also pass an old cinder block foundation where a “still” once operated years ago. You have to look closely to see the site because of the dense undergrowth. The old block is covered in moss and it blends into the foliage perfectly.

I’m not sure where we’ll go next, but you can be sure my old Nikon will be there with me so you can enjoy it too!

BACK ON THE CUMBERLAND TRAIL

Steve and Terri had not been to see the big rocks up on Black Mountain, along the Justin P. Wilson Segment of the Cumberland Trail, so we took them Sunday. Steve, particularly, seemed to have a ball and even had me climbing to greater heights than I dared before. You can see us displaying our manly strength from high atop one of the lone boulders! I even surprised myself and wasn’t even sore on Monday.

We discovered several more unusual wildflowers like this Pink Lady’s-slipper! I was so afraid I would mess up the shot, so I took several. My camera is set to auto-focus and sometimes it focuses on the ground behind a flower instead of dead on the bloom. However, this one came out great in all shots!

I picked up two chiggers and a tick, which makes three ticks this season between Judy and me! I know, but it’s been worth it!

This placing, looking out over Grassy Cove, is one of the most beautiful places in East Tennessee and I’m so sorry that we didn’t discover it until this year. We could have had so much fun as younger folks there…that is if we survived a fall from climbing up all the hand hold cracks!

We were off again Monday, so more on that next post!

LILY TURNS TWO!

We celebrated Lily’s 2^nd birthday today (Saturday). The storms that raced across western and middle Tennessee blew themselves out by the time they reached the Cumberland Plateau, and just let us have some much needed rain. By party time at 4, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and everyone was ready for a hotdog and some birthday cake!

Corey had rented an inflatable “bouncy house” and the kids loved it.

The tradition Tia and Corey began last year on Lily’s birthday was to have everyone party on the front lawn. With a pass-thru window from the kitchen, everything was handy right on the front porch. Tables were placed in the front yard, some in the shade, and Corey prepared the hotdogs!

Naturally, as do most kids these days, Lily was showered with lots of gifts of clothes, toys, and money!

Her Grandmother Connie (Corey’s mom) and Tia (Lily’s mom) stood capturing all the activities with movie cameras, while I snapped away with my still camera.

Corey recently purchased a new Canon video camera, and he was doing his best to capture all the traditional poses. Reminded me of myself back when he was little – it comes full circle!

Lily rarely gets to eat “junk” foods, but today she ate wieners, chips, and that delicious cake! Check out the bite being feed to her by her great grandfather Stevens! Mmmmm!

Most of the older folks at the party are from Connie’s family, and they are the ones I used to share events like this with when Corey was little. It is great that we all get along, and that I can again enjoy her dad, her uncles, and aunts again. Even my old buddy Bill Powers (black shirt in the porch shot) was there and we reminisced about our college day fun, and how we used to race riding lawnmowers!

So we all thanked Dora the Explorer (the cartoon character) for stopping by and making it a great birthday for Lily!

Oh yes, we would like to thank the people down by the lake playing AC/DC so loud for us. Since they are one of Corey’s favorite groups, it added to the overall enjoyment!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE LILY!

ME AND MY LITTLE MOMMA

I try and visit mom at least once a week, but I do call her every night. She is 81 and has been alone now for over 2 years, and I’m afraid she might fall or get too weak from not eating enough and not be able to get to the phone. Last week I panicked, after trying to call her on the phone and her cell well after 10 PM. So, we dashed over to her house, some twenty minutes away, and got no response at the door. I used my spare keys and went inside. The house was dark, and I so afraid to go into her bedroom. In my mind, I could see her lying on the floor or crumpled in the shower, and as Judy held her breath I flicked on my flashlight and walked through the house. She was not there!

I was about to call her neighbors when I decided to try her cellphone once more. “Hello?”

“Where in the hell are you?”

“Well, I’m just about home, where are you?”

“I’m standing in your living room!”

“I was afraid of that. I went to the concert at Roane State I told you about, and had to turn my cell off. I thought that you may have called and I turned it on as soon as I could. Sorry.”

“That’s okay…you’re alive! We’ll be here when you arrive.”

It all worked out well, but reinforced the idea of an alert device for her, so that if she falls “…and can’t get up…” at least she will have a way to summon help. This happened to Ron Southern a couple of weeks ago, so I’m going to lobby hard for the purchase.

I am about to go over now and check a leaking toilet for her (update – fixed). I know we’ll end up out in the yard looking at her prize flowers, like her fringe tree and irises. She still piddles in the yard, cooks, cleans her own house, shops, and sometimes drives to North Carolina or Alabama to see my brother or hers. I just wish I had gotten the skinny gene from her, but alas I got the barreled-chested, round man gene from dad!

Mom is having cataract surgery the 6^th and there have been at least 3 preliminary post-op visits that I’ve taken her since they dilate her eyes. But most of the time she makes it to all her appointments without any help or concern.

I’m having the last of a series of dental visits around the same time. It seems that she and I both require a lot of maintenance these days!

Bruno, FHB, and Goddess are always teasing me about how I seem to always have my camera…well, it’s true…I miss little! I’ve learned that there is a lot out there to blog about, and I’ve also learned that you can’t document your life enough. Judy has asked me a couple of times this week about something we’ve done and it’s just not there! Old-timers? Hmmm…could be…but I rarely forget anything I’ve taken a photo of…like these I took at the dentist yesterday while I was waiting!

I am amazed at the new technology this new guy has going on! His cute little help took x-rays of my teeth, but instead of film, they pop up on a computer screen right in front of you! Very cool...I couldn't resist sneaking these shots!

It turns out I have little cracks in two of my teeth caused by the expansion and contraction of the old filling metal. I had these filled, the first two I'd ever had, when I was 18 years old. He will replace that material with a new "composite" that chemically bonds to, and matches the color of, my teeth, plus it expands and contracts similar to enamel, which does not causes cracks! Great, I can continue eating ice and corn nuts like I've always done.

RETIREMENT WORLD

Ron, our Dragons, and I went to Knoxville’s Farmer’s Market on Market Square today, but it’s just a tad early for much to be happening. There was water cress, some homemade jewelry, and some baked bread, rolls, a hot dog or two, but no huge baskets of corn, tomatoes, peppers, etc. that I wanted to photograph. We'll try again in a few weeks.

However, it was not a complete disappointment, Ron and I began sampling beer at around noon, and finished up around 5PM!

We began with a Yuengling "Black and Tan" on draft, the first time I'd seen that flavor around these parts, and it was yummy.

It went real well with the Chicken Chorizo & Egg Enchiladas I had for breakfast just an hour earlier at Mimi’s Cafe! The girls shared a breakfast sandwich of eggs, ham, cheese, and bacon on Ciabatta bread!

Judy and Neena did some heavy shopping in Earth to Old City giving Ron and I plenty of time to slowly enjoy our brews and watch all the interesting people pass by on their lunch breaks. We also made our plans for the upcoming "Sundown in the City" performances for this spring and summer.

Sundown in the City:

May 15: North Mississippi All Stars

May 29: Robert Earl Keen with Jypsi

After forcing Neena away from the Channel 6 News reporter and camera (she just knew they were going to use her for a “man” in the street interview, but apparently they preferred the old man) we moved on to Mast General Store and perused the great outdoors clothing and accessories. The ladies walked through and touched everything they saw. They finally wore Ron down and he had to rest in one of the rockers…of course, I soon joined him, and forced myself not to buy any of their great selection of candy.

Later, we decided to walk on down to the Downtown Grill & Brewery for a White Mule (the lighter beer full of hops!) and a Downtown Alt (darker for me). After the second round the girls showed up and joined us. We shared some hot pretzels and another beer before moving on to O’Charley’s Restaurant for another round of appetizers (chicken quesadillas and pretzel crushed chicken fingers)! The Yuengling was served in 20 ounce glasses and they both went down great!

Judy and Neena drove us home and I’m sure Ron did as I did, sleep all the way! I was still asleep on the couch when the news ended!

It was just another great day in “retirement world!”

TIPTOEING THROUGH THE BACKYARD

Spring is here people…best one we’ve had for at least 3 years. This year there will be nuts galore on the oak, hickory, and beech trees! The pickings for the squirrels have been sparse the last 2 or 3 years, because heavy rains came every time just as the trees tried to release their prized pollen. No baby trees were made and the squirrels and chipmunks had to dip into their reserves or range further from home. Incidentally, there haven’t been too many new baby squirrels around either.

However, I suspect that this year the acorns, hickory, and beech nuts will be piling up in the driveway and bouncing off my metal roof! I suspect too that there will be many new baby squirrels and chipmunks chasing each other in the yard. Good thing Baylee is getting a little old to chase them far, or she would bring back their little pelts for me to pick up and toss in the garbage!

If you look closely to the left of the top merged photo, you can just make out Judy pulling weeds out of her yellow cannas bed, while I keep watch! Well, someone had to keep Baylee occupied, otherwise she would be lying right in front of Judy and mashing down all the young green shoots! You can see in her eyes that she could care less about flowers!

The azaleas, both in front and out back, have been there since the mid-seventies, pretty much as long as the old tire swing! Judy will not let me trim back the flower laden bushes and shape them up. So, they grow pretty much wild, as does the rest of the yard.

Jeff commented once that we must work our butts off in the yard, but the truth is, we do very little besides pick up dead limbs, cut up the trees that occasionally get blown down, and mow. We don’t really weed or mulch, we just mow very close and sit on the deck and admire God’s good works. After all, they were growing pretty well before man came along to corral and bunch them up into tight little color groups!

I don’t fertilize or aerate, like Corey, I just keep it mowed and mulch back in the fall leaves. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I remember reading something about how trees use up the soil in a yard and actually lower its level over time if you didn’t add back in what was used up! Makes good sense, and I figure that’s all the fertilizing it needs. It also makes for less raking!

Oh, I do trim off low hanging limbs, especially the ones that slap my hat off, waking me up, from time to time, while I mow, or those that poke me in the chins or ribs! I hate it when that happens! I also keep my grape vine pruned back, but I have yet to have a crop survive the birds…and I don’t really care. It’s not like I’m going to make wine or anything! I get a couple off each year, as I make my mowing rounds, and that’s about it.

The other merged shots either look toward the back of the house, or toward the lake, which has not filled up yet, but we can see the water getting closer every day. Once a spring the water covers the backyard up to the azalea line, and the carp come in and roll in their love tumbles in the grass! Its TVA land up to that mark anyway, but I mow everything down to the shore anyway. I keep hoping someone will give me one of those Florida air-boats and I can come screaming in off the lake and up into the yard! What a hoot that would be!

Well, thanks for walking around with me and enjoying spring. I’d love to share it with you any time – free of charge…’course you could bring some beer!