And so we come to the last official long week-end of the summer. They seem to get shorter each year. I hope you have had a wonderful summer, and are looking forward to the coming fall season.

Here’s to the working man that goes to work every single day whether he wants to or not. Who labors day in and day out to pay the bills and put food on the table. And who hasn’t lost their faith in this great country we live in. Those who still believe that if you work hard and treat your fellow man the way you want to be treated, that you can achieve greatness. Those who still carry their faith with them in their hearts, and let it guide them through the tough times.

Here’s to all of the hard working people of the world! It is your day! Let’s celebrate it with passion!

I have been thinking about the prejudices we sometimes feel when we see interracial couples; even though we sometimes don’t realize it. We think we are very open minded and not prejudice at all, but sometimes when we explore our true thoughts, we discover hidden prejudices we never realized we had. It inspired me to write this poem, and I hope you enjoy it.

I Thought About Love Today

I thought about love today

And how strange it can be

It doesn’t come in only one way, you see

It has many shapes, sizes, and colors

It isn’t a “one size fits all”

I thought about love today

I wondered how it ever finds you along life’s way

Were you coming, going, or was it there all along

You just couldn’t see it through all of life’s fog

Then one day you opened your eyes

And stood still for a while and realized it was there

You wondered how long it was hidden in your soul

You had ignored it until now, but it was out of control

It demanded to be free

Because that is the way love must be

I thought about love today

Well, I hit another small town festival this past week-end. It seems that I have been doing that a lot lately. They were celebrating “The town that wouldn’t drown” in Butler, TN. Sixty years ago the TVA flooded the town of Butler, TN, forcing people to relocate. Today they have a museum to celebrate its history. And every year they have “Old Butler Days” to celebrate their town and keep its memories alive.

With the usual crafts and vendors, I met some very interesting people. I met two fellow authors that I enjoyed meeting very much.

I met Jerry Vencil, the author of Old Jonah’s Book of Tales. He was dressed in “mountain man” fashion and he looked every bit the part he tells and writes about. He says that he is not really an author at all but a storyteller. He loves to tell tall tales. And judging from what I saw, I bet he could tell some real whoppers! He writes his books in the Appalachian Mountain dialect as a way of preserving the language and passing it on to future generations. He also had some other books that looked very interesting. One was a cook book that a young boy was reading and laughing uproariously at. He found the dialect very amusing! If you would like to buy a copy of one of Jerry’s books, you can visit his website at www.TallTaleTrails.com. Yes siree! That mountain man sure wuz a sight for sore eyes!

Another author that I met was Richard Stanberry, the author of The Lost Romanov Files. He also has a sequel to the book and is working on a third one. His book is about a group of American soldiers serving their country in Germany during the Cold War years of the 1980’s. While they are there, they stumble upon an old tunnel where they find buried treasure, and how it changes their lives forever. Richard told me that he had written a “secret code” into the book, but no one had been able to crack it yet. He was a very funny guy. He has a great sense of humor. If you would like a copy of his book, it is available directly from the publisher at www.publishamerica.com or at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble or online internationally. I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more from Richard Stanberry!

So as you can see, festivals are just not for eating barbecue and listening to music, although that is a lot of fun. It is also a great way to meet interesting people!

Yesterday I got to do something really fun for all of us who remember berry picking. I went over the mountain and through the woods to Miss Ellen’s house.

Miss Ellen is one of the sweetest southern ladies you could ever hope to meet. She certainly brings back to mind the graciousness of the “Old South”.

She has one of the best patches of blueberries you have ever seen. Although the best of the season has passed, there are still plenty of blueberries to be had. She suggests coming early in the morning or later in the evening to avoid the problem of the bees trying to get their share. If you would like to claim some blueberries for yourself, you can contact Miss Ellen in Shady Valley, TN. Her phone number is (423) 739-3835. It is “ pick your own” for $6.00 a gallon. Happy berry picking!

The annual Virginia Highlands Festival is going on now through August 10th. If you haven’t had a chance to go yet, there is still time. There’s plenty of things to see and do. They have a great assortment of crafts and antiques.

It is located in historic Abingdon, Va. Their website address is www.VaHighlandsFestival.org.

If you do get a chance to go, I hope you will go by the Arts Depot and view and vote for Jeannie Yates painting called A Bend In The Road. It is a beautiful pastoral scene. Jeannie is a wonderful up and coming artist, and I am sure you will love her work as much as I do.

There are many things to do at the Highland’s Festival. I hope you and your family enjoy spending some time there together.

Here we are in August already. One of the hottest months of the year here in the Eastern Mountains. I am not looking forward to the heat wave.

But let us remember our blessings and try to concentrate on all of the good things that have come our way. We are so fortunate in so many ways here in the good ole USA. Even with all of our problems, it’s still the best game going!