Loose Laces

Holston Mountain

A while back, Carolyn asked me if it was a good idea to say some of the things I put in this blog. I told her that no one paid much attention to what old people say or think. They just write me off as a crackpot geezer. I watch young people whenever I can doing the things they do, and I'm not one bit envious of their youth, but I do envy their knowledge. Kids these days seem so much more savvy than we did when I was a bopper. Of course, if I'd had then the knowledge these youngsters have now, I would be a worse smart-assed old fart than I am.
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So far, the big DC giveaway seems to be backfiring, but the deed is done and worse is in the works. Bush is remarkable as president; only he can be the most unpopular president in the history of history, and still get a Democratic controlled Congress to cater to his every warped whim. This is one sick country!
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Carolyn and I drove to Wilbur and Watauga dams yesterday, hoping to see a lot of leaf color and a lot of ducks on the little Wilbur impoundment. No migrating ducks, and very little color ... yet. From the river, we drove on up to the Blue Hole, but the creek is dry from the drought. We proceeded to the top of Holston mountain on a narrow road that has been partially paved since I was last there last in the late 80's. Not much color on the mountaintop either, just in spots. Frost has certainly been there though, as the ferns have yellowed. The gate to the old fire tower is closed and locked, so we went toward the tv towers. I stopped and paid my respects at the moument to the Air Force aviators whom died in a crash in the 70's. They liked only a few feet clearing the top of the ridge, but that few feet was as good as a mile. They were flying an F-4 Phantom, which happens to be my all time favorite jet fighter. Seems like every decade has some crashes on Holston mountain, and this one is no different. A small plane crashed there within the past year or so, killing the people aboard.