HOT PICKS

1The one-woman show “Rising of the Necessary Diva” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

2Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host Rossdafareye (rock/country) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

3The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host Nick Mac & The Noise (blues/rock) at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27.

4Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Mountain Gypsy (Americana) at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

5Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Kind Clean Gentleman (rock/blues) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26.

Virginia Creeper Trail. The parking lot on the outskirts of downtown was empty, a late afternoon train rolling by, its whistle echoing far and wide across the community. Throw on running shoes, strap on one’s gloves and warm toboggan hat. Jump onto the silent trail, only to quickly disappear into your restless thoughts.

I only wanted to do a little more than three miles, so I turned around at the 5K mark, the trail pushing between the physical dichotomy of a vast, empty farm field and new housing development area. On the way back, I passed by the local high school crosscountry team, the boys and girls squad huffing and puffing down the trail, teenage laughter and wonderment in passing.

EVENTS

Thursday, January 26th

Live Music with Andrew Wakefield 8pm - 10pm - Bluegrass, Folk, Old-time, Newgrass, Rock

Friday, January 27th

Live Music with Nick Mac & The Noise 9pm -11pm - High Energy Country, Blues and Rock

Friday, February 3rd

Adamas Entertainment Presents DEAD NIGHT with Lee Cram's Acoustic Grateful Gathering 8pm - 11 pm - Grateful Dead Cover Band

Saturday, February 11th

Live Music w/ TrancEnd 9pm - 12am - 90's & 2000's Cover Band

ScotsmanPublic.com

• 37 CHURCH STREET • DOWNTOWN WAYNESVILLE

@thescotsmanwaynesville

Mon-Thurs: 4PM-12AM | Fri & Sat: 12PM-12AM | Sun: 10AM-12AM curiosity, down Route 612 towards Oak Hill, West Virginia.

The final spot on “Hank Williams’ Last Ride” was Oak Hill. This small mountain town in the depths of Appalachia is where the country superstar was brought to the hospital and pronounced dead on New Year’s Day 1953. It’s a quiet community, a dot on the map to somewhere, anywhere. Fuel up and keep on truckin’. And yet, this place is immortalized in country music legend and lore.

The only sign of Williams’ last day on earth is a small marker in front of the library. Standing in front of the marker, it was 30 degrees and snowing. I had to brush the snow off the marker to read what it had to say. Within earshot of the marker is the hospital where Williams was brought to, all before being shipped back to his native Alabama for the funeral. One wonders how similar this cold winter day was to that fateful morning 70 years ago.

Crank the truck back up and meander along Route 19, back to the interstate, down the mountain ridges towards Virginia, only to stop into Abingdon for a quick jog on the

And, it was in that moment, more so in moments “like that,” where on really taps into reality, of what time and place actually is, you know? I started having flashbacks of similar jogs with my team when I was high school those many years ago up on the Canadian Border, our afternoon workouts trotting down trails mowed into endless fields behind our school.

At 37, those adolescent moments in real time were over half a lifetime ago. Sheesh. Has it really been that long? Visions of the same laughter and wonderment, where your whole future was out there, somewhere, waiting for you to chase and capture it. Everything seemed so simple then, as cliché as that sounds. And yet, it was, even if it seemed like a crisis every day of the week as a teenager figuring out their path in life.

Finishing the run, I returned to the truck. On the short walk back across the road to the parking lot, I realized my 38th birthday is just around the corner. Once again, Feb. 5 has snuck up on me, where sometimes I forget what day it is, at least until beloved souls send wishes of good health, vibes, friendship, and love. The clock keeps ticking, thankfully. The adventure continues, and with gratitude.

Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.