The Best Of Ellijay, Blue Ridge & Jasper Issue 11

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Bingo! Monday nights At Shanes at 6:30, Ellijay

Check Out www.TheBest OfEBRJ.com/festivals

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Open Mic Night! Every Monday at Rocco’s Pub

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ts 6:05am. I crawl out of bed and stagger downstairs. Swatting at light switches along the way, I continually blind myself room by room as if part of some sadistic ritual. The dogs, unfazed by human time of day assertions or the brilliant early morning explosive bursts of 60 watt light bulbs throughout the house, excitedly greet my arrival. It’s time for the morning dog walk. It’s midAugust with summer still firmly entrenched in the weather patterns but, despite the season, this is when it happens.

Stumbling through the outside darkness and tangled in dog leashes, I hear it first – a gentle breeze dancing its way through the tree tops. In the moonlight, leaves sway back and forth just ever so slightly and then my skin tingles as a cool breeze softly pushes its way through the humid, August morning air. Senses heightened momentarily before the thick, warm air regains control over its season.

The first harbinger of fall, although still over a month away as I write this, has greeted the higher elevations.

There will still be days where temperatures reach the upper 90s and I’ll most certainly scorch my face with sunglasses left exposed to the sun in a parked car all day at least a few more times, but I know fall is near.

The welcomed cooler temperatures of fall, the deep blue skies and transformation

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of lush greens to vivid reds and oranges and yellows paint the mountains a spectacular patchwork of colors while creating a daily invitation to explore the miles and miles of trails throughout the mountains of North Georgia.

Fall, for me, is all about being outside. Mountain biking, hiking, camping – and any other activity I can think of that gets me into the great outdoors. Heck, during this time of year, yard work even becomes enjoyable and, of course, early morning dog walking. During the fall, the mountains of North Georgia are beautiful regardless of where you are but I do have a few places I make a point to visit each year.

One of those places is Springer Mountain. This Gilmer County trail is located on Forest Service, (FS), Road 42 and climbs from there to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail atop Springer Mountain. It’s a shorter hike and you’ll likely see a good many other hikers here on the weekends.

If seeking a trail a little less traveled, the Benton MacKaye Trail can be accessed from Springer Mountain about a ½ mile below the AT southern terminus. This trail provides several options for lengthening a hike while offering a nice change of pace and some great seasonal views along the way. Another such trail is Stanley Gap. Primarily though, the access points and options offered by this trail are the highlight for me. One such access point is located near Blue Ridge on Aska Road.

From here, the trail meanders through the mountains while offering access to other trails

such as Flat Creek and the Long Branch Loop.

Another Stanley Gap option is to begin from Deep Gap. This routes provides an accessible opportunity to enjoy views of Falls Branch Falls – a must see during the fall season. The Benton MacKaye Trail can also be accessed from Stanley Gap with the two trails sharing the same path for a distance.That said, it’s important to note that the Stanley Gap area should be considered an intermediate to advanced hiking and mountain biking trail with technical, strenuous sections throughout.

For something a bit more relaxing, the Amadahy Trail at Woodring Branch - just off Highway 282 at the Gilmer/Murray County line, offers a 4 mile scenic hike or mountain bike ride along the banks of Carters Lake. This trail offers spectacular, year round views of Carters Lake and is particularly beautiful when the vivid colors of fall foliage are at their brightest.

And, if you’re hiking or mountain biking around Ellijay, time must be spent on the Pinhoti. Categorized as an “Epic” trail by the International Mountain Bike Association, (IMBA), this intermediate to advanced trail offers a little bit of everything for both mountain bikers and hikers.

In the Gilmer County area, the Pinhoti has 4 primary routes between Fort Mountain and the Mountaintown Creek, (generally termed as Pinhoti 1, or “P1”,then “P2”, “P3” and “P4”) , with multiple route options throughout the Cohutta Mountain Wilderness Area with each being easily accessible from Gates Chapel Road.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

When in this area, Bear Creek Trail should be considered a must hike or ride. This trail is easily accessed by traveling FS Road 241 from Gates Chapel and intersects “P1” about a ¼ mile from the trailhead.

If fall leaf-looking by car is more your thing, the Cohutta Overlook is a must-visit. This overlook located just a short drive from downtown Ellijay on Highway 52 provides expansive views of the Cohutta Mountains and is simply spectacular in the fall. Also, the Bear Creek Overlook located on FS Road 68 – which can also be accessed from Gates Chapel Road in Ellijay, offers amazing views with Fort Mountain visible in the distance.

The “official” first day of fall isn’t until September 23rd but by the time you read this it will be close at hand. Summer will soon be ending and the most beautiful of North Georgia seasons will begin. My “must do” list is already written and I hope to see you on the trails!

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.

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LOOKING FOR SOME FUN THINGS TO DO? www.TheBestOfEbrj.com/TIPS

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Story by Jim Harmon Photography by Jim Harmon, Robb Newman & Knowpickens.com

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e are getting into my favorite time of the year. The weather will be cooling down to a wonderful temperature with crisp cool nights.

Not too hot and not too cold. With the change of weather comes many fun things to enjoy in the north Georgia Mountains of Gilmer, Fannin, and Pickens counties. Of course we are famous for our festivals. There are so many I made a list. All have great food, fun & music. But they all also have some things unique to them. Which of course means you have to visit them all! The Jasper Marble Festival has a tour of the marble quarry. Blue Ridge Arts in The Park has over a hundred artists selling their work. The Cherry Log Festival sells canned vegetables made by people in the town, and has a log splitting contest. Downtown Apple Arts has a lot of Art and handmade items for sale. Talking Rock has tours of their historical school house, and antiques for sale. The Apple Festival is huge and has a lot of everything. Last year they even had camel rides!

Fall is also corn maze time. Some are just a fun place to try and see if you can make it in and back out through the maze of trails in the corn rows. Or you might want to try a HAUNTED corn maze. I am just a big kid in an old body. I get a kick out of making myself up like a Zombie and playing the part in a corn maze. What fun it can be trying to scare people who think they can’t be scared! One time I just stretched out on an old pallet on the ground. I stayed real still right out in the open. The unexpected is what gets them. While I was being motionless, a group of teenage boys were walking down the path. They spotted me and started talking and wondering if I was real or not. One brave guy walked right up to me and with his flashlight, he looked me up and down while standing right over me. Soon he pronounced me as not real. That was my clue as to what to do next. I sat up real fast and screamed “I’m REAL!” All the boys screamed and the brave guy fell down on the ground and was kicking trying to get away from me. I still laugh thinking about how fast he tried to move backwards with a frightened look on his face.

Sometimes in my Zombie get-up, I would quietly fall in behind a line of people walking the maze. When I was two feet away, I would say something like “are you a nurse? Can you get my stitches out?” I had what looked like a big cut and safety pins holding the flaps together. Of course I hit my face with light from my flashlight so they could see me real good from right up close. I heard quite a few screams when I caught them by surprise. Thinking about it all, I would not mind doing the haunted corn mazes again, but my poor old knees could not take the walking the maze in the dark all evening.

So if you want to have some fun, try getting through a haunted corn maze or why not try being an actor in one.

Trick or Treating in the North Georgia Mountains is not like Trick or Treating in a big city. Many homes are too scattered and remote to go from one to the next. I have never had any costumed kids stop at my house in 12 years. We have our own way of Trick or Treating up here. All you have to do is dress up and head to one of the downtowns on the night they celebrate Halloween. The town will be full of youngsters and old folks, and everyone is dressed up. You can stop by all the merchants to get candy. There are also places where you can trick or treat from car to car. People pull up and park Jim as a Zombie next to each other with their trunk open, and that is the sign that they are handing out candy. Here is where the kid in me comes out again. I have been known to dress up like a Zombie and help merchants hand out candy.

I would hold my camera up in front of my face and suddenly lower it and capture the surprised look on the people’s faces. So if you have young kids that need a place to dress up and go out for candy, take them downtown!

One more fun thing is the parades. Check our website for dates and times for everything. Have a very Happy Fall and Scary Halloween. And watch out for Zombies, one might be me!

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If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

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What do ghosts eat for dinner? Spookgetti

OPEN MIC NIGHT: Rocco’s Pub In Jasper Every Monday at 7PM

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know the Woodbridge Inn has been serving amazing food for years. But if you haven't been there lately, you don't know what you are missing. You will still find all of your old favorites, but now the menu also has many new exciting, fresh, farm to table type meals and specials.

I recently went to WI with Robb and some friends and had an amazing meal!

We all know Hans Rueffert can cook, and write cookbooks, and appears on the cooking channel. He has so many successes in his life. But he also has had to struggle with illness a lot. I am happy to say that after another operation this year he is doing well. As a matter of fact, his wife just had their third baby! (Welcome to the world Heidi Berlin Rueffert!) So I was really happy when we got to go for a visit and dinner recently to catch up!

Chef Fay is a true artist with food.

She loves the fresh side of things, and I love her take on dishes. The food she serves tastes as beautiful as it looks! I had called ahead and asked her if she likes vegetarians, and she answered “I love vegetarians and I’ve made a mushroom risotto tonight, I’ll save some for you.”

Chef Larry is new to our area, and we were lucky to have him making delicious dishes for us. I was so glad to share this yummy dining experience with two of our best friends, Dave Brown & Pat Babin. Pat & Dave do join us a lot on adventures, in the air and on the waters, so we decided maybe a fun, but relaxing dinner on solid ground would do us all good.

We sat in a beautifully decorated, small comfortable dining room ( there are a couple different dining rooms, this is a house after all) with Drew as our server. We enjoyed an amazing experience from start to finish. It was a gourmet meal with generous portions. I don’t want to call it fancy. Personally, fancy is not my thing. You can

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wear jeans to WI, but the food, is top notch, and has such attention to detail that you can eat and enjoy every bit of it, because you are eating perfection.

The plate arrives looking like a tasty piece of art, with a generous amount of food. This is Top Chef food, with “we live in the woods” prices.

We started with some appetizers.

We shared a Bleu Blueberry salad, Also a Kase Spatzle (german mac & cheese), & THE BEST EVER french onion soup. Plus a special treat of heirloom tomatoes with scallops. Each thing we tasted was better then the last, or maybe it just seemed that way because it was all so good! I ordered a ribeye steak & mashed potatoes. Dave had a huge short rib with polenta.

Robb thought Wiener Schnitzel was the way to go. And Pat, my vegetarian friend, ordered an assorted plate with mushroom risotto, spinach and brussel spouts. Pat said, “The mushroom risotto was fabulous. We’ve been coming here for twenty-five years and it’s better than ever!”

Then Chef Fay, brought us an amazing treat of a dessert- a peach with delectable fluffy crispy crust and a flavorful whipped cream. Then the big finish, the finale of our show stopping meal, was bananas jubilee, which I’d never had before. I know it has bananas, rum, cream and flame! Drew caught it on fire a couple times so we could get good pictures! And it is absolutely delicious. This whole meal was so good that I wanted to go back the next day and eat it all again!

Let me end this by saying, THIS was one of the best meals I’ve had this year! I can’t wait to go back! 2 Forks Up! (706) 253-8500 www.woodbridgeinn.net 44 Chambers St, Jasper, GA 30143

"Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty." - Michael Dresser

Drew

Open Mic Night! Wed hosted by Daisy Chain at Pourhouse at 8:30pm

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Karaoke! Tues & Thurs at Rocco’s Pub at 7pm Jasper

Gilmer Arts Community Theater Ghost of a Chance. Oct 18, 19, 24, 25, 26.

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ere we are in another fall season. It’s a great time to be in the mountains. I hope you all had a good summer. The pollen is gone, the heat is gone and the leaf pickers are coming. I hope you are ready for some apples.

Just recently my wife and I took a road trip and I learned a few things that I want to pass on to you. They are helpful tips that you can use if you are planning to take a road trip. I’m not talking about making sure your tires are good or the oil has just been changed, or the check engine light is on, I’m talking about things you need to know that will make your trip safe and enjoyable. For instance: Let’s say you have been driving for a few hours and you have a few more hours to go. You are starting to feel sleepy. You think, maybe I should ask my wife to drive for awhile.

First helpful tip: If you look over to the passenger seat and she is snoring louder than the radio, don’t ask your wife to drive. Not a good idea. Second helpful tip: Look for the nearest Krystal Burger and pull up to the drive-thru and order six Krystal burgers with a large soda and a creamy dessert. After you are back on the road, eat those Krystal burgers as fast as you can. It will give you something to do while driving that will take your mind off the fact that you are feeling drowsy. Best of all, shortly after you are done eating the burgers, you will have such a bad case of heartburn that you will think you are having a heart attack and you’re going to die.

Trust me you will not fall asleep at the wheel while this is happening. You will be too busy looking for the nearest hospital sign. Hospitals are hard to find on the interstate, so chances are before you find one, you will realize you are not having a

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heart attack and it’s just indigestion, and the worst is over. Now drink the soda and enjoy your desert. It will help ease the heartburn pain.

Stopping to rest and getting a bite to eat is also a big decision while on the road. So here is my third helpful tip: Don’t stop for Mexican food at a place called “Montezuma’s Revenge” or “The Road Kill Café” or “The Lard House” these are not good choices.

My last helpful tip: Do not use your car GPS and your cell phone GPS at the same time to find a destination. Talk about getting confused. They will each have their own way of getting there and will be telling you to turn at different times and at different places. It reminds me of the old days when you were driving with your wife and your mother-in-law. Some things never change. If you take the first turn, the other GPS will tell you to make a uturn as soon as possible. If you do that, then the other one will tell you to make a u-turn as soon as possible. They will keep talking back and forth. At one point I could swear I heard them yelling at each other! If this happens to you, go to the nearest bar have a drink and ask the bartender if he knows directions to the place you want to go. Bartenders usually know everything. Just make sure the name of the bar isn’t “Freddy Krueger’s Bar and Grill”.

The following is a true story that relates to GPS and a road trip. My wife had to see a doctor to get a cortisone shot for back pain. We found a doctor in Dalton who would do this. This would be the first time we used this doctor so we didn’t know where he was located in Dalton. We used the car GPS. Her appointment was for 9:40

but she was asked to get there 10 minutes early to fill out a form. Because we were never there before, we didn’t figure on the traffic and were running a little late. We called the Doctor’s office from the road to let them know. When she arrived at 9:37 we were four minutes before the scheduled appointment, but seven minutes late for filling out the form. They said she had to reschedule because she was late. She decided she was not going to come back to this doctor. She asked for the notes that her Florida doctor had sent to this doctor to read. She was told she couldn’t have them.

Not starting out as a good day. We decided to have something to eat. I asked my cell phone GPS for places to eat in Dalton.

I picked out a restaurant and followed the GPS directions to a place that was boarded up and looked like it hadn’t been open for years. I picked out another restaurant from the GPS and when we got there we found out it had changed hands two years ago, and was now a Mexican place. We did not want Mexican food for breakfast. While still looking for a place to eat, I decided to go to a music store in Dalton. It was Wednesday and when I got there, the sign on the door said: Closed on Wednesdays. I then decided to go to my bank, which had a branch in Dalton. When I got there, the bank had been hit by a meteor and was on fire. Okay, the meteor thing is not true.

But with the day I was having, I was half expecting something like that to happen.

My final tip: Sometimes you have to say to yourself, “Life is good.” You have to learn to laugh when things and days like this happen. And finding a nearby bar like the “Doo Drop Inn” that sells food, is also a good thing.

Announcing The Gilmer Arts 2014 2014 Juried Holiday Card Design Contest! $100.00 prize Enter: gilmerarts.org

Feed Fannin is a wonderful organization that could use your support FeedFannin.com

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Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted.

What is your FIRST memory of eating a boiled peanut?

Albert: I can’t remember the first time. I guess it was just a part of life being from the south. I do recall my dad getting them for me at the county fair and along the roadways of North Ga. WHY a career selling boiled peanuts? What do you love about it?

I wouldn’t call it a career. It is more like a hobby. I love meeting all types of people.

I’ve heard you won an award, tell us about it.

It was the Gilmer Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year. I am very involved in all the festivals and Downtown events and helping with the vendors.

What is your funniest story that you tell people about something that happened in your business?

Once, this lady had her son with her, around 11 years old. He wanted boiled peanuts. His mom told him he could not have any junk food until he ate lunch, so she proceeded to get him 2 corn dogs from the vendor beside us. I guess some people just don’t know how nutritious peanuts are.

Also, I was selling peanuts on the square in Ellijay where some people pull up to get peanuts. A hearse pulled up, rolled the tinted windows down, and ordered 3 bags of peanuts and only 2 people in the car. Go figure.

How many boiled peanuts do you think YOU eat in a year?

A bunch. I have to sample every couple of hours while boiling them. It takes 24 hours. I love being the sampler. When selling, I eat them a lot. I sell regular salted boiled peanuts and spicy peanuts.

What do little kids say when you hand them and they eat their first ever boiled peanut?

Most kids really like them when they first try them. The older kids usually ask for a bag. We hand out a lot of free samples when people make the statement that they have seen them all over the south, but have never tried one.

Where can we find you and your peanuts?

We do all the festivals in Ellijay and a few in Blue Ridge. If you see a festival going on, just stop by and ask any vendor, “where is the peanut man”, and they will point you in my direction.

OPEN MIC NIGHT: The Pourhouse In East Ellijay Every Wednesday at 8:30PM

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hen I was a young boy, fall brought two disappointments: school always started the day after Labor Day (back then), and I had to begin wearing shoes once again. What got me through it was the anticipation of 15 September, which was the first day of squirrel season. I was always up before daylight every Saturday after the season began. I’d wake up daddy so we could go out together. It had been our ritual since I’d turned ten years of age. But one year he surprised me. I knocked on the bedroom door, whispering softly so I wouldn’t wake mother, “Daddy, it’s time to go hunting.” He didn’t respond as I expected. Instead he said, “Son, why don’t you just go on by yourself?” Stunned and excited, I just whirled around and left before he had a chance to change his mind. Every Saturday after that I always invited him knowing he would give me that same response, “Just go on by yourself.” This went on until I turned seventeen.

Now that I think back on it, I realize that through his actions, not words, he was saying, “I trust you son.” After that I tried to be in the woods as often as I could. I need to tell you some of my daddy’s rules. I had to eat whatever I killed, and he only gave me three rounds at a time. If I got a squirrel or a rabbit, he would give me three more shells. If I wasted them by shooting too quickly or before I was within range, he wouldn’t give me anymore shells for the remainder of the season. And yes, I know what you’re thinking -- indeed I did find that out the hard way. That particular year I had to buy my own ammunition. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Queen, who owned the little store next to West Fannin High School, I wouldn’t have been able to hunt that entire year.

He felt sorry for us boys and would open the box of shells and sell them individually to us. I remember his price for each 16 gauge shotgun shell was eleven cents. Daddy had trained me well as the most I remember buying at any one time was three. I guess I’d learned if there was a will, there was a way.

When I was sixteen I began hunting with Gerald, James and Gene. Gerald had a friend who had a squirrel dog, which enabled us to hunt larger areas in a lot less time. After a few weeks, I was hooked. I wanted my very own dog.

That was the main conversation when the three of us were together. One Sunday Gerald came running down my driveway to deliver me some fantastic news. One of his church members had a red-bone hound who had had puppies a couple of months before and he wanted to get rid of them. All we had to do was go pick them up. That turned out to be a bit of a problem, as it was fifteen miles away and we had no transportation. The puppies were near Galloway Road close to the river. Remember, daddy had taught me if there was a will, there was a way. It might have been fifteen miles by road, but by the way a crow flies it was just about three miles, which was more manageable.

That meant we had to go straight through the woods and forge Sugar Creek in order to get there.

Half a mile west on Galloway, we

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would need to turn up a narrow one-lane dirt road leading to the puppies’ home. We took off at a pretty good pace and we got even faster the closer we got. As we navigated the dirt road, I could see an old man in a rocker on the porch. I remember thinking he looked really old – he had to have been at least fifty years old! As we got to the edge of his yard he hollered, “What are you boys up to?” Gerald answered, “Mr. Green, we’d like to have two of your red-bone puppies.” He laughed, “You’re too late. I’ve only got one left, and he’s the runt. Do you still want him?” We both answered in unison, “Yes sir!”

He pulled a half dollar from his pocket and said, “Tell you what I’ll do, I’ll flip this coin to see which one of you gets the dog.” Flipping it high over our heads he yelled, “Gerald, call it.” He answered, “Heads.” The coin fell on the bare red clay and it was tails. I was the proud owner of a full-blooded red bone; and of course, I named him Red. It was months until squirrel season started again, but that didn’t stop me from taking Red to the woods. I’d always helped daddy train his rabbit dogs but was totally inexperienced when it came to a squirrel dog. Gerald came up with a good solution. He borrowed his friend’s experienced dog and we’d take them to the woods almost every day over the summer. By fall, Red was ready and so was I. For the four months of fall the Patterson household had another ritual. Sunday breakfast was gravy and biscuits with fried squirrel. I don’t believe for a second that anyone in the world could make squirrel taste better than my mother.

My self-imposed goal was five squirrels per week – three for us and two for Mamaw and Papaw Patterson. He loved squirrel brains. As a kid, I couldn’t believe he ate them. Now one of my many regrets is that I never gave them a try. Mamaw was the only person I knew that could cook them, so I guess I never will. There’s one experience I’ve passed up in life.

These days, I just watch the squirrels play and grow fat around my house. My wife has us on a gluten-free diet, so gravy and biscuits isn’t on the Patterson’s breakfast menu. Bottom line is her diet has given all of our squirrels a free pass. Every time I see one of them on the fence or running across the yard I’m reminded of when my life was so simple that just sitting under a hickory nut tree for hours was all I needed to be completely happy.

If you are wondering what happened to old Red, he found a new home.

When I went away to college, Red no longer had anyone to take him hunting. My Dad sold him to a loving family. I did miss him, but he got to continue squirrel hunting which he loved.

It wasn't school John disliked it was just the principal of it.

Why do vampires need mouthwash? They have bat breath...

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Walnut Mountain Craft Fair Nov 8-9 9am to 5pm Info call Marjory 404 641 7565. Booth space available

LIVE - FREE Music! (plus a dab of comedy)Gilmer Arts “ACOUSTIC BLENDS” Every 3RD Friday Of The Month at 7PM

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his summer’s fishing was hot beyond belief and yes, I am talking about the temperature, folks! Some of the best summer fishing I’ve had was at night, while fishing a few tournaments on Lake Sinclair in middle Georgia.

Also, I hosted my sixth tournament, Bayou Betty’s (BB) Hot Summer Night Tournament, on June 20th and my partner and I won with about ten and a half pounds. We fished from 7:30 PM until weigh in at 2:30 AM. This was the first time I have ever won one of my own tournaments! It only took hosting six of these jokers to finally win!

My BB tournaments are the best because they are free to fish but you can win all sorts of awesome fishing swag from our sponsors!

My night time fishing partner and I fished in another night tournament on Sinclair and took third with fifteen and a half pounds. One method we found that seemed to work for us was fishing the dock lights with crank baits and following up the cranks with a fineness worm on a jig head aka the shaky-head. Once the sun goes down and it’s good and dark I would start fishing where the fish can see your bait and one such spot is under the dock lights. Lake Sinclair is great for this because of the many docks on it. So when out for some night fishing, look for the lights and that doesn’t mean the moonlight. If you’re on a lake without many dock lights, you might try fishing something noisy on the top of the water. If the top water bite isn’t happening, try a rattle trap or a loud, flashy crank bait. You want those fish to hear you, so they are drawn in by the sound and hit your bait. If you do switch over to fishing worms and other soft plastics, you want to think smelly plastic! I recommend dipping soft plastics in JJ’s Magic so the fish will be able to smell your bait from a mile away! This is the first year I have targeted bass at night, so that’s about all I can tell you. Just remember the adage that always applies especially at night, bring them in by sight, sound and never forget smell!

My daytime fishing this summer consisted of tournaments with the Flint River Bass Club. I hardly saw any early morning top water action this summer. Any top water action for me occurred in late afternoons or early evenings. Unfortunately, this was after the tournament ended. I have however, managed to stay up in the rank-

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ings with the club despite having to miss a few tournaments because of my film production work.

I even have the opportunity to fish in the club’s top six at a BASS tournament on Halloween this year on Lake Eufalua. The BASS tournament is a two-day event where all sanctioned clubs send their best six to represent the club and normally I would be all over fishing it. I’m torn however because that is the same day of the broadcast premiere of the television show I’ve been working on. The show is called Edgar Alan Poe’s Mystery Theatre and it’s just brilliant. I know I will be off the water by the time it comes on but I had really hoped to be with the awesome cast and crew in Atlanta and watching the show premiere with them. I just don’t know what to do!

Edgar Allan Poe’s Mystery Theatre is a historical drama that will air October 31, 2014 on Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). I am thrilled to be involved in such an extremely well-written, beautifully acted and directed show. My role is on the producing side of things. To do that well, you pretty much have to understand all the departments and how they work together as crew. You have to fix any problems that come up so that others can do their job effectively. This requires wearing several hats on a project. Luckily in my twenty years of filmmaking I have worked in just about every position on a film set. I guess that’s why producing comes natural to me. For this project, I started with finding locations, which meant heading away from current civilization. I was looking for 1840’s Richmond Virginia; a tobacco plantation owned by Edgar’s would-be adopted father, John Allan. The journey took me down to Hazlehurst, Georgia ultimately to a house my dad designed and built in 1972. I know what your thinking, how does my childhood home from the early nineteen seventies pass for the mid- eighteen hundreds? Well, the house was inspired by a home built in 1831, Chretien Point, just north of Lafayette Louisiana. It was a special treat to be able to use this house as my dad has been sick and I knew this would mean a lot to him. I was even able to get him a small role in a pivotal scene. I also enlisted a few of my talented friends, friend’s children and even some of their four legged friends to work on the show.

GILMER ARTS FALL CLASSES SCHEDULE - www.thebestofebrj.com/gilmer-arts 0r GilmerArts.org 706-635-5605

I particularly enjoyed this project because the crew jelled so well together. Everyone brought their little jars of magic to this show. It’s special when the art speaks louder than the paycheck, and egos go to the way side, so everyone is able to shine at what they do. It’s beautifully photographed and the locations are a character in themselves. I think it has the potential to really take off. It’s surely to be a favorite among Edgar Allan Poe fans and any others that like well made historical television. So please check out the show on your local GPB affiliate on October 31 and be sure to let them know if you enjoy the show! At this point, I’m still torn on whether or not I’ll fish the tournament or watch the premiere.

It’s tough having two passions that border on obsession…

Be sure to like our facebook page at www.facebook.com/PoesMysteryTheatre

Bayou Betty and her Dad

Maybe you’re looking for love in all the wrong places? Homeward Bound Pet Rescue http://hbpr.org/

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GILMER ARTS ATTIC SALE! Sept 26 & 27 10-5pm - GilmerArts.org 706-635-5605 Members Preview Sept 25 10-5pm

What's a monsters favorite desert? I-Scream!

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very well known and much loved band around our North Georgia Mountains is the Pioneer Chicken Stand Band featuring Matty Croxton & Craig McGruff.

They play together as a duo, and sometimes as a full band. (Matty also plays solo.) PCS has a large and loyal following. If you hear them play just once, you’ll know why they have so many fans. They are talented musician and singers, funny and entertaining performers, and just all around good guys.

I did an interview with Matty and Craig so we could get to know them better, on and off stage.

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How old were you when you first picked up an instrument?

Craig: I was 11, and it was a snare drum in Junior High band. I continued on the drums until 9th grade and marched snare line. It wasn't until my first year in college at Auburn University that I picked up a guitar. One of my roommates had a $100 acoustic guitar that I used to wear out until I learned how to play a few chords. I drove both my roommates bananas! I knew I was on to something and it felt pretty natural to me to play and sing. I knew I wanted to do something with that, but I wasn't sure in what capacity.

Matty: I was infatuated with Mom's piano as a kid, and I would sit on the bench with her and sing along as she played. When I was 11, my oldest brother, Ryan, gave me a bass guitar. I dabbled on the bass until

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Photos by Robb Newman Story by Thia Newman

Who’s the most important member of a ghost’s hockey team?........ The ghoulie.

my dad brought me home a pawn-shop acoustic 6string when I was 15. That's when I really started having fun.

When did you realize you could sing and play?

Matty: On the night Dad brought home the acoustic. I dug through Mom's sheet-music books and found one with Beatles songs. That was how I learned chords. "Eight Days A Week" was the first song I learned to sing and play, and my folks were ecstatic!

How did you decide that being a musician would be part of your life?

Craig: It's true what they say that music is a drug.

It feels good. It tastes good. It smells good. And every now and then, it might be a little lucrative!

Matty: Haha! Officially? When I left my job selling auto parts in early 2010. I was fed up working for "the man" and decided that I wanted to make a living doing something I was truly passionate about. I'm stubborn. It's been a struggle, but it has definitely started to pay off.

Do you see being a musician as your lifetime career?

Matty: There is no doubt in my mind. I'm just a dumb kid that didn't go to college! My heartand-soul is playing and writing music.

How long have you been together?

Craig: Somebody asked me this the other day and I had to think for a while, but I think a little over four years.

Who are the members of your full band and what instrument does each person play?

Craig: I sing, play guitar and piano. Matty Croxton plays about every instrument known to man but in Pioneer Chicken Stand he plays bass guitar and harmonica and sings. Derek Day plays drums and percussion. About half of the time we perform, we have guest musicians play with us. John Kulinich from Rolling in the Hay plays electric guitar. Rurick Newnan from Whiskey Gentry sits in on the fiddle and multi-instrumental Paul Crawford from Fort Payne, Alabama has been playing mandolin, saxophone and banjo recently.

How did you come up with the name and why did it change from Chick’n to Chicken?

Matty: It's actually from the Warren Zevon song "Carmelita.” Pioneer Take-Out was a chain of chicken restaurants around California in the 1970’s. Zevon references the "Pioneer Chicken Stand" in the song. The apostrophe in "Chick'n" was just too confusing and venues were spelling it

Trivia! with Howie on Tuesday at Fightingtown Tavern at 7pm, Blue Ridge

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"Chicken" anyway, so it just made sense to change it.

Is being a musician your full time job?

Craig: I work for an environmental consulting firm based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Matty: Yes, and I say that with pride! I also like to restore and resell antiques and cars, but those are just hobbies. Music pays the bills, and I'm grateful for that!

Are you married with children?

Craig: I am married to a very understanding woman that allows me to play music whenever I want! Love you babe! I have a gorgeous three-year-old daughter named Teagan Rose.

Matty: Let's just say that I've got it pretty good. I would love to be married and make some Matty babies someday though!

Is it hard to have a family and play out?

Craig: It is tough being away from the family but it's very fulfilling for my soul. I told my wife like this, I could be out hunting or fishing or playing golf and spending tons of money but I am actually making money and bringing it home! I think everyone has something that makes them feel fulfilled. My wife loves to exercise and run so I understand, that is her "music" How different is your life because you live on a night time schedule?

Matty: Well, I haven't gotten a tan all summer! Sometimes I'm even up late enough to catch "I Love Lucy" at 5 a.m. I do feel most creative in the wee hours of the morning though. Call for help if you see me out-andabout before noon!

What would you classify your music as?

Rock? Country?

Craig: That is a tough one. There are definitely overtones of all of that involved in our music. Our band focuses on singing especially the harmonies and isolating those so whatever kind of groove or style will fit around the vocals is what we would describe ourselves so yes, I just tiptoed around the question!

Mountain folk-rock?

Do you write and play original music? Like what?

Matty: Yes, although the hardest part for me is finishing a song and being content enough to call it "done". My songs are usually very personal, written about first-hand experi-

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ences. Craig and I have both collaborated and written together as well. "Preacher Man" and "Blackout Betty" are both songs about experiences with people at my favorite bar, The MainStreet Deli back in my hometown of Fort Payne, Alabama. There is also a lot of new material to be put-down in the studio for our second album, and hopefully even a solo album of my own!

How do you decide what songs to play?

Craig: Initially we had a predetermined list of songs that we were going to learn but a lot of it is trial and error. You try certain songs to see if they will work and if they don't you drop them or maybe bring them back from the dead later on. Sometimes we come up with crazy ideas and try to mess with the original arrangement of the song and put our on spent on it. We love taking songs from the 70s and 80s and putting a country or Bluegrass feel to them. That is kind of our bread and butter.

Where do you see yourself and the band in five years?

Craig: Well, we just finished our album so that is in the process of being replicated as we speak. I hope we continue to write, perform and get our music out to people. I have this crazy dream that we are going to be playing at some random spot and somebody (producer) is going to be in the crowd and approach us after the show‌ Yeah, I know, it's hokey.

Matty: Winning a Grammy, of course! Just kidding....but seriously, I just hope to still be fortunate enough to be making a living as an entertainer.

What is the funniest thing that ever happened while you were performing on stage? Craig: Matty tried to run up to the stage and tripped and took a very big spill! It was classic! Oh, it was on his birthday as well!

I could go on but I am assuming that this will be a G rated article!

What is the best thing about playing music in the North Ga mountains?

Matty: There really is something special about the people here. They are so appreciative of good live music, they listen, and most of all, they taught me to be an entertainer. I love this place! www.facebook.com/PioneerChickenStand

What is a pumpkin’s favorite sport?........ Squash.

Blue Ridge Art Center Emerging Artists Exhibit Oct 18-Nov 15

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SEE: “Let’s Do Lunch” at the Cornerstone Cafe on Page 70

LOOKING FOR SOME FUN THINGS TO DO? www.TheBestOfEbrj.com/TIPS

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For as long as I can remember, my absolute favorite season of the year is Fall!

How can one not be totally mesmerized by all of nature’s beauty and the brilliant shades of autumn’s leaves. I am so obsessed with the leaves changing colors that I make it a point to watch multiple mountain web cams and call foliage hotlines around the clock beginning in mid October This helps me to strategize when I need to pour on the charm and nudge, I mean “nag” my hubby to take me up to North Georgia! With a moment’s notice I can pack a bag

Story and photography by Amy Kratish

and all my camera gear and hop in the car and to head to our cabin.

My hubby and I usually take our SUV with heated seats up to Georgia. However, he gave me an ultimatum saying that the only way he would go to the mountains is if I allowed him to drive the entire trip in his convertible with the top down! What could I say? So, I hesitantly agreed and off we went.

Traveling with the top down in late October in Florida, was a piece of cake! It was actually quite refreshing. However, as we approached the Georgia line traveling 70 miles per hour, now that was a different story. I figured that I would try wrapping myself up in as many jackets and blankets as I could get my hands on. I tried to keep a smile on my face but I found that a bit challenging since my teeth were chattering. On our way up to the mountains we visited one of

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"My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor." - Phyllis Diller

my dearest girlfriends (my BFF) and her family. She convinced us to spend the night and in return, she would play hooky from work and join us on my foliage photo expedition. Little did she know that Marty was serious when he told her the driving stipulation.

So off we went on a day trip to Chateau Élan in Braselton, GA. What a beautiful and charming hotel and winery. The grounds were absolutely spectacular as was the buffet lunch and company. After spending the day at the winery, We dropped off my friend who I believe was quite happy to be home, thawing out from the drive. Marty and I then continued on to Helen, Georgia. We decided to spend the night and hike Anna Ruby falls the next morning. Notice how I was dressed for our hike and how my crazy hubby was in a light jacket and shorts. You must be sure to research and find at least one waterfall to photograph during your autumn photo pilgrimage. Be sure to take a variety of photos and zoom in and out with your lens. The texture of the rocks and rushing water along with the backdrop of the blazing autumn leaves is truly spectacular!

Another highlight from our fall photo safari was a day concentrating on reflections.Try finding a lake, stream or another body of water that you see is casting a beautiful reflection from the brightly colored trees. The larger the the body of water the more interesting your photo will look as you take a wider angled photograph. If you are lucky to get a day with a bright blue sky try to shoot the colorful trees against the deep blue sky. Some professional photographers and enthusiasts will use polarizing filters to attain this, I like shooting without filters and find it adds to my personal challenge. Autumn leaves will really pop out when using the blue sky as your canvas. I always try focusing on a single leaf or a small cluster of leaves, zoom in with your lens or stand very close in order to blur the background and change the depth of field. There is no right or wrong, just have fun.You are the artist now!!

I must not forget to mention that every fall photo expedition must include a child playing in the leaves, pumpkins and animals frolicking in the woods. It’s as if I am on my own personal photographic scavenger hunt!

In closing, zipping around the mountain in a convertible was quite a chilling experience. Saying I felt like a human popsicle most of the day would be an understatement. Although I must admit what fun it was to stand up on the seat and photograph the beautiful mountains as the leaves were falling onto us in the car. It was quite an interactive experience. We had an amazing and “cool” time taking fall pictures in the North Georgia Mountains. Heres hoping you all have a picture perfect day too!

Georgia Clay Council Exhibit, Sharptop Arts Carroll St Jasper Sept 12-Oct 10

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"Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often." – Johnny Carson

Trick or Treat on Main Street, Jasper, October 31 4pm-6pm Zombie Walk 6pm-9pm

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V

iola James was born to Henrietta Drennon James and Henry Robinson James on October 10, 1900. She joined a brother, Herbert, who was two years old. In six months, Henrietta would be dead from the Red Measles and Viola and Herbert would be motherless.

Viola was my grandmother, and she always had a very melancholy way about her. She would talk to me about sitting on the back stoop at her aunts and uncles when she was a little girl. Crying, she would hold a cat in her lap, which she felt was her only friend.

Her father, Henry, was a very young widow and remarried fairly quickly. Remarrying, he sired another daughter before wife number two passed away. He remarried again, siring another daughter before wife number three passed away. Are we seeing a pattern, or what? Because of this, my grandmother always felt abandoned. Her father and one of his new families moved to Louisiana at some point, and Mama Harper (Viola) went to live with them. Somehow, she (and her brother, Herbert), wound up in an orphanage for a period of time.

Rescued by aunts and uncles, they came back to live and grow up in Gilmer County. I’m not sure how Viola met my grandfather, Daddy John, a.k.a. John Henry Harper, but I know they courted in a horse and buggy back and forth to church. They married in July of 1919, when Daddy John returned from fighting in World War I. He was a month shy of his twenty-fourth birthday, and she would turn nineteen that upcoming October.

Daddy John always “petted” Mama Harper, giving her whatever she wanted if he could. They seemed to have the kind of marriage that gave each partner equal footing, though. I never saw him boss her around, nor did I see her be short with him. Maybe they behaved around the grandchildren and bickered in private.

I do know she got really angry with him one time.

An incident occurred two or three years before Daddy John died. It was on a Sunday afternoon and Daddy John was watching football. Mama Harper got up to go feed the chickens. Coming back, her femur snapped, causing her to fall. It was raining. She swore he didn’t come looking for her until the commercials came on.

When first married, they farmed for a bit with Daddy John’s family, but heard of greener pastures in Ohio, where work was supposed to be plentiful and well paying. Of course that dream was not reality, and Daddy John became so ill they had to return home. They already had a child. Macile was born in 1921; she was a toddler when they returned to Geor-

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gia. They had a second daughter, Mary Nel, born in 1926. Their last child was my father, James Leon, born in 1929.

They raised their children in town; Daddy John finally settling in on selling groceries for a living.

Mama Harper and Daddy John lived a life together.

They raised their children, ran a business, cooked and kept house, went to church and stayed married for sixty-three years. Mama Harper loved animals.

She always had a cat or two, and for many years had canaries or parakeets. She had one parakeet that would stand by her plate at breakfast and she would scoot him biscuit crumbs to the edge of her plate, where he would greedily eat. He kissed her cheek and said a few words, too.

After they retired, they generally had a dog. In fact, the house they purchased when they retired came with a Beagle named Trixie. I know she had at least one litter of puppies, because I was enthralled with it all. But the dogs always stayed outside. The last cat they ever had was Mr. Peabody. (Guess who named him?) He was a small grey and white cat who lived outside, but was very friendly. He got one of his back paws caught in a trap at some point and lost a foot.

One morning, years later, Mama Harper saw him lying in his favorite morning chair, soaking up the sun. She loved watching him sleep while she washed the breakfast dishes. That evening she glanced out the kitchen window and saw he was still there. When she went out to check on him, he was dead. He was twenty-one years old.

In their retirement years they took on the care of Mama Harper’s aunt, Arminda James. She was an “old maid” and really needed a steady place to stay, instead of being shuffled from one family to another.

Aunt Mindy was one of the family members that had help raise Mama Harper, so I suppose she saw it fitting to pay back the kindness. Aunt Mindy died around 1962 or 1963.

Mama Harper outlived Daddy John by five years, but certainly not by choice. The morning after he died, she came into the living room and announced she was never making biscuits again. That was her way of saying “I quit.” And so she did. In many ways, I lost them both at the same time. Because Mama Harper never really lived after Daddy John died. Her mental health declined, but her body stayed strong, in spite of her efforts. Finally, in the last few years, she was placed in a nursing home because she had made it so difficult for anyone to care for her. Her heart finally stopped just before her eighty-seventh birthday. What a relief it must have been to her to finally go Home and be at peace.

Two banks with different rates have a conflict of interest.

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Story by Thia - Pictures by Robb

M

y dad, Griz, was visiting from Upstate New York. He likes to do new and interesting things My friend Charle said she would like to try canning and did me the favor of finding out everything I needed to know about the Board of Education’s Cannery in Gilmer County, right by the high school.

Unfortunately for me ( a night owl), we had to be there in the morning to get started. So Griz, Charle, Robb & I arrived at 10:30 am, to a beehive of activity and yummy smells. People were readying apples, tomatoes and green beans for the process of canning. What is the process? Well I didn’t know much when I got there, but I sure learned a whole lot while I

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was there!

We prepared the day before, rounding up our supplies. Charle was doing a small batch of peaches. We wanted to do tomatoes. Robb loves tomatoes and we use them in most everything I cook. Now some people have the option of going out to their garden and picking them.

Well, my gardening options are limited to friends with gardens, so we opted for a visit to our local fresh produce market on Maddox, Papa’s Produce. Walter and Sue sold me a huge box of tomatoes. Sue also explained quite a bit about canning to me. The only other things we needed (thanks to my online research) were glass canning jars and lids, and some lemon

juice.

Okay, back to the cannery. The first thing that really impressed me about this place full of people doing their own thing along side experienced professionals ( Mike Bushy, Larry Young run the cannery) was that it was really clean!

Tons of stainless steel sinks, counters, pots, utensils, all sparkling, even the floor, clean!

That sure makes you confident, even though if you are like me, you are feeling kind of clueless about the process. The people working here are ready to show you the safe way to can and are totally knowledgeable about what they are doing.

First step, wash the tomatoes. Next blanch

We were so poor when I was growing up we couldn't even afford to pay attention.

them by putting them on a tray that goes in a steamer. When they are done, you can easily pull of the skin. Then we cut up the tomatoes and squished them into clean glass jars. We stirred in a squirt of lemon juice, put on the lid, and screwed on the cap.

The staff had given us step by step instructions to do it ourselves so far. But after marking our jars and putting them in big wire baskets we turned the process over to them, the professionals. Different types of canning takes different temperatures and timing. Our tomatoes were placed in the pressure cooker for thirty minutes at 210 degrees.

After the jars cooled it was time to take

them home. My dad and I decided we would give away about half of what we had canned that afternoon. It was fun to make labels and decide who we wanted to give some too. It was even more fun during the next week when we gave our cute little jars of tomatoes to friends who were very appreciate.

Canning is work, no question about it. But it is so worth it. I am looking forward to the rewarding feeling of having delicious fresh canned tomatoes all winter long that I made myself.

Charle and I decided that later this fall, we’ll be going back to the cannery. I’m wanting to do cinnamon apples and Charle is going to

make a much bigger batch of peaches. More wonderful items for my pantry and they will make yummy Christmas presents!

If you use your own jars, the charge is 40 cents per item for the cannery’s processing. Or you can use metal cans that are supplied for a total of 70 cents an item.

Open at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday between July and December. First right after you turn on legion road and it is tucked back on school property. Please call them for details.

706-276-5095 or 770-894-1373 for the Cannery. Or Mike’s cell phone 706-273-6393

Night of the Living Dead, Movie in Lee Newton Park Jasper Merchants Association Oct 31 at 7pm

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F

riday night you think it will probably be busy. So we arrived around ten minutes to five to beat the crowd, we’ll so did the other people, ahead of us! But the 10-15 minute wait was no big deal. Jolly Roger is always worth the wait. And since it’s a tiny place with about ten or twelve tables, it fills up fast. This was our fifth visit, and it is always a good experience.

Robb loves shrimp, and the shrimp at Jolly Roger is FRESH! Robb told me "Lots of times you get shrimp that has that “metallic” flavor, like an iodine flavor, you know what I mean? If you’re a shrimp lover you no doubt do. I am told it’s because of the wash they use when that rinse off most shrimp when they bring it on the boat, it’s a preservative, “Polysodiumplasticglycol” or something. Whatever it is, it gives the shrimp a funny and disappointing after taste. Not here. I have had the shrimp several times now and I will tell you that all you taste is that beautiful fried shrimp flavor."

We have always ordered the coconut shrimp as our appetizer and we did the same tonight, although we know we should try other things, it is just too yummy to pass up. Jumbo shrimp breaded with coconut and served with a sweet pineapple sauce, that Robb loves. I like my shrimp with cocktail sauce, and JR’s has the best homemade cocktail and tarter sauce right on the table. There’s a big squeeze bottle of each so you can use as much as you want.

On this visit Robb had the fried flounder filets, with red potatoes and coleslaw. I ordered shrimp scampi. I have never had it before. Along with rice pilaf and handmade creamy sweet coleslaw. It also comes with a couple of the best hush puppies. When our dinner arrived it was steaming hot.

Robb’s plate was piled high with filets.

There had to be four or five on there.

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It was a huge amount of food. My shrimp scampi contained large cleaned shrimp with just the tail part of the shell in a generous butter, garlic sauce that had some fresh herbs in it also. It was delicious! The scampi sauce was so good, Robb was dunking his potatoes in it.

Some other favorites we've had on past visits... for me, the crab legs, hot delicious crab legs, lol. I also had rice pilaf that went perfectly with my tomato/zucchini medley. And they brought me extra butter, which always makes me happy. Robb’s favorite over all is the fried shrip dinner. A huge helping of big fried shrimp, fries, hush puppies, an ear of corn and a dish of coleslaw. Robb says “The hush puppies and fries were very good.

The ear of corn was fresh. Not one of those frozen horse corn abominations. This was the kind of corn I wished I had 2 or 3 more of. “ Our server this evening was Tai and the service was excellent. Thanks Tai! After our huge feast, where we shared tastes of everything, we had to sample dessert. So even though we were stuffed we forced ourselves to try a delicious light refreshing slice of Key Lime Pie. Robb said "Great meal… yes, it was a truly great meal and I was stuffed by the time we were done. Complete satisfaction…. it’s a beautiful thing." I agree, we give Jolly Roger 2 Forks Up! for sure.

••• By the way, I should mention, Jolly Roger is also a fresh seafood market too. Rusty, the chef, sometimes gets Maine Lobsters. And he was nice enough to order some for me and steam them for me to pick up. So you can also get all kinds of seafood to go, either cooked and ready to eat or raw for your to cook yourself.

Jolly Roger Seafood Market & Grill (706) 276-2090 716 Industrial Blvd, Ellijay, GA 30540 Review by Thia - Photos by Robb

“When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.” ― Cathy Guisewite

SAAG National Juried Show at The Blue Ridge Art Center Nov 18- Nov 15

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S

ince I was a little kid I've always been ready for a trip. Every time I heard the car crank, I thought I had to be in it. I turned 21 years old driving an off road dump truck. My love for driving would prove to be a really good thing!

I'm glad I was sitting down the morning my friend Audrey called and told me that Taylor Hicks would be staring in Grease on Broadway! I was totally blown away. Up until that moment, New York City was nowhere on my bucket list of places I wanted to go... this was in the morning.

By the time I got off work that day, I was planning my first trip to New York City!

After the shock wore off, my focus turned to getting tickets since they were already on sale.

That was the easy part. What I dreaded was calling mom and explaining to her that I was flying to New York City, by myself. I was expecting a lot of yelling and possibly even a visit by men in white coats. I started the conversation with "Sit down!" Surprisingly, and to my relief, she was totally calm. She asked me who I was going with, where I was staying, just average things that moms like to know. I asked her why she was so calm about it after she had been hysterical over me driving just two hours to Tampa for that first show. She said she had gotten used to it by now and wasn't surprised.

What a relief that was!

Little did I know that first trip to New York was when I would meet my best friend, Diane.

She was from Toronto. She would tell me years later that she knew me for two years before she could understand me, but despite our accent difference, we got along just fine! She quickly nicknamed me Hillbilly and thus began the adventures of the Hillbilly and the Canadian.

New York City was a new world for me. It took a lot of getting used

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to, but I quickly adjusted and started having the time of my life! My favorite thing about the city was the double decker bus tour. Now, every time I plan a trip somewhere, I check to see if they have them. I also loved the horse and buggy ride around Central Park. It was beautiful and peaceful, seemingly a world away from the hustle of the city. If I lived there, that's where I would spend a lot of time. Time Square was like nothing I had ever seen. You can fall backwards trying to look up at all the lit up billboards! We spent quite a bit of time just walking around, taking in the sights. One of my favorite things to do when I go somewhere new, is check out the restaurant scene. I'm very picky about what I eat. I've never had a salad, or weeds, as I like to call them. I also don't like fancy restaurants. I couldn’t care less about garnish, I just want food that tastes good. All in all, I wasn't blown away by the restaurants there.

My favorite was Carnegie Deli that Diane had recommended. The turkey sandwich was amazing!

The main point of the trip was to see Taylor star as Teen Angel in Grease. I was excited to get to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre and meet up with my friends and see the show. This was my first time seeing a musical, so I really didn't know what to expect. But as with everything Taylor has ever done, he knocked his part out of the park! It was definitely different seeing him come out of an ice cream cone with a pompadour, but I loved every second, as did the whole audience! Of course I didn't go all the way to New York for one show. I saw three shows on that trip, but there would be two more trips to New York and I would see the Grease shows in New York, eight times!

I thought that last trip to New York was his last performance in Grease, but as it turned out, it was just the beginning! He went on a national tour with it and I wound up seeing the musical 30 times! To be honest, I was glad when it ended. I loved Taylor's part, but unlike his concert shows, all of these were the same.

While I was following Taylor, I got to know his manager, Clay Connor. Being a musician himself, I went to several of Clay’s shows. It was at one of these shows in Augusta, Georgia, that I met Craig McGriff and Matthew Croxton.

They were playing with Clay. He introduced us and they told me I should come see their band, the Pioneer Chicken Stand. I doubt they ever thought I would show up, but I was impressed with what I heard!

My first Pioneer Chicken Stand show was in Fort Payne, Alabama at the Main Street Deli. The first song they played that night was "Man Of Constant Sorrow" and I immediately knew I would be going to many, many more Pioneer Chicken Stand shows!

People often tell me I'm crazy for traveling to see music, but it's what I love to do. Several years ago, a friend told me I was nuts for wasting money on concerts and not have anything to show for it. That night he told his 86 year old dad my story. The next morning my friend came to work with a new outlook. His dad had told him that he had plenty of stuff, but now that he was old, the things that meant the most to him were memories.

In the next issue, we'll go on a family vacation cross country to Telluride, Colorado to see Taylor, complete with a detour to the Grand Canyon. Follow me through the Redwood Forest, and to the most beautiful place I've ever been! More great memories to make!

“Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.” ― Samuel Butler

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J

ust a short journey down Old 5 South to 382, head up 2.8 miles and then you turn )left) off onto Knight Road for a short ride past beautiful farms, pastures, cows, and horses, and then up ahead you see a Bavarian Lodge and fields of grapes ! It’s the brand new Engelheim Winery & Vineyard! Gary Engel and his wife, Jan, bought 62 acres in 2007. He planted his first vines in spring 2009.

Today, Robb, my Dad Griz and I had the chance to walk around the property and talk to Gary about his winery. I like wine. Red wine especially. I know the basics of picking a bottle out, but never really thought too much about how it was made. Today, I learned a lot!

Thia: Tell us about yourself.

Gary: My last name is Engel. I’m German, my wife is too.

Engelheim means Angel Home. This is a different vineyard. It’s kind of a ministry. The Depot in town, which is a half way house for men. I have guys from there working out here. We are out to touch some people’s lives. I am a retired full colonel from the US Army. I did 28 years. It’s a way to give back and make a difference.

Thia: What made you decide you wanted to retire, move here, buy all this land, work hard for five years to grow grapes to turn into wine?

Gary: I like living in the mountains and I can’t sit and do nothing. I wanted to do something where I could take care of the land, make a difference to the community, live the lifestyle I want to live, touch some people’s lives, love the lord and tell people about the lord when I’m out here.

Thia:: That’s a pretty wonderful retirement plan. Such a beautiful, peaceful place full of abundance.

Gary: God’s really blessed me. I get to live my dream.

When I was a kid my mom used to make homemade wine and give it away at Christmas time.

Thia:: You think that’s where you got the bug to make wine?

Gary: That and when I was in Germany and California and saw the vines and said to myself, I can do that.

The vines were packed with grapes. We did lots of picking and tasting and spitting. I learned it was okay to spit out seeds because they aren’t seedless grapes in a vineyard! There were many varieties, all different colors, types, sizes and tastes. When the grapes start to ripen netting is placed around them so they aren’t eaten up by the wild animals, like deer, bear and birds.

Gary: See how the cabernet sauvignon are smaller grapes? That means more skin.

Thia:: So you get more color?

Gary: You get more color. And you get more tannins.

So this small fruit, has less juice. When you do the initial

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fermentation on reds you leave the skin on for ten days to two weeks. ( he squeezes a grape) Look at the juice coming out of there, it’s clear. Wine is not clear is it?

Thia: No. Gary: The tannins come from the seeds. If you bite into one of the seeds you can taste the dryness in your mouth. The red skin imparts it’s color to the wine. So I need good color on the skins.

Thia: So red wine is red because of the skin. And white wine is white..

Gary: because I squeeze all the juice out of the white and don’t leave the skins. I just ferment the juice of the white.

Robb: You must have to hire lots of people with big clean feet to crush those.

Gary: That’s not quite the way we do it.

Robb: So all of these bundles of grapes have to be hand picked?

Gary: Yes. Robb: There is no machinery or international harvester?

Gary: Well if you had a hundred acres of grapes you could us that expensive equipment . But we are a boutique winery, so by hand is just fine. I can bring twenty-five, thirty people out here and harvest six, seven tons a day.

The Engel’s produced 22 tons of grapes this year. And according to Gary, you can make 800900 bottles of wine per ton. All the wine under the Engelheim name is grown there, which is an amazing accomplishment in itself. Many wineries purchase grapes to start making wines, and then to supplement their supply. Lots of times the first year’s wines are not anything special, because the older the vine the better the grape, is the theory. That is NOT the case with Engelheim. This is darn good wine, and as Gary said, if it’s this good already, can you imagine what it is going to be like down the road? I can actually.

This is the first time ever, I am going to purchase wine for now, and wine to hold on to.

Gary: This year I will have a stand alone Merlot and a blend called Trilogy. They tell us that here in Gilmer County we are growing some of the best grapes in Georgia. This is going to be some award winning wine.

You taste our wines and you will see they are well into the 90 point range. And it’s prices are very reasonable for the quality.

Thia: Gary, thank you so much for your hospitality, and the education on growing grapes and making wine.

And I just know your wine is going to be a huge hit!

(We sure enjoyed it!)

“You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out” - Jay Leno

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e spent some time with Justin McNeill on his parent’s land in Talking Rock. He told us the story of how his family got into wine.

Justin: My Mom’s grandfather, which is my great-grandfather, Stephan Meichtry, was a grape grower in Switzerland. He came over to the US in 1921 and moved to Maspeth, Queens, NY and had no where to grow grapes. So he built a trellis system that came up the side of his garage and over the top. He grew grapes for his own use. Once he came here, he never did it commercially again. My parents wanted to refocus into something else. So they decided they wanted to build a vineyard and a winery. We have 2 acres under vine right now, we hope to go up to around six. We want to keep it small.

Thia: What is that gorgeous building under construction ?

Justin: That is my parents house that is being built and there will be a winery in the basement. We are building a temporary tasting room in the barn, and then we will convert it to a permanent home when we build the tasting room on the knoll.

Thia: Justin can you show us around and explains how it will work?

Justin: Sure. The grapes will come up here to the crush pad, and we will put them through a two ton press, then get pumped into the winery. We will have stainless steel tanks on this wall and a barrel room in the back. This room is spray foam closed cell insulated and we will have a refrigeration unit that will have the ability to take this whole room down to about 36 degrees. That is important right after you harvest your whites to let them settle in here for about a week.

So you start with the cleanest juice possible. We will have a viewing room where you can watch the process. It will probably be another four or five months until this part is done.

Thia: What wine are you making?

Justin: We have bought grapes and will be making a Georgia Merlot, a Georgia blend we call Meritage, and a wine we are calling 46 Degrees North, in homage to my great grandfather’s home town, which lies on the 46th parallel. Those are our three reds. We will also have 3 white.

Thia: You don’t have your own harvest of grapes yet do you?

Justin: No, not yet. This is just second year.

Thia: So you will have your own wines, just not from your own grapes.

Justin: Correct, not estate grown.

Thia: How did you end up here, in charge of everything?

Justin: I was working for a company in Tennessee. It was a job full of stress. My parents said they needed somebody full time, and I said, I’m your man!

Thia: So what will your job be when you are open? Will you still be running everything?

Justin: I will be managing the vineyard and making the wine. My sister Courtney, who used to be assistant tasting room manager at Cartecay Vineyards, is going to run our tasting room stuff.

Thia: It’s wonderful how all the wineries cooperate together. It seems like the more the better, because it will draw in a lot of people who want to do winery tours or a winery vacation.

Justin: Absolutely.

Thia: Are you excited?

Justin: Oh yeah.

Thia: Are you tasting the wine every night just to make sure it’s okay?

Justin: Yep. As often as I can.

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urrently, Willow Creek Falls is a popular special events venue to make memories. It is a beautiful place with a big, beautiful lake, perfect for weddings .

Hopefully in the near future it will make not just memories but wine!

One of the owners, Shea, told us that the vines are maturing and since they started with vines already 5 years old there is a good possibility they will have wine making grapes next year. They hope to have a tasting room and a winery on site in the future. o, it’s not a new winery but it is big news... Mercier Orchard’s newly opened Farm Winery store sells bottles of hard cider like “Adele’s Choice” named after their founder Miss Adelle, they make out of their own apples. They also have many varieties of wine from most North Georgia wineries for sale. Mercier also may soon be making their own wine.

With all the amazing fruit they grow and harvest, we might be drinking peach and strawberry wine made in our own home town of Blue Ridge. I’ve got to say that my favorite thing at Mercier has always been their fried apple pies, but now I’ve got a tie. When you visit you must try their hard cider smoothies!

Besides opening the beautiful wine store Mercier’s has built a beautiful outdoor deck. On Mondays stop by the market for our 'After Hours' Dinner on the Deck from 5-9! They'll have live music, delicious food, and a fun place to hang out and enjoy your afternoon. This event is weather permitting, so keep your fingers crossed for clear skies!

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Submit photo or vote for the best of Pickens County Photography Contest at Knowpickens.com

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"Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants." - Kevin James

Congratulations to The Travis Lee Band on Winning the WYYZ Country Music Showdown at Roccos!

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When I was a boy growing up in Pickens County, it was quite a different world than it is now. Highway 515 was years away from reality, and our little community seemed as though it was removed light years from the rest of the world. Life genuinely moved at a slower pace, and many of the events outside the proximity of our lives failed to permeate us in any way. During those days, I was a fortunate youth. I lived with my parents in a small, two-bedroom house; and just out the road resided my uncle, grandfather, and grandmother.

My grandmother Bonnie Waldrop was instrumental in my life. Early on, her penchant for books and story-telling intrigued me; and when spending the night with her, often I would sit at the foot of her iron bed and listen to her spin remembrances of times past until one or two in the morning. One of my favorite stories that she would tell me was that of the old Gordon home place in Jasper, Georgia.

The Gordon house was built in the mid-1800's. It still exists, with original beams, woodwork, and chimneys; and in recent years the dwelling has housed many businesses. Presently, it sits empty, a For Sale sign placed out front.

The events of my grandmother's story occurred in the early 1860's.

My grandmother's mother, Martha Roland Sanford, born in 1887, grew up in the area; and her mother Mary Roland was present, along with other God-fearing people, when harrowing events took place. My great-grandmother passed her mother's story to my grandmother, and my grandmother passed it on to the rest of our family.

Living in the Gordon House in the 1860's was a woman locals referred to as Old Granny Gordon. Her impact on the Sharp Top Mountain community was powerful. At the least, residents did not trust her.

At the most, residents feared her. It seems that in business dealings, Granny Gordon was a person who took genuine satisfaction in cheating others. In the daily tenor of her life, she was gruff and antisocial. It was reported that she detested children and that she was unapologetically cruel to animals. Some people even said that she was an atheist, a label which at the time was one of the blackest marks anyone could receive on her character.

In spite of her reputation in the community, when Granny Gordon's health began to fail and it appeared that she did not have long to live, people in the community began to gather in and assist her. Such was considered one's Christian duty in those days, and the Gordon place saw neighbors congregate on a daily basis to take care of both Granny Gordon and other daily necessities. It was at this point that strange events started to take place.

The first event occurred as neighbors gathered for their nightly vigil in Granny Gordon's house. At this point, the elderly woman was bedridden and very ill. The doctor said that it was only a matter of time before she would pass into the next life. As folks sat around the Gordon house one night, a loud, metallic noise pierced the normal decibels of small talk and movement as if something made of steel had fallen from the loft to the first floor. There was nothing to be found.

A few nights later, a black dog entered the house. Once the dog entered the front room, it headed straight for the bed in which Granny Gordon reposed. As it darted beneath the bed, one of the ladies present grabbed a broom to usher the dog outside, but the dog had mysteriously disappeared.

On the final night of Granny Gordon's life, more neighbors than ever had gathered in her home. They read Bible verses and sang hymns as was typical procedure when anyone was in the process of dying.

About one in the morning, some of the menfolk stated they were hun-

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gry. One of the ladies said that there were pies in the kitchen and that she would make coffee to go along with the pies. She and two other women, one of whom was my great-great grandmother Mary Roland, headed to the kitchen.

The three women, carrying only a lantern, crossed the yard to the kitchen. One of the women lifted a chain from a nail which was all that was required to open the kitchen door, but the door failed to open upon doing so. The three women pushed on the door, got it open a bit, and then something pushed back.

"This is ridiculous," said one of the women. "It's one of the men trying to scare us. He's gone in the back way. I'm going around to and tell him to stop this foolishness!" The woman rounded the outside of the kitchen building and began to scream. The two other women followed, and standing at the back corner of the house was a tall figure with glowing, blood-red eyes.

At this point, all three women were screaming, and they tore to the house for help. The men retrieved their guns from their wagons and took off after whatever had been standing next to the kitchen as it crashed through the woods on the edge of the Gordon property. Shots reverberated through the darkness, and inside the house, just as much chaos ensued.

Granny Gordon began to scream that she could feel flames on her feet and that the fire was traveling up her body. With this, she gasped and writhed, and within moments, her last breath left her body. No one could be certain what had just taken place, but most of the people felt that the strange figure with the red eyes was none other than Satan himself come to claim Granny Gordon's soul.

In the more than one-hundred years since that time, many people have claimed to have experienced other supernatural events at the Gordon place. In the 1990's, two women from Atlanta bought the house and turned it into a store. The women reported that strange sounds were often heard in the house, the stove was turned on by itself, and various objects disappeared only to reappear elsewhere later.

One night, one of the women was staying in the upstairs bedroom when she was awakened about one in the morning by pounding on the walls downstairs. Once the pounding stopped, she could hear someone on the front porch, so she gathered her nerve and walked over to the upstairs window to look out.

Footsteps came across the covered part of the porch onto the uncovered deck. The footsteps continued down the deck steps, and the sound of crunching gravel filled the air as the footsteps crossed the parking lot and faded away. In the strong moonlight, absolutely nothing was visible to the naked eye.

During their time of ownership, I spoke with one of the Atlanta ladies who confirmed the spooky events and who also stated a psychic visited the house and told her that there was definitely a spirit there.

Besides these strange occurrences, many people have claimed to see an old woman sitting and rocking on the front porch of the vacant house. Could this be the spirit of Granny Gordon ?

No matter what you believe about such stories, two things remain true. They fascinate us, and we love to hear them again and again.

I personally thank my grandmother (Nannie) for giving me such a rich and loving childhood. Many times, I wish I could go back and spend one more night with her and hear her tell her stories again; and because of her, I'm always wary of perhaps seeing something I can't explain as I drive by the old Gordon place.

Live Music... FREE!!! - Gilmer Arts’ “Acoustic Blends� Every 3rd Friday Of The Month

Pickin’ On The Porch, Coosawattee General Store, Ellijay 10-25-14 Barefoot Boone

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Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair. ~ George Burns

Charle Smith - For Christmas last year I gave each family member an empty jar. Throughout the year as special, memorable, heart warming things occur, they write the date and some information that explain the occurrence. At the end of the year we will open our jars and relive those wonderful, positive moments.

It is easy to remember the negative. The slights, comments, and actions that hurt. The good gets lost in everyday life. Well, it is September, my jar is filling up and it makes me happy just to look at it sitting on my dining room table. Sharing those memories with family members can only be glorious.

Give a gift..... An empty jar

Tonya Smith -What did you do on your lunch break today?

WE GOT MARRIED!!!!

I'm now a Banks!!! We couldn't be anymore blessed:) I love you David : )

Shellie Holloway McDaniel -Here's my latest.

Got into the bathtub last night, got all scrunched down in the warm bubbly water, all comfy. When I laid my hand down to my side, I felt something odd. As I lifted my hand out of the water, there was the biggest ole black spider hanging off my hand. In this split second, comes my good ole buddies....the mashed monkeys. (My mashed monkeys are the sounds of my screams or the fits I have.

Sounds like a group of monkey's being mashed!) I commenced to screaming and trying to heave my body over the side of the tub. Couldn't get the spider off and flinging my hand around like a crazy person. The dog is howling and slipping and sliding trying to get out of the bathroom, thinking whatever has mama is about to get me. "Every man/dog and whoever...for itself.� As I fell over the side of the bathtub, laying in a puddle, I look over the side to see that the big ole black spider is not a spider at all, but a piece of lint. I quietly arose, dried and dressed glad Ted was in bed and he didn't hear a thing that went on. Shhhhhh. Don't tell anybody! I will go on to add that Millie would not have anything to do with me the rest of the night. When I did calm down and sat down in my chair, she is just sitting there staring at me, then with a literal huff, got up and got into bed with Ted. When I got her bedtime snack of peanut butter crackers, she just looked at me as if to say "I'm sorry, I'm just way too upset to eat....woman, you need to stop flipping out over such things. We can't take anymore and we DO NOT LIKE THOSE NASTY MONKEYS!" Wouldn't let me pet her or love on her until the next morning and she is still looking at me leery of another "moment.� I use to pride myself on being the calm one in the family (over Shannon, Mama, even Jonathan). Now my motto is freak first, ask questions later. Yes, a big ole spider (ha).

Colton Parker - Gotta love Ellijay.

The pig wanted nothing to with us, or even me with my carrots. In the end, a honeybun was his undoing. We finally did catch him. The officers kept hollering "Where yah goin with my partner!?!"

Paul Douglas -Little Bit cheering Dale Earnhardt, Jr. win #3 for 2014 today at Pocono Raceway!

Celeste Harshbarger Earley -I ask my son Dalton Earley to get me a ice cream sandwich this is what I got.....

Cassie Zuber Schlosser DORIAN: Mommy, I have a girlfriend.

ME: What?!

What's her name???

D: Her name is Katie.....

ME: Katie?

Where did you meet her?

D: You know, at Nana's house....

ME: Dorian, that's your Auntie....she is beautiful, but you cannot date your family.

D: Oh....ok

Free dinner on your birthday at Toccoa River Restaurant

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Story & Pictures by Robb

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E? Doing SUP? Stand up paddling or “SUP” is a hot new sport that has grown explosively since about 2005. It’s an offshoot of surfing, but more appealing to the masses. Basically it’s standing up, on a craft similar to a surf board, and paddling around.

The Outdoor Foundation's 2013 report called it the outdoor sporting activity with the most firsttime participants in the United States. And now Chris Tilghman of Surf Blue Ridge has brought it to the mountains!

I must say, when that possibility first came along of me doing SUP, I said “No way!” as I chuckled inside my head. Remember that old TV commercial “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down”? The reason they don’t fall down is because of the way they are built, like a Weeble, bottom heavy. Me, I do a lot of wobbling but I DO fall down, on more than a few occasions.

You see, I’m not built like a Weeble, I’m built more like a Swedish meatball with two toothpicks stuck in it. In other words, I’m “balance challenged”. But, that said, I decided I was up for giving it a go, and so were the rest of our

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“never done this before” Stand Up Paddlers Pat, Dave and Griz.

To me “SUP” is all about balance (in more ways than one). It’s all about being in the moment. It’s a sport. It’s therapy. It’s fun. To start with, being out on Lake Blue Ridge on a beautiful, sunny, breezy day is absolutely pure enjoyment and recharges your mind. In the water, sitting on my board, in the quiet, I suddenly realized what a perfect juxtaposition to the previous few weeks of run-around madness I was experiencing. It was an “Ahhhhhh” moment and also an “Ah ha!” moment for me. We need some balance in our lives. So sometimes a sport is not just a sport, if you know what I mean.

Now, achieving balance on the board, I found out, is a little trickier. Good thing Chris, the owner of Blue Ridge Stand Up Paddle, gave us a lesson and demonstration on how to do just that. It wasn’t just… here’s a board… have at it.

Chris guided us through it, even to the point of holding my board and steading me as I stood up and started to paddle. He was like my dad running alongside my 2-wheeler until I was

safely rolling away. To be sure some people are quicker to achieve that balance (Pat) than others (me). Pat was up on her board right away, a veritable SUP prodigy! She was paddling across the lake almost immediately. After a couple of tries Dave got the hang of it. Griz, Thia’s dad, who doesn’t want me to say how old he is in this article, shall I say, he is no spring chicken (think Methuselah), was up on the board in no time.

He says, “I may be a sensuous senior Robb, but I can ride this board better than you!” He’s right... I have to give him credit. In this case it truly was age before beauty when it came to standing up on the board. This Swedish meatball with toothpick legs (relatively speaking of course) is not ashamed to admit to taking a plunge! A couple actually. No doubt about it. It was harder for me. But it was fun and most importantly, I was in the moment and that’s something REALLY hard for me to achieve. Then... under Chris’ expert tutelage, I finally did it! I stood up and started paddling all by myself. At least I think I did, I couldn’t turn around to actually see, but Chris swears he let go. (Hmmm?)

I just let my mind wander, and it didn't come back.

Ok, so once you get the hang of it, stand up paddling is relaxing, it places you squarely “in the moment”, not to mention fine tuning your sense of balance. Now the question is, how could you maximize the effect? Ann Kennedy of Higherground Massage & Yoga and Chris Tilghman of Surf Blue Ridge figured that out and conceived a fusion of yoga, massage and stand up paddle.

I asked Ann if it was an accident like the “Hey you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” moment that sparked the invention of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. She said “No… we just realized the synergy of our services. Our goal is to provide ways for people of every shape, size and age to enhance their physical and mental health while encouraging a healthy lifestyle with low impact on the environment. That’s how “Body Water Soul” came into being.”

Imagine paddling a board to a secluded cove of beautiful, tranquil Lake Blue Ridge and there in the perfect quiet away from all but the sounds of nature you experience total relaxation. I didn’t do yoga, I mean, how hysterical would THAT look?!

But I did watch and quietly take pictures of Ann,

Chris and Pat on their boards doing yoga. I hear yoga is an incredibly relaxing experience with many heath benefits, I was incredibly relaxed just watching! It was perfectly quiet except for the birds chirping, water slapping the boards and the breeze blowing through the trees. Now imagine after all that nature, exercise and relaxation stopping off on the way out at Higher Ground’s studio for a great massage to cap off the experience…. wow. Imagine.

As far as me trying yoga, again I say ME?!!! My first thought is that, like child birth, it’s something I’ll never experience, but then, I just spent the afternoon stand up paddling! I never thought I do that, so... you never know. This trying new things thing is fun! Try it! Try SUP! www.surfblueridge-sup.com www.highergroundmassage.com

Trick of Treat Safe zone downtown Blue Ridge Oct 31 6pm-8pm

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A Trip to Hell’s Hollow, The ultimate mountainside eco-adventure!

Story by Thia Photos by Robb

O

ff we go, into the wild blue yonder… That’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I think back to my amazing experience at Hell’s Hollow on their zip-line tour. When we first brought Pat & Dave to test out The Blue Ridge Canopy Adventure it was located right off 515, but this year they moved to a much bigger and more beautiful setting. They are now on 125 gorgeous acres called Hell's Hollow Adventure Outpost. Although the Outpost is off the beaten path, it is easy to find, and not far off main roads.

I was excited to arrive and get to zipping through the Holler! We jump into the back of a huge truck with 54 inch tires, that drives us up a steep mountain to the start of the trail. Starting off we are harnessed and helmeted up. We climb up to the first platform and get our safety instructions. Being surrounded by nature; woods, water, sky and being surrounded by good people; my dad, our friends (The Adventurers) Pat & Dave, and a fun family from Florida, this was the beginning of a great time! Our experienced (and handsome) guides Alex & Josh, made me feel safe and made me laugh. This was a unique experience for me, feeling exhilarated, excited and relaxed all in one. The trail and zip lines start off easy and low, so you can get the “hang” of it. The difficulty of the climb, and the reward of the flight both increase as you move deeper into the woods. There was some work to this, climbing hills, bridges and steps to arrive at each platform, but then you have the fun of soaring across the line and seeing the world below.

Our team got more daring as we progressed, especially Pat, who loved adding some acrobatics to her zips. She says, “I had so much fun!! This course is much improved since the move, and definitely worth the effort to find its hidden location. Our guides, Alex and Josh, were just great – very professional and fun.

The best part was being able to play with zipping upside down and backwards!”

First time ever on the zip lines, my dad Griz thought it was an awesome experience. His first word when I ask him if he liked his tour was, “Yippee!” Then he explains more. “The guides were comical and told me

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No one is listening until you make a mistake.

stories of the history of the area. But they were also conscientious and made you feel safe. After my first couple zips I had courage and confidence in the harness, and felt comfortable jumping off the platforms. I loved being in the woods with nature. The group I was with were great people. A truthfully wonderful experience. I would do it again in a minute.”

When you get to the last zip-line, you fly over the creek, and walk back over a swinging bridge and you are back to the outpost, and maybe a little sad that it’s over. But after two hours of fun, it’s time for a little rest. You have just done twelve different stations, zipping over almost 6,000 feet of cable.

And the canopy tour is just the beginning of fun you can have at Hell’s Hollow. There is also horse back riding. And they will base your ride on your skill level. So if you are a beginner or a skilled rider, there is a trail for you. The trails wind through paths worn from old time moonshiners, with beautiful views of the Cohutta Mountains, gentle streams and woodlands. When you go to visit, say hi to Cookie for us! He is very gentle and great with kids. He loves everybody!

Back from the zip-line, I sat in a rocking chair and enjoyed the moment. Such a beautiful day. I felt peaceful and happy. Horses were chewing and snorting off in the corral. The resident cat was purring while I scratched his head. Families who were waiting for their turn to go on the zip course, and a young couple who just got back from horseback riding, were all chatting and laughing at the outdoor desk. Another family arrives, with our paper in their hand asking about booking rides and tours. My gang is all relaxed, when our guides pull out their guitar and banjo and begin to play and sing. Wow, just wow. One of those “Life is Good” moments. I have a feeling life is always good at Hell’s Hollow.

There are also many new adventures developing at the Outpost. By the time we go to print, you will be able to find out more about the Monster Truck Ride and the Fly fishing classes. There is even more but I can’t give away all the surprises. So call them up, or visit their websites to see what the newest excitement is that’s happening this fall at Hell’s Hollow! I was just thinking about how amazing it would be to do that canopy tour when the leaves are changing! I think I need to call them myself and book our next tour visit….

FB-The Blue Ridge Canopy Adventure FB-Blue Ridge Mountain Trail Rides at Hells Hollow

Fall Fest Arts & Crafts Old Farmer’s Market Blue Ridge Oct 18-19 & 25-26

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64 GILMER VS NW WHITFIELD Huff Mosley Stadium Oct10 7pm Support BOBCATS & RELAY FOR LIFE with your donations. Plus selling pink balloons for a release.

Which ghost is the best dancer? The Boogie Man!

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S

outhern Charm in Blue Ridge is like a perfect storm… but in a good way. I went there for the first time so as to include them in our “Search For The Best Fried Chicken” story in Issue #5 . They do have great fried chicken but now having been back several times I know it doesn’t stop there.

I’ve been a long time fan of Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” and Thia and I have recently discovered the 7 seasons of Robert Irvine’s “Restaurant Impossible”. No, that by no means makes me any kind of expert, but I DO find myself looking around much more closely when I go into a restaurant and looking for and noticing all the very subtle things that passed right by me before. Small things like hot fresh biscuits with warm apple butter. (Not those little sealed food service cups at room temperature that you have to peel open) Which brings to mind, I basically don’t like biscuits. Given the choice of roll or biscuit, the roll invariably wins out. That’s not to say I haven’t tasted many biscuits in many places. Usually it reminds me of a bad pancake. You know, when pancakes are bad they’re very pasty, powdery, heavy. That’s most biscuits I’ve had. Not the biscuits at Southern Charm though! I LOVED these biscuits. Light, fluffy, bursting with flavor. The hot biscuit with warm apple butter was amazing.

Owner Angie is very friendly as well as on the ball and in charge of her restaurant. The focus is crystal clear, great Southern Country Cooking, and that’s exactly what they serve.

Southern Charm is…. well… charming!

The place is bright, spotlessly clean, including the restrooms. (They have an “A” grade from the health department). It is

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in a beautiful old house in downtown Blue Ridge. A gorgeous restaurant inside and out. Very pleasant. A beautifully decorated main dining room with two additional rooms with fireplaces. There’s also two screened in porches for outside dining in the warmer weather. This time we sat in the front room by the window. It was crowded, but we didn’t have to wait for a table.

We started off with an appetizer of potato skins and these things could have been my dinner! They were big and full of potato and a generous amount of cheese and bacon. They were delicious, and you can tell they are made fresh. I had the Fried Pork Chops with a baked potato, Thia had the fried chicken breast and hash brown casserole. Delicious!

Hers too! As always she let me sample hers. Both were big, filling portions. I love their crispy coating! There’s also, shall I say more “health conscious” food on the menu for those in your party not wanting fried, like the Pecan Crusted Trout for instance. Yes, this is the perfect place for large parties, plenty of room, nice big tables. See their ad for weekly specials like slow roasted prime rib or all you care to eat Alaskan king crab legs.

The service was excellent, smiles everywhere and all warmly sincere. We were lucky that our server was once again Karon. She is a pleasure and on the spot as always. Like everything else.

You hear about great dining experiences, this was one of them. Southern Charm is a wonderful stop for a yummy home cooked southern meal. 2 Forks Up!!!

224 W Main St, Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 632-9090 Mon-Thurs 11:00am – 8:30 pm Fri & Sat 11:00am – 9:00 pm Sun 11:00 am- 3:00pm

The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the ability to reach it.

American Legion Post 82 Ellijay Friday night Karaoke- Open to the Public

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rt is fluff, eye candy and nothing more. Art is for pretentious souls who are all about self. Art is weird, created by weird people and art speaks to even weirder people. Wrong! Wrong! And Wrong Again! Just one more time…WRONG! It’s none of those things. Although I’ve always enjoyed creativity, I didn’t really know what it meant, truly, until recently, as I prepared for my first art exhibit. So let me tell you what it truly is, at least to me, and hopefully it will mean the same to you.

I had planned this exhibit over a year ago, got approval and the go ahead, and off I went…nowhere. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t completely prepare too far in advance.

(I’ve always been a bit of a procrastinator.) I had some side pieces I worked on at one of my jobs, but didn’t know if they would end up in the exhibit or not. Long story short, I didn’t really start pushing my productivity until two months before the exhibit. I didn’t start panicking and working non-stop until one month prior.

During this time, the processing, thinking, planning and designing seemed to soar. Here’s where all the lessons began, both in art and in life. I think I shall number these “lessons” so that they don’t get lost in the midst of an ongoing paragraph.

1. One of the biggest lessons this art experience taught me was how to work “with” mistakes instead of throwing up my hands and starting over each and every time I made one.

Some of the most creative ideas I came up with came to fruition simply because I had “messed up” on my original ideas. Instead of chucking the pieces I thought I had demolished (which would have been almost every one of them), they became some of the most interesting and enjoyable creations.

Lesson: Make mistakes. Don’t cover them up. Transform them into something great!

2. In creating anything, intuition plays a major part. This exhibit taught me how to trust my intuition and just go with it. I didn’t do a whole lot of pre-planning (pre-planning is actually a good thing. Please don’t misunderstand.) But in this case, intuition was my power force, steadily, soothingly and some what quietly guiding my hands and thoughts. I had an idea and used that inner guide to make it come to life. Lesson: Trust your gut.

3. I demolished the house in this creative push. Granted it was nothing that couldn’t be cleaned and put back in place, but since I have no studio, I worked where I could…and it showed. You could see a trace of where I had been in every room, but to clean it up each and every day would have added months to my preparation time. It just wasn’t feasible and would have indeed dampened my creative spirit. So with my parents’ blessing, I just went for it. I worked with my hands. When I painted, it was normally with my fingers. There were wood panels everywhere, as well as everything else.

But…it worked. Being obsessive about how clean and organized everything needed to be would have made a joyous

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process a mundane, miserable one. Lesson: Get your hands dirty.

Don’t be afraid to make a mess every now and then.

There’s always time to clean it up afterwards.

4. We are usually our own worst critics right? We talk to ourselves worse than we would talk to our enemies. Well, my self-dialogue wasn’t that harsh this time, but I did have a bit of apprehension about the things I was creating. It was too different. It wasn’t good enough. People would think it was weird. People would think I was a lousy artist or too scattered in the mediums I chose to produce. People would buy this thing, but they surely wouldn’t buy this other thing. Well, fortunately I was wrong. People did love it. They seemed to love it all, and the very parts I thought they wouldn’t get, or would hate? Well, those are the things they loved the most and the things they bought the most of. They dug the fact that I did so many different things and not just one thing. Artists I looked up to actually liked my work…a lot. It blew me away; all of it did. Lesson: Don’t doubt who you are. Be real and you’ll be surprised at the love you’ll get in return.

5. Art doesn’t have to be high end or pretentious or so expensive that only the elite can enjoy it. Art is simply self-expression and the manifestation of its creator. Sure some pieces are pricey as well they should be. People should be paid for their talents and skills. However, I took a more frugal approach. I used boards instead of canvases. I used epoxy varnish instead of having everything professionally framed. I priced things according to what was important to me. I personally don’t do high end or expensive. It’s just not me. So I wanted to price my things in a range for everyone to take advantage of. Also, I have bills to pay! I’ll do what it takes. Lesson: There are ways to make the things you want to happen actually happen. Don’t be afraid to do it YOUR way.

I could go on and on about all the lessons I learned through this art exhibition experience. There were so many metaphors of life that came to the surface alongside the creations that I could write pages and pages about them. I had so much support and love at my receptions, so much positive feedback and took another few steps in my journey of selfgrowth. Basically, you get what you put out in life. You draw to you the things you create, whether it’s in your mind, through your art or through your actions. So whatever you create, whether its paintings, music, a family life, a business career or anything in between, make it reflect you. Believe in your role, whatever that may be. Make mistakes. Make messes. Then rejoice when all is hindsight and see what beautiful colors have unfolded in your life.

My mind is like a steel trap, rusty and illegal in 37 states.

The Alley now has Bumper Cars!

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Story by Thia Photos by Robb

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went out to lunch with my friends, Gail Vick Hall, Shellie Holloway McDaniel and Tiffany Camp Watson. We let Robb come too. These ladies have been my friends on Facebook for awhile, and now I’ve finally gotten to meet them in person! We had a great conversation, got to know each other and had some delicious food at Cornerstone Cafe in Downtown Ellijay!

Robb often says, “I am the editor and chef of the paper and Thia is my boss.” Well in some instances, but we both share the boss duties. He thought at this luncheon he would direct us girls on what we should talk about. He gave us instructions. He wanted us to talk about the paper. Well, that didn’t work, as you can imagine! You can’t tell women what to talk about!

We talked about all the people we know in common. Tiffany’s Dad’s Uncle was Leroy Camp. “He drove my school bus!” says Gail! “Everyone remembers him from that” Tiffany says.

We talked about our dogs. Our Lexi, who is now almost 15. Gail has Precious. Shellie has Millie, but would like to get a micro pig someday. Tiffany has Ernie.

We talked about when we were youngGail- I moved here from Dalton in ’69. I was used to changing classes and having lots of different teachers. Here, I was in 7th grade at Southwestern High and had one classroom and my teacher was the principal.

Thia- I love living here in a small town. I don’t like big cities. Robb is from New York City.

Robb- It was different in those days. When I was nine years old, my friends and I got on the bus in Queens and went to the World’s Fair by ourselves.

We talked about downtownTiffany- Have you been over to the new ice cream shop in town? (MooBears) I think a lot of locals don’t even know about that yet.

Shellie- The thing about locals, they don’t come down town. I haven’t been downtown in two months.

Gail- I drive through.

Shellie- Yes, but not stopping and walking around.

Tiffany- How do we get more locals to come downtown?

Thia- To come shopping and check out all the new businesses here?

Gail- Word of mouth.

Shellie- Word of mouth is the best thing.

Thia- There’s the Martyn House with coffees and smoothies and food and the music nights.

Shellie- There’s that German guy..

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Thia- Oh yeah Michael at Backporch Bistro.

Shellie- I hear that is fantastic.

Robb- Great brats!.

Gail- Sadie, my granddaughter, brought me down here and we got out and walked around. She bought a blouse at Lavish. Then we had some ice cream at MooBears. It was awesome.

Tiffany- I think people may not know what is available locally. I shop here for my clothing, at Lavish, and Loving Bull. And you are right word of mouth is what works around here.

Thia- Downtown Ellijay has wonderful places to shop.

Locals, come on down!

Food comes- I ordered a jalepeno grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato and a salad. Robb had chicken parm. Both of those were off the daily special menu. Shellie got a Reuben and said it was a very good sandwich. Gail & Tiffany ordered the chicken breast sandwich. Tiffany said hers was very good and she had been to eat at Cornerstone before. Gail thought hers was excellent, and she would be back. Mine was perfect, not over the top spicy, but just a nice kick of jalepenos. Robb loved his, a big fresh juicy chicken breast breaded and topped with cheese and sauce. He tasted the snap peas and said they were good also, but he had already had his vegetable quotient for the day. Robb’s idea of vegetables is to eat one of the celery sticks that come with his order of twenty wings. Terrie, the owner tells us they not only have great lunch specials, but they have a big local crowd for breakfast.

And already we have finished eating and it’s time to wrap up our visitThia- So Robb did you want us to talk about the paper for two minutes?

Robb- This has run amok and out of control. Yes that would be nice.

Thia- What do you guys like best about the paper?

The Bowl of Apples section because both of you (Shellie & Tiffany’s kids) are in it?

Tiffany- Yes, I like that my kids have been in the paper. That’s been really cool. And since I’ve told my friends and family, they’ve started picking up the paper.

Thia- Your kids are adorable! Shellie tells some crazy stories. This time is the second time we’ve used one of hers in the paper. This one is about a spider in her bathtub.

Robb- Oh that one is funny.

Thia- She’s trying to shake it off, the dog is barking..

Shellie- And I’m screaming, trying to get out of the tub. And it’s a piece of lint….

(everybody laughs!)

Shellie- I like your paper because it’s fun to read.

Tiffany- It’s nice and bright and happy.

Shellie- I like the pictures. I like to see the connections to the area.

It’s very wellrounded.

Thia- Thank you!

Some people say it’s busy, but now that you’ve met Robb you can see why it’s a little busy.

Shellie- I like that.

I think it blends beautifully.

Gail- That’s what drew me to it.

Tiffany- I like that you have it available everywhere.

That is huge, because you can pick it up anywhere.

Thia- Robb and I have arguments. I say we have enough boxes and stands. He says no, we need more!

Tiffany- I’m with you Robb. It’s super easy to find a paper.

Thia- Thanks a lot Tiffany! Who invited you to this lunch? I’m just kidding. We have more than one hundred places you can pick up the paper in Gilmer, Pickens and Fannin Counties.

Robb- We currently have forty-five big red boxes.

Thanks Tiffany. Now I’m getting more boxes.

Thia- When we first started the paper, some people said you are going to run out of things to write about. That’s simply not true. There is so much to do around here. Like going out to lunch with friends. Thank you ladies so much for coming!

Trivia! at Johnny’s Pizza call for details 706-253-0800 Jasper

American Legion Post 82 Ellijay Saturday night Open Mic Night- Open to the Public

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You can't hide your true colors as you approach the autumn of your life. - Unknown

Thia Says, “This is the stuff that Jerry puts on his FaceBook page, and it cracks me up!”

I’m not getting up early anymore. I don't think the worm was worth it.

Just sayin’ I need your opinion.. i'm an inventor you know. should I go with the mouse flavored cat food, diapers for rabbits, or blindfolds for seeing eye dogs for blind skydivers??

I just read an article on the dangers of drinking, it scared me so bad, that I decided to quit reading.

My wife just spent 30 minutes looking at a orange juice carton, just because it said concentrate…

Every time I get on an elevator, I look around at the people and say, are you ready to take this to another level?

I've always heard that carrots are good for the eyes. But I believe vodka is even better. It doubles my vision.

Relationships are like yard sales. They look good from the road. but when you get there, you see a lot of crap you don't need.

Confucius say: he who jumps the gun, gets shot in the butt.

I really do feel sorry for the people that don't drink. They get up in the mornings and that's the best they are going to feel all day.

A Jehovah's witness came by this morning. I asked him to come in and offered him some coffee. I said, what do you want to talk to me about? He said, “I can't remember now. This is farther than I've every gotten before.” True story.

THOUGHT OF TODAY: An open mind is a good thing to have. It gives someone a chance to drop something worthwhile into it.

I was in Atlanta today. Saw an “Out of Order" sign on an escalator. I thought I’d be helpful, so I changed it to “Temporary Steps.”

A policeman sees a lady driving and knitting at the same time. He pulls up beside her and says "pull over!” She says, “No, it’s socks!”

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: a quiet man is usually thinking. A quiet woman is usually mad.

Thought Of Today: Have you ever wondered why you have never seen Me and Batman in the same room together? Bet you are now!

I never said I was old, but I was asked yesterday, if I rode a dinosaur to school when I was little.

REMEMBER TO SMILE, It improves your face value..

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY: it's been a long week. now I can get the corn-dogs off layaway at the Dollar General.

I was just thinking this morning, the decline of civilization started when they stopped putting the good toys in the cracker-jacks box.

Looking for a place to eat? www.thebestofebrj.com/restaurant-reviews

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e are now coming into the last part of summer, and soon, into fall and that means harvest time for a lot of gardeners. If you’re like me, then sometimes you’ll find yourself with an overabundance of produce, especially when it comes to squash, zucchini and tomatoes and you may find yourself wondering what in the world to do with it all! Well, I don’t know about you, but I ate so much fried squash growing up that I didn’t even know there was any other way of eating it. Once when I was a young teen, I actually made myself physically sick due to eating it as fast as my mom could cook it, and because of that, I didn’t eat squash for a very long time. Luckily, later in life, I learned there were other ways to make it. If you’re sick of eating your gardens bounty, maybe you’re actually just suffering from food boredom. Try finding new and exciting ways to prepare and eat what your garden provides.

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks * 4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise * 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese * 1/2 tsp. dried thyme * 1/2 tsp. dried oregano * 1/2 tsp. dried basil * 1/4 tsp. garlic powder * Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste * 2 tbsp. olive oil * 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 350* F. Coat a cooling rack with nonstick spray and place on a baking sheet; set aside. In a small bowl, combine parmesan cheese, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.

Place zucchini onto prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan mixture.

Place into oven and bake until tender, about 15 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Did you know that you can also eat the squash/zucchini blossoms? You just batter the blossoms themselves and then fry them up or you can spice it up a bit by filling with cheese and herbs of your choice, then batter them and either fry or bake. You can also chop them and toss into salads, soups, or pasta dishes. Mmmm.

If you really are just tired of eating certain things from your garden, and your friends and family run the other way when they see you coming with baskets full of zucchini, then you could leave the bounty on the plants to mature so that you can go back later and collect seeds to plant in the future. Just make sure that your plant is an open pollinated/heirloom variety, because a hybrid plant may or may not produce viable seeds, and if you are able to grow something from it, you don’t really know what you may end up with. If you’re the adventurous type and want to try it anyway, just to see what you end up with, then there’s nothing stopping you.

Another option you can consider is donating some of it to a local church or food pantry to help people less fortunate. Also, if you’re a prepper, or interested in food storage, then dehydrating, canning, or freezing your extra goodies is the way to go. Each method has its own requirements and pros and cons. I prefer freezing, when I have the freezer space, because it’s easy to do, doesn’t require any special equipment, and tastes the freshest when eaten.

Keep in mind, though, that some things don’t freeze well and some fruits and vegetables can have an undesirable, mushy texture when thawed. Don’t have room to possibly store any more food anywhere in your house or on your property? Consider feeding extra produce to your livestock. Cows, goats, rabbits and chickens LOVE fresh produce! Even some pets, such as birds and iguanas thrive on, and enjoy, fruits and vegetables. Don’t have livestock or pets? Then consider getting started with vermi-composting which could be a win, win, win situation by helping get rid of food and food waste, supplying you with wonderfully rich garden ‘soil’ for next years garden, and supplying you with worms to go fishing with or to feed fish in an aquaponics setup. Not interested in managing a worm bin? How about mixing it in your compost pile? Compost is wonderful for your garden. You don’t have a compost pile/bin and aren’t interested in starting one? Then I guess the only thing left to do is throw it out into the woods to provide a buffet for the local wild animals. Till next time; happy harvesting!

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Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says “If an emergency, notify:” I put “DOCTOR”. What’s my mother going to do?

t was a busy night when we showed up with the safe at the Blue Ridge Waffle King. In between people trying to get the safe open and us raffling off all kinds of cool items, Robb serenaded the diners. He played his guitar and sang while everyone enjoyed their hamburgers, sandwiches and breakfast for dinner. ( I love breakfast for dinner!) Although no one got the safe open, there were lots of happy people that left with great prizes.

Next we were off to Jilly’s Pub in downtown

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Ellijay. The place was packed! We had brought the safe, along with a bunch of our friends to eat some delicious food. Mike Bean and the Bear entertained us all and helped us announce the winners of our raffle. We had loads of wanna be safe crackers, but still no one pulled it off.

So we are going to help you win. There are four numbers to the combination. We have given you clues to three of the numbers. But now we are

going to announce those three numbers and the order they are in. So all you have to do is choose the correct fourth number insert it in the right spot and turn the dial in the correct directions…

Here is your chance to win over $2500 in cash and prizes! The 3 #s IN ORDER! 34,0,75.

It’s so busy this festival season we aren’t sure yet where we are taking the safe. Please watch our website and Facebook for it’s appearance schedule.

Pickin’ On The Porch, Coosawattee General Store, Ellijay 9-27-14 Roy Schneider

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I

have learned a lot of life lessons growing up in the north Georgia Mountains.

Some of these lessons I will display proudly. Some I have had to learn the hard way. Now when I say the hard way, I mean there was a good bit of embarrassment involved and there may or may not be scars. I can neither confirm nor deny any law enforcement involvement. There are some of those lessons I will take to my grave. Those involve what you might consider group lessons. There are bonds among friends that nothing will break. For those friends reading this, your secret is safe with me. You know who you are and what I’m talking about. The lessons I will share with you entail many things. Now I’m not saying these have happened to me personally, some lessons you learn by watching others make the mistakes.

If you ever decide to go swimming and you strip down to your skivvies, you better make dang sure all of your friends are in on it with you. All it takes is one “friend” to back out and then as soon as you’ve gotten out in the water a good ways that said “friend” will grab all those clothes you hung on those tree limbs and take off running with them. This scenario gives you two options, you can take off and try to run down your buddy to retrieve your clothes in all your shining glory or you can hide in the water and hope your friend has a change of heart and brings your stuff back, laughing the whole time. Now everybody will get a good laugh for years to come for a stunt like this but there may be some cuts and bruises because he will pay for that one. Just one word of advice, if you and your friends decide to go swimming. Check and make sure there are no churches that have planned to come down to the swimming hole for a baptism. Now I’m not admitting anything, I’m just sharing a lesson.

Now you may love animals and think you know your way around them but let me give you a little advice. Repeat after me, “That dog will bite you!” Yes, his tail may be wagging and he may look like the sweetest dog you’ve ever seen, but I promise you, it’s a trick. There are some dogs out there that are more like spawns of the devil and will be on you faster than a duck on a June bug. And while we’re talking about animals, horses

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can’t be trusted. Never ever approach one from behind. They can kick you faster than your brain can tell your feet to move. And from the front, watch out! Some of them will get this crazy look in their eyes and then bite the tar out of you. Now that’s got the front and back covered but be careful on the sides as well. More than once I have had my foot stepped on. A horse is pretty heavy and really hard to move, so he’s not going to just step on your foot and move on. He’s more likely to keep his hoof there, maybe shift his weight a time or two and then look around at you with a grin before he moves on. He might even take the opportunity to swat you with his tail a time or two while he has you pinned.

I’ve never seen a boy who doesn’t like to throw rocks. It really doesn’t matter what the target is as long as they’re throwing. When you get two or three boys together, sooner or later, the dares start. That hornet’s nest way up in that tree seems far enough away. You’ll probably think nobody’s going to hit it and even if they did, the hornets won’t know what happened. WRONG! When it comes to throwing rocks at a hornet’s nest, I’ll almost guarantee the one with the worst aim is going to bust that nest wide open. Now it will take the hornets a little bit to figure out what happened but I promise you, they see you and they will catch you. If you’re not the fastest runner in the bunch, you might “accidentally” trip one of your friends to draw the hornet’s attention away from you as you make your escape. This may not end well for your friend and he may get pretty mad at you but just remember he would do the same thing to you!

Spending a lot of time in the woods around here, there are some lessons you had better learn really quick. Let’s say you’re out wandering when all of a sudden “nature calls”.

Now most people don’t tend to carry around personal toiletries. Nature provides for “certain needs” but, for the love of humanity, make sure you choose the correct plant. I share this for a couple of reasons. One, I don’t want to see you suffer, and two, I do not want to hear about your suffering! If you happen to choose poorly, it’s best to keep it to yourself if possible. This is the last lesson I will share with you…..don’t do anything that makes you the butt of anybody’s jokes. And if you do something stupid that you shouldn’t have? Learn your lesson and don’t tell anyone!

Pickin’ On The Porch, Coosawattee General Store, Ellijay 10-11-14 Loose Shoes Band

LOOKING FOR SOME FUN THINGS TO DO? www.TheBestOfEbrj.com/TIPS

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Smoked Chickens at Wolf Creek Canyon are so delicious! Call for availability.

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is the season for fresh vegetables and fruits. Fresh tomatoes are plentiful. On Sunday a friend came for dinner, and showed me how to make her Tomato pie. It was so easy and delicious, along with a fresh salad and tea, it was tasty. This recipe makes two pies. I was able to share with other friends. It is just as good warmed up the next day or you could freeze one before cooking. We used fresh plum tomatoes as they hold up better in cooking. You could also add fresh mushrooms or onion to the recipe. I plan to do that the next time I make this pie.

Ingredients 10 plum tomatoes Basil Olive oil 2 pie shells 2 1/2 cups mozzarella Salt and pepper Oregano or Italian seasonings Start by cutting tomatoes in 1/2 inch slices. Prepare pie shells by lightly coating the bottom of the shell with olive oil. Layer tomatoes in shell, add basil and cheese. Keep layering until you reach top and add a generous amount of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is lightly browned. Let cool for 15 minutes. I used a pizza cutter to cut. Serves 5-6.

Until next edition, enjoy!

Nan Karaoke! & DJ on Thursday night with Daniel at the Pourhouse, Ellijay

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“And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make� - The Beatles