“The world is a very big place, and you’re all in for a grand adventure.” – Mrs. Clara Sue Martin, Chinaberry Summer
Some years ago in college, I spent a summer working in Colorado. During a conversation I asked an older gentleman, “Have you lived in Colorado all your life?”
He replied, “Not yet.” An interesting perspective.
Growing up in rural Harris County, Georgia, I was blessed to live near all four of my grandparents. I knew my maternal great-grandparents, and I was one of their 122 great-grandchildren at the time of their deaths. (The number of their offspring has increased since then!)
My younger years were filled with exploring nature all around me and listening to countless family stories from my grandparents whose lives spanned 1892 to 1994. Aunts and uncles added even more stories, and I managed to capture a few stories from my great-grandfather. I enjoyed living close to the mountains near Pine Mountain, and we could see Dowdell’s Knob from our front porch. Dowell’s Knob is the highest point in the county. It was a favorite place for FDR’s barbecues. I learned all about FDR and Bullochville which he later named Warm Springs. The President visited the area and was very involved in programs that benefited farmers during The Depression. My grandfather was one of those farmers.
My grandfather taught my sister and me how to identify wildflowers. My grandmother could identify all kinds of forest leaves. We never needed a field guide to flowers and leaves when we were with them.
My hometown is Hamilton, Georgia, and our careers led my husband and me to move eight miles south to our Cataula home in the woods where we lived for thirty-seven years. Throughout those years I made incredible memories—memories that will always live deep in my heart. It was the only home our son ever knew before he embarked on his own memory-filled life as a teacher, seminarian, and now a pastor living with his wife and daughter in Washington State. I’ve had quite a few adventures there as well, since we visit him and his family whenever we get a chance.
In the woods surrounding our Cataula home, I encountered interesting critters. Copperheads, rattlers, box turtles and snappers, frogs, a fox running across my deck, crows galore, lizards, hawks, bats, ducks, wild turkeys—the list goes on and on. Sometimes native wildflowers surprised me as I walked in the woods. All the flora and fauna of that region provided plenty of ideas for my writing. I kept it all in the writer’s notebook of my mind.
I approached moving to North Georgia with a great deal of hesitation. But why not move? My husband and I are always up for a new adventure. We’re now both retired from busy careers. First, we had to sort through belongings and general “stuff” collected during nearly fifty years of marriage. Then we had to get the house ready to put on the market. That was another adventure unto itself.
On to North Georgia with two cats and a dog! I must say, I have never regretted moving here. If my life is like a five-act play, this time in my older life is Act IV.
This area is a writer’s paradise. We live about twenty minutes from Hayesville, North Carolina. That brings me to an important point: North Carolina is known as “the writingest state in America.” I now belong to North Carolina Writers Network-West, which encompasses several North Georgia counties that border on the western North Carolina state line. I cannot believe how many published poets and writers are now in my circle of friends.
Writing is often a solitary endeavor. It is quite difficult to pull fiction and poetry out of my brain. Much of my writing occurs very late at night or even in the wee hours of the morning. At times, it’s as if I’m creating ideas and events out of thin air.
The writers I have met care about each other. We promote each other and offer encouragement. I now belong to several critique groups where we can feel comfortable sharing our work. Other groups I attend have readings by poets and writers followed by time for open mic readings.
The beauty of this region offers so much rich inspiration for writing. I am very, very happy to be here!
Someone may ask me, “Have you lived in Georgia all your life?” My answer will be: “Not yet! But I hope I do.”
Now on to more adventures…
(With special gratitude to Glenda Beall and to all my friends in NCWN-W for the beautiful poems and stories you create!)