Columns

July is already a week-and-a-half old!

Harlan County, Kentucky, has a World War II hero who recently passed. I knew Alfred “Al” Cornett (August 1923-July 2021) because I interviewed him about his war experiences, and I have several of the dulcimers he made hanging on the wall in my living room.

“Grunts” was a common expression used during the Vietnam War as a label for the U.S. military men who were lowest in the hierarchy of those who served. I decided to write about one of these men, Gary Unger, who did not die in that war and who did not receive two Purple Hearts for being grievously wounded there.

Just when we think there will be respite from the challenges we have faced for the past year and one-half, the virus and its variants rush back into our lives, and all promises of normalcy are once again put in abeyance.

Two-hundred and forty-five years have passed since 56 men committed treason and signed the Declaration of Independence. Since the signing of the Declaration, the history of the United States has been characterized by the trials of liberty and the struggle to live up to the high ideals of Spirit of ’76.

Remember last summer and fall when everyone was locked up in their homes and not taking trips? How cabin fever pretty much gripped the entire nation? How everyone couldn’t wait to be on the road again?

I used to wonder how a person could ever go to work in the garden to unwind. Pulling weeds just wasn’t on my list of things I particularly enjoyed. I don’t know what happened, but I repeatedly found myself ambling toward the garden during the past week after supper and breathing deeply. I felt my entire being relaxing as weeds were being removed and tomatoes staked.

Last week we had zucchini patties on the table; this week, we’ll be enjoying vine-ripened tomatoes. Now I hope you can bear with me. Still, when I talk about vine-ripened tomatoes, I’m not referring to the plastic-tasting ones from a grocery store—you know, the ones that were picked green then gassed along the way to portray a pretty red color. Okay, those may be better than nothing, but for today vine-ripened tomatoes will be the discussion.

“How do you do it?” you ask. I know our culture is dramatically not the same as the majority of you. I enjoy your questions about our lifestyle and even more about our belief system.

By Bryan Golden