A Country Rag Tales of Jewell Hollow
A Year In A Blue Ridge ForestEver wonder what it's like to embrace a totally different lifestyle? Over the centuries and into the present Appalachian culture has been absorbed and enriched continually by settlers from various countries and states. Its initial appeal and surprises from the perspective of a current day urban refugee are serialized beginning July 11, 1997, in this section. On retirement from a sophisticated life of worldwide travel and legal prominence, Gary R. Frink and spouse Jeanne burrowed into the forested foothills of the Blue Ridge for a new life of woodstoves and roving bear.... (If you missed earlier sections,they're archived in "Word Preserve".)
"When some heroic action is performed, everybody recognizes it. Things may get better, may get worse, a person may get rich, may get poor, but it doesn't matter. It's not the accumulation -- it's to be ready, to be full, to move in Great Time, with some sort of elegance and grace." -- John Edgar Wideman, interview about his new novel Two Cities, Atlantic Monthly, 10/7/98
October 1995SundayMy typewriter blew up; it was electronic. I plugged it into the power and PUFF it was gone. The computer board was metal mush. I dutifully drove it to the repair man in Harrisonburg anticipating the worst. Maynard, the repair man, was cheerful when he called back, but the news was bad. He said that it would cost over $150 cont'd.... |
November 1995ThursdayI had returned to the village Post Office parking lot after dispatching a registered letter. The dogs were in the car, with the sunroof open, waiting for me. I noticed someone familiar in a pickup truck. It was young Jewell. I yelled. He stopped. We first met Jewell when Boogie brought him to the cabin; cont'd.... |
December 1995MondayIt is cold: ten degrees this morning at five and eleven; warmer now. The pond is frozen over, an event not common in Jewell Hollow. The entire southeast U.S. is being battered by record-breaking low temperatures, a near-Christmas gift from our Canadian friends. Charlie, Boogie, Arthur and a friend named Tim are all sawing and splitting cont'd.... |
Graphic: Shenandoah Valley, one of many scenic roads that ramble past field and farm along the winding forks of Virginia's fabled river.
Gary R. Frink, born January 22, 1933, in Pontiac, Michigan, has lived a complex and colorful life across continents and political parties in service of governments, corporations and extraordinary individuals. Retired from the law, but not from worldwide travel, he is currently an inactive member of the State Bar of Michigan and The District of Columbia Bar Association. His work as contributing editor of "The Shoestring Traveler," a monthly publication, and as an author ("Tales of Jewell Hollow," serialized on-line in the Country Rag beginning July 1997, and "My Secret Life as an International Courier and Other Travels," a work-in-progress) occupy his days in a secluded forest cabin that hugs Appalachian foothills. Send e-mail to: frink@shentel.net.
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Tales of Jewell Hollow © Gary R. Frink June 1997. All rights reserved.