I write southern historical fiction, local history, and I've written a devotional book. The two novels I'm writing are set in Virginia and the Carolinas in the 1760s. My weekly blog started out to follow my journey as a writer and a reader, but in 2025 it has been greatly expanded to include current events and politics in the United States as I see our democracy under attack from within. The political science major in me cannot sit idly by and remain silent.
I was caught off-guard on June 14 when I read Sarah Johnson’s Reading the Past blog post and learned that the decade of the 1960s is now the hottest thing in historical fiction.
Yikes!
I remember the 1960s well. In fact, I remember some of the 1950s. I admit that I had not thought of the 1960s as fodder for historical fiction yet. Wasn’t it yesterday that I was still reading World War II fiction? Why did we leap right over the 1950s?
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
Calling books set in the 1960s “historical fiction” just doesn’t seem right. I’m not ready to read it, and I’m certainly not ready to try to write it. I like to write about the 1760s and 1770s, so I must be in a 200-year-old time warp.
When I finish my novel-in-progress, I just hope I’m not the only person out there who likes to read about life in the 1760s.
My blog is all over the place!
The first 11 years or more that I wrote a blog, I concentrated on my life as a struggling writer and a reader. (Make that “struggling reader,” too, in light of my memory problems. Many times I get to the bottom of a page in a book and I have no idea what I just read, but I digress.)
I have also written history pieces, often on the anniversary date of an event. Some of them are well-known dates and events in history, while others were little-known events that I stumbled upon.
Over the years I toyed with how often to blog. I eventually settled on just once-a-week. That seemed to be all I could handle. I settled on posting my blog every Monday. That worked very well for me.
Then came Donald Trump’s reelection, and my comfortable blogging routine went out the window.
After blogging as many as six posts a week since January 20, I think I’m probably “preaching to the choir.” My readers are probably keeping up with politics as much as I am.
Since I don’t want to bore you with our new normal in the United States, I hope to add some variety to my blog posts. I certainly don’t want to write about politics every day! It’s not good for my mental health or yours. I miss writing fiction, and I desperately want to get back to a place emotionally where I can turn off the politics in my head and switch gears to colonial America.
I have written 90,000 words of an historical novel, but I put it on the back burner a couple of years ago when I realized the protagonist’s backstory deserved its own novel. I’ve done a ton of research and I wrote 35,000 words before I let myself get derailed. I think about my protagonist every day and I yearn to finish writing her story.
Her story lets me travel back to The Great Wagon Road in the 1760s to the backcountry of Virginia, North Carolina, and into The Waxhaws in South Carolina. I look forward to sharing her story with you, but first I must get my devotional book published.
I have had success in the past week in turning my attention back to the devotional book I’m writing. I have been doing what I hope will be my read aloud proofread. It is tedious. It is time-consuming. It is 186 pages.
I took a big step yesterday. I have published my other books and two short stories through Kindle Direct Publishing, but I would like for my devotional book to be available for bookstores to sell. I have researched IngramSpark and yesterday I set up an account with that company.
That decision had been weighing on my mind for several weeks. After reading the lengthy agreement and reviewing the company’s User Guide, I settled on IngramSpark and created my account last night.
I will explain in an upcoming blog what the book is about and the double importance of the title: I Need The Light. My goal is to publish it in August.
What happened to the historical short stories I mentioned last year?
Sadly, those stories are exactly where they were the last time I mentioned them in a blog post. They are on paper and in my computer. Some are complete. Some are almost complete. Some are just story titles on a list.
I want to get back to that project!
Here I am.
If you have wondered what happened to all my grandiose writing projects, now you know.
Please don’t give up on me. I have stories to share with you.
Hurricane Helene Update
As of last Friday, June 20, 2025, 59 roads in North Carolina were closed due to Hurricane Helene. That count included five US highways, nine state highways, and 45 state roads.
That is an increase of six state highways and four state roads since the report issued on Friday, June 17. I don’t know why the numbers went up. It could be a typographical error in the online table I check every week. It will be interesting to see what the next weekly NCDOT report will indicate.
The North Carolina General Assembly voted unanimously yesterday to allocated another $500 million for Hurricane Helene relief. That brings the state’s total to around $2 billion so far.
Due to a micro-burst rainstorm and flood on June 19, section of I-40 in Tennessee and North Carolina in the remote Pigeon River Gorge had to be closed again. The closure is approximately 50 miles long. It is the same portion of the interstate that was closed for five months after Hurricane Helene… and until Thursday of last week was finally open to one lane in each direction.
Tennessee Department of Transportation reports on Wednesday sounded doubtful but said they are still working toward possibly getting the highway reopened by July 4. Detour information can be found at https://drivenc.gov/.
I’m beginning to think the Pigeon River Gorge does not want an interstate highway. It keeps revolting!
Until my next blog post
I hope you have a good book to read.
If you live in Europe or on the east coast of the United States, I hope you get some relief from the heatwave this weekend. After a week, I have gotten used to the triple-digit heat index numbers, although anything above 105 degrees F. is still a little extreme.
Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
I’ve read that some people who blindly voted for Donald Trump are having buyer’s remorse now. As far as I know, I don’t know any of them personally. If you now wish you had not voted for Trump, please tell me.
Not a day passes that we don’t learn of another fascist step the Trump regime has taken.
It is exhausting to watch the news. It is exhausting to try to digest it and condense it into a blog post. I refuse to stop. I love my country too much to give up or give in.
I love my four young adult great nieces too much to stop watching the news and scanning the internet for multiple reputable resources. I love them too much to leave them a tyrannical government in which they are commanded to march lockstep with the-power hungry freedom haters in charge.
I worked too hard to get an education and they have worked too hard to get an education for them to be doomed to a life of barefoot and pregnant, which is what the Trumpers apparently want for them.
Wannabe dictators don’t sweep in and convert a democracy into an authoritarian state overnight. They chip away at rights bit by bit. They ban a few books today, and they ban more books tomorrow. They institute laws that make it more difficult for citizens to register to vote.
They call the press “the enemy of the people.” They attack education. They push the envelope to see what they can get away with. They attack judges. They slowly but surely undermine the citizens’ confidence in everything until those citizens start questioning their own instincts.
They normalize lies and hate.
They exaggerate civil unrest so they can bypass a state governor and send in the National Guard. They overwhelming exaggerate civil unrest so they can deploy the United States Marines to a city.
They invent crises so they can declare martial law.
I am trying to sound the alarm bell out of a place of low and not anger.
Last Monday, June 16: Dr. Fiona Havers, a top scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resigned because she could not in good conscience stay with the agency after Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices on June 9.
Reuters reported that Dr. Havers’ email to her colleagues said that she had lost of confidence that her team’s output would “be used objectively or evaluated with appropriate scientific rigor to make evidence-based vaccine policy decisions.”
Dr. Havers’ fear is that “a lot of Americans are going to die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases.”
She told The New York Times, “I could not be party to legitimizing this new committee.”
On June 11, Secretary Kennedy appointed eight new members to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. Several of them have questionable qualifications for developing vaccine policy for the United States.
Last Wednesday, June 18: The Associated Press (https://www.npr.org/2025/06/19/g-s1-73572/us-resumes-visas-foreign-students-access-social-media) reported that the US State Department will restart the process of vetting foreigners who apply for student visas. The new restriction is that applicants will have to set their social media accounts to “public” so they can be reviewed by US officials.
The report said, “The department says consular officers will be looking for activity, posts and messages showing ‘any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.’”
That would probably prevent me from coming here to study. So much for free speech.
Last Thursday, June 19: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instituted a new policy (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/us/politics/ice-congress.html) that members of Congress must give 72 hours’ notice if they wish to fulfill their duty and responsibility to visit ICE Field Office. That is in direct violation of the annual appropriation act that states that members of Congress are not required “to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility.”
The ICE Field Offices and detention centers house undocumented immigrants, sometimes legal immigrants, and sometimes American citizens because the ICE agents who are clothed in black glasses and face masks apparently cannot see or hear well enough through all their Gestapo-reminiscent garb to tell a citizen from a non-citizen. Why don’t they just wear white hoods like many of them probably do when they are off the clock?
What do they want to hide from the members of Congress?
This is another in a long line of cases in which Trump or one of his appointees decided they don’t have to obey the law.
Also on last Thursday, June 19: Trump put on social media that we have too many holidays in the United States. Posting that on Juneteenth was no accident. He posted that “the workers don’t want it [a holiday] either.”
Photo by CDC on Unsplash
If you work for the government, at a bank, or the stock market and don’t want a paid holiday, raise your hand. Go ahead. Raise your hand.
Last Friday, June 21: Axios reported that on June 12 Trump pulled the plug on the 2023 Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement. The Biden Administration dedicated $1 billion through 2033 toward restoring salmon to the Columbia River Basin along with supporting tribal-led clean energy projects in the region. Trump called the agreement “radical environmentalism.”
Also last Friday, June 21: It came to light on several media outlets that the US Ambassador to Senegal had denied visas for two representatives of the Senegalese basketball federation, the team doctor, a physiotherapist, five players, a steward, the general manager, and the ministerial delegate. They were scheduled to come to the United States for ten days to train for the biennial AfroBasket Tournament to be played July 26 – August 3 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. No reason was given for the visa denials.
This does not bode well for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In fact, nothing that has happened since January 20 bodes well for those games.
Also last Friday, June 21: I desperately look for signs of hope. I found one on Friday. It has been reported that the section in Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” that would make it almost impossible for the Trump Administration to be sued for dictatorial behavior or almost anything else in federal court – has been removed from the bill being considered by the US Senate. The US House of Representatives passed the bill, but a few Senators and the Senate Parliamentarian have removed some parts of it. (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-parliamentarian-knocks-pieces-out-of-trump-s-megabill/ar-AA1H6dqB)
Last Saturday, June 22: In a statement that would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous, this was published by The Washington Post: “President Trump is restoring the integrity of the Executive Branch following four years of relentless abuse through weaponization, lawfare, and unelected bureaucrats running the nation via autopen,” [White House spokesperson] Harrison [Fields] said in a statement. “The President and his administration are the most transparent in American history, seamlessly executing the will of the American people in accordance with their constitutional authority.”
The article contrasted the post-Watergate actions the US Congress took to rein in the power of the president with the undoing of power of the legislative branch by Trump.
The article, written by Naftali Bendavid and which can be found at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-undermines-watergate-laws-in-massive-shift-of-ethics-system/ar-AA1H8Xbx. The article includes this example: “Watergate-era lawmakers, furious at Nixon for refusing to spend money they had authorized, passed a law forbidding “impoundment.” Trump ignored that when he temporarily froze government grants, and he has all but dismantled an agency created by Congress, the U.S. Agency for International Development.”
It goes on to say, “In response to Nixon’s push to replace civil servants with political loyalists, Congress created the Merit Systems Protection Board in 1978 to hear cases of federal employees claiming unjust termination. Trump, who wants to force out thousands of workers, has dismissed a key member of the board and sought to neutralize it.”
On Monday, June 23: The US Supreme Court struck down a lower court ruling and said that it is perfectly find for the Trump Administration (and, therefore, all future administrations) to deport eight immigrants from various countries, including Vietnam and Cuba, to South Sudan even though none of them are from that country.
Photo by Brad Weaver on Unsplash
Imagine being deported to a country where you know no one and don’t speak that language! It turns out the eight people had already been deported to Djibouti before the US Supreme Court handed down its 6-3 ruling on Monday.
Until my next blog post
I will give you my weekly post-Hurricane Helene in North Carolina road update when I blog about my historical fiction writing and the little about the devotional book I’ve written but not yet published.
I hope you are reading a book that has you so captivated you can’t put it down except long enough to read my blog!
Don’t take anything or anyone for granted.
Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
Many of my blog posts this year have been about the mess we’re in. American democracy is being challenged like no other time in recent history, if ever.
Some people have been known to say in the last six months that we could have another civil war in the United States. Perhaps you’ve thought it yourself or heard someone else say those words.
Series of Webinars Sponsored by The Carter Center
President Jimmy Carter
Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash
This spring I watched a series of webinars sponsored by The Carter Center about our divided country. Panelists explored how we got to this place, how we can learn from other countries, what we can do to avoid what other countries have experienced, and where we can start.
The country that served as the example in the four webinars was Northern Ireland.
The facilitator for the webinars was the Rev. Dr. Gary Mason, a Methodist minister, peacemaker, and peacebuilder from Northern Ireland. Dr. Mason founded Rethinking Conflict in 2015. It seeks to model the principles of Northern Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement.
That agreement finally ended the conflict on Good Friday, April 10, 1998. Dr. Mason has taken this model to the Middle East and now, to the United States.
Dr. Mason spoke from personal experience growing up during “The Troubles.”
What if “The Troubles” happened in the United States?
British troops occupied Northern Ireland in August 1969. Everyone thought it would be over before Christmas, but there was an amazing amount of violence over the next 30 years. It was the longest occupation by the British Army in history.
To give Americans some perspective on the amount of violence that took place in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles,” Dr. Mason gave the following statistics: At that time, Northern Ireland had a population of 1.5 million. During The Troubles, nearly 4,000 were killed, 47,000 were injured, there were 37,000 shootings, 30,000 people went through the penal system, there were 22,000 armed robberies, and 16,000 bombings.
He extrapolated that out to compare with the population of the United States over a 30-year conflict. If we had such a civil war in the US, we could see 800,000 killed, 9 million injuries, 7 million shootings, 6 million political prisoners, 4 million armed robberies, and 3 million bombings.
Imagine that level of carnage in America. I can’t.
An estimated 618,000 Americans died in our Civil War in the 1860s. To bring it “home,” I’ve studied the local losses in my own church in that war. Out of a membership of 400 white members and 200 black enslaved members, the congregation lost 74 men in the war. I cannot imagine that number of deaths in this community.
Just like it, undoubtedly, took decades for my community to recover from the war, 27 years after the Good Friday Agreement, Dr. Mason says in Northern Ireland “we are still wrestling with the legacy of the conflict. It’s really the one piece of unfinished business of the peace process.”
Indeed, in the United States we’re still wrestling with the legacy of our civil war. Confederate statues were taken down, but Trump wants them put back in place. Confederate names were removed from US military installations, but now the names are being restored, albeit technically they are not being renamed for the Confederates.
For example, Fort Bragg here in North Carolina was originally named for Braxton Bragg, a Confederate Army General who owned slaves. His name was removed, all the signs and letterhead replaced to say “Fort Liberty” in June 2023, and then in February 2025, Fort Liberty was renamed Fort Bragg but this time for a decorated Private in World War II, Roland X. Bragg.
We are still wrestling with the legacy of our Civil War, so it is not surprising that 27 years after the fact, the people of Northern Ireland are wrestling with theirs.
In Northern Ireland, People Hated Each Other
When peace talks began in Northern Ireland, the people in the room hated each other. No wonder it took so many years for them to develop a peace agreement.
Is that where we are today in the United States of America?
In polite society, we generally get along with each other. But, as I wrote about in my April 17, 2025, blog post, Is your family getting together during Holy Week? Brace yourself!, it only takes one person making an inflammatory remark and a heated argument can break out even among a group of friends or a family gathering.
Do Americans hate each other?
I don’t hate anyone, but I hate what some individuals and groups are doing to our country.
I hate that the US Congress has relinquished its legislative responsibilities to a US President who is legislating via Executive Orders.
I hate that thousands of federal employees have been fired or forced to take early retirement.
I hate that medical research funds and researchers have been eliminated.
I hate that people are being shipped off to a prison in El Salvador without due process.
I hate when people are shipped off to a prison El Salvador by mistake, the US President says he is powerless to do anything about it.
I hate that USAID was halted and will result in people starving.
I hate that universities, museums, and libraries are being targeted and punished.
I hate that Moms for Liberty think they have the right to dictate which books should not be read.
I hate that the Heritage Foundation was able to slide Project 2025 into the White House while the Republican Presidential nominee denied having anything to do with it.
I hate that many of the most vocally hateful voices in this country come from people who claim to be Christians. They give Christianity and Christians a bad name.
So how do we get out of this mess?
If we take the peacemaking and peacebuilding experience of Dr. Gary Mason into consideration, since he has lived through a civil war, we will open avenues of communication with people with whom we disagree.
LEAPFROG: How to hold a civil conversation in an uncivil era, by Janet Givens, M.A.
Taking Dr. Mason’s advice, we will then calmly and sincerely ask the person or persons why they feel the way they do about the topic with which we know we disagree with them, and then we will respectfully listen to their story.
Hopefully, they will be equally curious about our story and allow us to explain our position and why or how we arrived at it. Without honesty by both parties and a genuine curiosity by both parties, and a real listening by both parties… it won’t be a successful conversation.
Then, we move on to another person with whom we disagree and repeat the process.
Hmmm. Sounds easy on paper?
No, it doesn’t even sound easy on paper, much less in real life.
Bottom line is, I don’t know how we get out of this mess.
It has been my experience that people who stand on the opposite end of the political spectrum from where I stand, are not interested in hearing my story. They tend to be loud, rude, and condescending. They tend to call names and belittle, like their political leader on Pennsylvania Avenue.
So I really don’t know how we will get out of this mess. When I consider having “that difficult conversation” with anyone I know who supports Trump, I honestly cannot imagine that I would be able to have a productive conversation with them about politics. Our worldviews and core beliefs about democracy are just that far apart.
A chilling perspective
I just reread White Robes and Broken Badges: Infiltrating the KKK and Exposing the Evil Among Us, by Joe Moore. I blogged about that book on October 7, 2024, in What I Read Last Month & a Hurricane Helene Update, and I will blog about it again on July 7.
White Robes and Broken Badges, by Joe Moore
Speaking from the unique place of having infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan twice for the FBI, Moore stated in his book, “The radical right cares nothing about process, only outcome. They’re not interested in a civil discussion to work out differences, because they are so consumed by ideology that it has hijacked their civility. They have a clear vision of what they want the country to look like, and democracy itself is the only thing standing in their way.”
That leaves us in a hopeless situation. I don’t want to be hopeless, but I admit I don’t know how to have a productive conversation about politics with anyone who supports Donald Trump.
Even when Donald Trump is no longer in office, the people who agree with his tactics will still be with us. Our mess is bigger than an election or two can clean up.
Until my next blog post
How do you think we can get out of this mess?
What have you tried? Did it work?
It is going to take all of us to get our country out of this mess. The politicians certainly aren’t going to save us!
Remember the people of Northern Ireland, Ukraine, and western North Carolina.
Janet
P.S. I wrote and scheduled today’s blog post before the United States bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday night, Eastern Time.
I considered saving today’s topic for my July 7 planned blog post about the books I am reading in June, but I decided it deserved its own post.
Last week, I read the fourth chapter in How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, by Mariann Edgar Budde.
How We Learn To Be Brave, by Mariann Edgar Budde
If the author’s name sounds familiar, it is because she is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. and the Washington National Cathedral. She spoke boldly in the worship service on President Trump’s Inauguration Day in January 2025, and was sharply criticized by Trump for her courage.
My sister read this book and encouraged me to at least read the fourth chapter before she returned it to the public library. She said it reminded her of me and some of my life experiences. I took time to read that 34-page chapter titled, “Accepting What You Do Not Choose.”
My story (well, part of it)
At the age of 25 I accepted the fact that I had a medical problem that was incurable but could be treated with a series of surgeries. It meant that I would never have a chance to have children. Less than ten years later I accepted the fact that I had chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, neither of which can be cured and treatment of the symptoms is poor at best.
What I was able to accept has astounded my sister. She knows better than anyone else how much physical pain I tolerate and the fatigue that makes it difficult for me to get up and face each day. She says she has asked God, “Why Janet?” but I just find that odd because I have never asked God, “Why me?”
I admit that when I get frustrated over the memory problems that accompany chronic fatigue syndrome that cause me to make mistakes and have to repeat various tasks, I do sometimes ask God why life has to be so hard.
But I’ve never asked God why I had endometriosis, a ten-pound ovarian cyst, fibroid tumors, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic corneal erosion, and so forth. Why would I do that? Stuff happens. God never promised us that life would be a bed of roses. He promised He would always be with us. Diseases happen. Accidents happen. No one has a perfect life, so why would I expect my life to be perfect?
My father was my example
My example was my father. He was just 61 years old when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I had just started my sophomore year in college. He lived for almost five more years. The chemotherapy acted like fertilizer on his cataracts and he went blind. Blindness was harder for him to accept than his cancer because there was nothing he could do to fight blindness.
He insisted on having cataract surgery against his doctors’ recommendations, but it was unsuccessful. But in those five years of sickness and eventual legal blindness, I never once heard my father ask, “Why me?” That just was not the way he approached his medical diagnoses. He continued to work every day until his eyesight made it impossible for him to drive.
What Bishop Budd’s 4th chapter had to say
I read the fourth chapter in Bishop Budde’s book, and it was comforting. She writes from a place of physical pain that I did not know she had. The book gave me some things to think about. It is always helpful to listen to another person’s perspective.
Budde writes several pages about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and how he accepted the life he was dealt. She writes about acting from a place of love and putting the other person ahead of ourselves. Instead of being like the Levite and the priest in the story of the Good Samaritan, we should strive to be like the Good Samaritan.
The Levite and the priest in the story saw the man who needed help, but they were afraid of what could happen to them if they stopped to help the man. But if we try to adopt the mindset of the Good Samaritan, when we see someone who needs help or an injustice, we should ask ourselves, “What will happen to them if I don’t act?”
That is the question I have asked myself daily since January 20, 2025. What will happen to my country, to my great-nieces, to their future children, if I don’t act?
With Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry’s words in mind from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding ceremony, Budde writes, “When we choose love in response to what we wish we could change but can’t; when we choose love as our response to the world as it is, not as what we wish it were; when we choose love over denial, or anger, or cynicism and withdrawal, we share in God’s redeeming of our world. It doesn’t make the work any easier, but it gives our efforts a sense of purpose that can carry us through. Through our imperfect efforts, God’s grace shines through us in ways we may never know or fully understand.”
Budde closes the fourth chapter with the following words:
“Our lives are full of unforeseen choices, struggles, and callings. Sometimes we can overcome these obstacles, and sometimes we must make peace with them…. Accepting what we did not choose involves a leap of faith that God is present and at work in ways that we cannot comprehend…. This kind of acceptance is not passive or fatalistic, but rather a courageous choice at a decisive moment to embrace the places we are broken as an integral part of a courageous life.”
I didn’t feel courageous at age 24 but maybe I am at 72
I don’t consider that I was courageous in accepting my physical limitations. It never occurred to me that I had a choice, so what would have been the point of fighting or lashing out at God about them?
Another participant in a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome support group in the 1980s who every month angrily said, “I refuse to be sick! I’m not going to put up with this. The rest of you can be sick if you want to, but I refuse.” I don’t know what became of her. I hope she was able to find a place of acceptance and contentment.
There was another participant in the support group who presented herself as a wealthy middle-age woman who enjoyed playing tennis every day. She could no longer play tennis and it crushed her spirit. She committed suicide.
I did not choose to have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since April 26, 1987, but here I am.
On the other hand, I did not choose to have Donald Trump as my President, and it is taking a degree of courage for me to express my concerns in my blog. I don’t personally know but a few of the people who read my blog. WordPress tells me that people in 81 countries have read my blog just in 2025. People who may wish me harm for my opinions might read my blog. A few trolls have read it and left unpleasant comments.
I’m happy to engage in a “conversation” about the topics in my blog, but when a comment turns into a personal attack or accusations about my credibility or motives, I draw the line and I delete them. I do not owe my time and limited energy to someone who merely wants to pick a fight.
The bottom line
“The bottom line” is that we do not choose many of the things that happen to us, but we can always choose how we react to them. Our experiences make us who we are. If I had not had some medical problems, I would not be the person I am today.
We can look for constructive and creative things to do when we have physical or career setbacks. If I had not been forced to give up my chosen career due to my health at the age of 34, I might not have taken a writing course at the age of 48.
If I had not taken that writing course, I would not have had the confidence to write a local history column for the newspaper at the age of 53 to 59. If I had not taken that writing course, I would not have started a blog at the age of 60.
If I had not written 175 local history articles for the newspaper, I wouldn’t have been able to self-publish them in two books (Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2). If I hadn’t wanted to publish those articles in book form, I wouldn’t have learned how to format a book on the computer so I could self-publish on Kindle Direct Publishing.
If I had not taken that writing course or published those two history books, I would not have published two short stories on Amazon… or a cookbook with my sister in 2023.
If I had not taken that writing course, I would not be writing an historical novel now at the age of 72.
If I had not had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Seasonal Affective Disorder and learned how to write and self-publish, I would not have just finished writing a devotional book. I hope to publish I Need The Light in August, so stay tuned!
God did not wish for me to have any of my physical maladies, but he gave me the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives me the gumption to get up every day (although some days I don’t get up until the afternoon) and to seek God’s will in my life.
It is through The Trinity — God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit — that I have the energy and creative motivation many days to read, write, interact with the friends I’ve made around the world through my blog, sometimes dabble in genealogy, and occasionally keep learning to play the dulcimer – a musical instrument I took up in middle age.
It is through The Trinity that I was given an interest in history and political science. It is those lifelong interests that compel me to pay attention to current events. The current events in my country are sources of much stress and concern.
I see the democracy in which I have thrived all my life under attack now from within. My government is turning against its citizens and the things we value. I did not vote for any of this, but the situation is the one I’ve been dealt.
It is up to me how I react.
Some days I wish I could just turn off the news. Some days I wish I could listen to the news and then just go about my business and not be concerned. Lots of people seem to be able to do that. I am not one of them. (I am simultaneously envious of them and frustrated with them!)
The reelection of Donald Trump has upended my little weekly blog (and, therefore, my life) into an almost daily report (some say “rant”) about the dismantling of our democracy. Nothing about 2025 is what I had planned for myself, but life happens.
Now you see
So now, 1,900 words later, you see why I decided to give the fourth chapter of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s book, How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, its own blog post.
Some of you might think my life is too much of an open book. I get it. Some people don’t want anyone to know they have medical problems. I don’t share that information about myself to get your sympathy. That’s not what this is about. But perhaps someone else with health problems at a young age (or at any age) can take some measure of encouragement from my blog today or from the devotional book I will blog more about later.
It’s all about faith and where we get out courage to keep putting one foot in front the other. It’s about how we react to whatever comes our way.
What are your priorities?
What creative and constructive ways have you found to express yourself and react to the life you have been given?
It’s never too late to find your voice.
It has been my experience that when life circumstances close a door, God always opens a window… or even a bigger door.
Until my next blog post
Keep reading and paying attention to what’s happening in your country and the world. Being a citizen is not a spectator sport!
Remember the brave people of Ukraine, and don’t forget the people in western North Carolina who are still recovering from last September’s hurricane and record-setting flooding and landslides… as well as a new flood and landslide two days ago just over in Tennessee which has closed I-40 to all traffic (again) for a couple of weeks.
There are more pressing worries today in the Middle East than what is happening at the Smithsonian Institute, but I am posting this as planned.
I mentioned my concerns about the Smithsonian Institution in my March 31, 2025, blog post, Words Trump wants federal agencies to “limit or avoid”, but like many parts of the US Government that don’t directly affect our lives on a daily basis, the Smithsonian has dropped from the headlines.
“The Castle” – the most iconic building of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Photo by Sara Cottle on Unsplash
My only other substantive mention of the Smithsonian in my blog since then was on June 3, 2025, when I wrote, “On Friday, Trump fired Kim Sajet, the Director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. She had held the position for 12 years. Her crime, according to Trump was for being ‘a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.’”
President Trump replaced Ms. Sajet with Lindsey Halligan, Esq.
I have wondered since then what Ms. Halligan is up to, but I’m afraid to ask. Plus, who would I ask? My United States Senators and my US Representative certainly would not know.
The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC Photo by Sung Jin Cho on Unsplash
On March 27, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” I don’t know about you, but as a student of history, the title alone makes me cringe.
It turns out there is one person mentioned by name in that Executive Order: Lindsey Halligan, Esq.
The Executive Order states that Halligan will consult with Vice President J.D. Vance to “remove improper ideology” from Smithsonian properties. That sounds like she is going to have some say so in more than the National Portraits Gallery.
So, again, what are her qualifications? I ask, because so many of Trump’s appointees have no qualifications for their jobs. You know who they are, and they know who they are.
According to Maura Judkis’s article in The Washington Post, Halligan is a Trump attorney who moved to Washington in January. She visited the Smithsonian museums of Natural History, American History, and American Art and she did not like what she saw.
It seems that she thought the Smithsonian was “weaponizing history.” To me, those words coming from a Trump associate translate into “We don’t want to be reminded that America was never perfect.” Halligan told the newspaper that she reported her concerns to the President.
Poof! She is now consulting with the Vice President to apparently rid the Smithsonian of collections and exhibits that offend her sensitivities.
But how did she get in a position to have such a level of access to and influence over Donald Trump? She competed in the Miss Colorado USA Pageant back in 2009 when Trump co-owned the parent organization of the Miss Universe pageant, for which the state Miss USA pageants is a preliminary event.
Ms. Halligan might be a well-qualified attorney. What she knows about art or portraits was not covered in the newspaper article.
The Smithsonian’s Mission
According to the website for The Smithsonian Institution (https://www.si.edu/), its purpose is: “The increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
The Smithsonian’s stated vision: “Through our unparalleled collections and research capabilities, and the insight and creativity we foster through art, history, and culture, the Smithsonian strives to provide Americans and the world with the tools and information they need to forge Our Shared Future.”
In other words, the Smithsonian Institution is for the whole world. Keep that in mind, as we delve into what Lindsey Halligan did not like when she visited a few of its museums in January.
What is “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian?
More troublesome than Ms. Halligan’s credentials is, “What is considered ‘improper ideology’ for the Smithsonian?”
I will quote two paragraphs from Maura Judkis’s newspaper article:
“During her visits to the museums, Halligan says she saw ‘exhibits that have to do with either another country’s history entirely or art and sculpture that describes on the placards next to it that America and sculpture are inherently racist,’ though she did not offer specific details.
“She says she also saw exhibitions that did not focus on America at all. ‘There’s a lot about other countries’ history that has nothing to do with America, and I think, you know, America is so special,’ she says, adding: ‘We should all be focused on how amazing our country is and how much America has to offer.’”
What happens to the history of slavery in the US?
Today we mark the 160th anniversary of the day that the last black slaves in the state of Texas found out that they were free: June 19, 1865. That’s the day U.S. Army Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. It is now a recognized holiday known as Juneteenth, a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth.”
But what is happening to the history of slavery in the United States, when the Trump Administration wants to erase all traces of the unpleasant chapters in our national history?
Photo by Tasha Jolley on Unsplash
We know certain museum exhibits have been removed from the Smithsonian. What happened to them? Were they thrown in the trash?
We know the Trump Administration doesn’t want any mention of slavery in our children’s history textbooks or any discussion of such things in our classrooms because it might make the white children feel bad. That is absurd, short-sighted, and evil.
Need we know more?
If you want to know more, Ms. Judkis’s article gives many more details, but I think those two paragraphs tell us everything I need to know.
Ms. Halligan’s statements as quoted above are in direct conflict with the stated purpose and vision of the Smithsonian.
I hope when the Trump regime is a distant memory, people who have knowledge of world history and how to operate museums will be able to piece the Smithsonian back together.
Crackdown on ideology to the extreme
It has been reported that there are now signs up (or will be soon) at the National Zoo in Washington, DC instructing visitors to report anything they see that they think is in conflict with the ideology of the US Government.
It is a zoo, people! It. is. a. zoo.
This does not bode well for Bao Li and Qing Bao, the two pandas on loan from China. I hope they will keep their anti-American thoughts to themselves!
Photo by Harrison Mitchell on Unsplash
If they aren’t careful, Trump will place a tariff on them like he did that island inhabited only by penguins.
Read everything you can get your hands on. Watch a little bit of the news every day.
Learn the history of your country and the world. Your democracy and way of life might depend on that someday. The knowledge of history needs to influence for whom you vote on every level of government.
Do whatever you can to make this world a better place.
Remember the people of Ukraine and eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. I-40 in Cocke County, Tennessee sustained major flooding again yesterday and a new landslide. The interstate highway is closed in both directions near the TN/NC line until damage can be cleaned up and assessed. Motorists must use I-40 to I-81 in TN to I-26 to Asheville, NC to I-40. The Hurricane Helene saga continues. That area just can’t seem to get a break as we approach ten months since the hurricane.
After I settled on the title for today’s blog post, I realized you might think this is going to be about cosmetics and shades of makeup. That’s not where this is going.
Saturday’s parade
Photo by Filip Andrejevic on Unsplash
I think we all know what Saturday’s parade in Washington, DC was about, and it wasn’t for the US Army’s 250th birthday. The reason for the parade was to stroke President Trump’s fragile ego. He wanted a North Korean-style military parade and he was finally about to finagle a parade of sorts under the guise of celebrating the US Army. Oh, and it was also Flag Day. And, by the way, it was his birthday.
The adoring crowd was not what he expected. It turned out that the patriotic and enthusiastic crowds were too buy participating in the “No Kings” protests all across the country to be bothered by Trump’s birthday parade.
I understand from a former US Army NCO that the lack of crispness and precision in the soldiers’ marching in the parade was a sign of low morale and their way to have a silent protest against Trump. It was quite noticeable in the photos I saw. I did not watch the parade.
That gives me hope that at least some members of the US military remember that they do not have to follow an order if it is for them to do something illegal. I don’t think their commander-in-chief understands that or cares.
I couldn’t help but wonder why the soldiers representing the Revolutionary War were wearing red jackets and white wigs. I thought the British were the “redcoats,” and I really don’t think our soldiers were issued white wigs! It just looked odd.
We can all hope that’s Trump’s last attempt at a grand military parade. That kind of thing really rubs Americans the wrong way. He didn’t know, even though his military advisors during his first term in office tried to explain it to him.
Why the “About Face!” on US Steel-Nippon Steel Merger?
Photo by yasin hemmati on Unsplash
In case you wondered why President Trump was against the merger of US Steel and Nippon Steel until he was suddenly in favor of it, the truth came out last Thursday. According to The Associated Press, “President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will gain control of U.S. Steel as part of a merger deal with Japan’s largest steelmaker.”
The report quoted Trump as saying, “We have a golden share, which I control.” He went on to say he was “‘a little concerned’ about what future presidents would do with their golden share, ‘but that gives you total control.'”
The New York Times reported the so-called “golden share” “would effectively allow Washington to inject itself into the fabric of a foreign-owned, yet strategically critical, American enterprise.”
I have not read the agreement, but what jumps out at me is how The New York Times is reporting “Washington” will have some say so in how the new company is run, but Donald Trump said he will control the company.
That’s cringe-worthy, especially considering how many businesses Trump has bankrupted. It is cringe-worthy since doing the merger talks Trumps referred to Nippon Steel as Nissan three times. Does he think Nippon Steel makes steel, or does he think it makes cars? It’s also cringe-worthy if by “Washington” The New York Times means the US Government will control it. That sounds like the nationalization of a company.
What happened to the Republican Party’s support of private enterprise? The Biden Administration opposed the merger due to national security concerns. Did those concerns magically disappear on January 20?
It is a done deal, so it remains to be seen how it plays out.
Trump’s true colors
Photo by Jay Rembert on Unsplash
We saw two political assassinations and two attempted political assassinations in the United States in the wee small hours on Saturday morning.
President Trump and the White House were silent about the events for hours. And hours. Would Trump and his spokespeople have been silent for so long if the Minnesota elected officials had not been Democrats? Or maybe Trump would have picked up the phone to call the Minnesota governor if that governor were a Republican?
Trump showed his true colors on Sunday morning when ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott reached him by telephone more than 24 hours after the assassination. Scott reported on ABC’s Sunday morning news commentary show that when she asked him if he would call Minnesota Governor Tim Walz regarding the tragedy, he responded by saying he “might call him” and then immediately said that Governor Walz is a “terrible governor” and “grossly incompetent.”
Those were Trump’s personal, political opinions and they had nothing to do with the truth or Saturday’s horrific assassinations. His words were tacky and small-minded.
Trump’s reckless rhetoric fuels political violence.
As of yesterday, Trump still had not called Governor Walz. Former President Joe Biden called Walz early Saturday morning.
The assassin was apprehended on Sunday night.
Until my next blog post
I hope you have a good book to read.
Take care and stay informed. As I write this on Monday night, June 16, it appears that the United States is gearing up to get directly involved in the war between Israel and Iran. Israel started the war, and we’re being told “the United States will have to finish it.” Thanks a lot, Netanyahu! The US Government supports Israel, no matter what it does. Trump is suddenly leaving the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta tonight to return to Washington, DC without meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
Don’t forget the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
I have been wanting to go to the mountains in western North Carolina for months, not to sightsee but to try to support some small businesses. My sister and I were in the mountains for three days last week. We were on a mission.
I tend to plan trips in detail. Sometimes things go as planned, but I have a poor track record when it comes to selecting restaurants in advance.
Our first stop on Tuesday was Montreat. The Presbyterian Church USA has its conference facilities there, and the place is near and dear to our hearts. The town suffered much landscape and street damage from the flood that accompanied Hurricane Helene last September. We knew from Facebook that Lake Susan had been completely cleaned out and restored. It was good to see people enjoying the lake again. Recovery work in Montreat continues.
Lake Susan, Montreat, NC June 10, 2025
We planned to eat lunch at a small diner in Swannanoa. I had read online that it had been owned and operated by the same family for 30 years. Unfortunately, when we got there, the sign on the door said they were closed for the week. Maybe The Breakfast Shop will be open the next time we’re in the area.
We drove back to Black Mountain and ate lunch at the Black Mountain Bistro, so we were still able to patronize a local business. Lunch there is always good.
We continued back through Swannanoa on US-70. The little town of Swannanoa had a lot of damage from the flood. Recovery will take a long time. One thing we noticed along US-70 for many miles is that there is still much dirt by the curb – a sign that street and highway crews have had much more pressing work to do than to get the dirt from the curb. The state of things indicates that every rain washes more dirt and debris into the highway. It wasn’t a major issue. It was just something we don’t normally notice.
US-70 become Tunnel Road in Asheville, and from Tunnel Road we were able to access a couple of miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the entrance to the wonderful Folk Art Center on the parkway we were faced with this signage.
Barricade on Blue Ridge Parkway beside entrance to Folk Art Center at Asheville, June 10, 2025
It was sad to see the parkway closed. In the distance, we could see work being done and we met a dump truck hauling away storm debris.
We bought a couple of items at the Folk Art Center. Artisans from the Southern Appalachian Mountains sell their handcrafted merchandise there. There are quilts, blown-glass, leatherwork, woodwork, pottery, Christmas ornaments, and pottery.
Folk Art Center on Blue Ridge Parkway at Asheville, NC, June 10, 2025
From Asheville, we took Interstate 26 west through Weaverville to Mars Hill, where we had reservations for the night. We had never been to Hot Springs in Madison County, so we set out to have dinner at a small restaurant there, Smoky Mountain Diner. My mouth was watering for local trout, but the restaurant was closed for a private party.
We returned to Mars Hill. By then, it was getting late and we’d had a long day. “Plan B” was Stackhouse Restaurant in downtown Mars Hill, but when the hostess told us it would be a 45-minute wait we reluctantly settled for sandwiches at Subway. Not a good substitute for local mountain trout or a burger at Stackhouse.
So, Day One was more than a little disappointing. We were beginning to wonder if our trip was going to help the local economy at all.
On Wednesday we took US-19E through Burnsville to NC-226A to Little Switzerland. We went into downtown Burnsville. Recovery work was still being done on at least one street, and tree damage was obvious. Some roads that turned off US-19E were still closed, and we could only imagine the extent of tree and infrastructure damage.
There was lots of storm damage visible along NC-226-A and many asphalt patches in the highway. As was true on our entire trip, damage wasn’t constant, but was especially noticeable where there had been landslides or near creeks where there was obvious flood damage.
Here are a series of random photos I took on June 11, 2025, where we could safely pull off the highway as we drove from Mars Hill, NC to Little Switzerland, NC.
Area beside a creek with obvious major repairs having been done.
Example of tree damage on the side of a mountain, although by far not the worst we saw.
A sign of hope: a wildflower blooming in the midst of Hurricane Helene flood damage on June 11, 2025
Tree and underbrush damage by the roadside.
Small stream, but evidence of major creek bank repairs and reseeding.
Throughout the three days we were amazed at the massive water damage still visible along what were once again tiny creeks and branches. It is amazing what 30 inches of rain in a couple of days can do to little mountain streams!
Storm debris waiting to be hauled away.
Tiny stream now, but look at the damage it did last September.
The remains of a home surrounded by evidence of the flood and a small landslide in the background.
We ate lunch, as planned (success at last!) at Little Switzerland Café. We had eaten there before. It is a good place to get soup, a sandwich, or homemade quiche. It is a short distance off the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Orchard at Altapass. The address of the orchard is Spruce Pine, but it is out in the country, right on the parkway.
Little Switzerland Cafe, Little Switzerland, NC, June 11, 2025
After lunch we had planned to visit the orchard. There is a general store there and walking trails, but the Blue Ridge Parkway was unexpectedly closed there. When I checked online a few days before our trip, the National Park Service website hade indicated that a couple of miles of the parkway were open there and the orchard was accessible. Apparently, more damage occurred or was discovered and the website couldn’t keep up. That’s understandable.
As is stated on https://altapassorchard.org/, “The mission of the Altapass Foundation, Inc. is to preserve the history, heritage, and culture of the Blue Ridge Mountains; protect the underlying orchard land with its apples, wetlands, butterflies, and other natural features; and educate the public about the Appalachian experience.”
Please take eight minutes to watch this 2023 PBS NC video clip, “How an apple orchard is preserving Appalachian views | State of Change: Seeds of Hope” about The Orchard at Altapass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bTKjLipjGI, so you can see why we wanted to visit it again and why you should include it on your itinerary the next time you’re in the area.
The orchard was planted by the Clinchfield Railroad at the lowest pass through the Blue Ridge Mountains for 100 miles. The railroad constructed 18 tunnels in 13 miles of track beside and below the present-day orchard and opened in 1908. Some of the trees in the orchard are still producing apples at nearly 100 years old. Hurricane Helene killed hundreds of the apple trees, but thousands survived.
From there, we made our way to Newland, Linville, Grandfather Mountain, and Boone, where we had reservations for the night. Along the way, especially where we crossed or drove beside mountain streams, the ravages of Hurricane Helene were visible.
We ate supper at Mike’s Inland Seafood in Boone. We discovered it on our last visit, which was exactly two weeks before the hurricane hit and Boone was flooded. We drove around the college town and were amazed at how the town and Appalachian State University campus have been almost completely cleaned up and restored since last September. From what we saw, someone who did not know there had been a flood would not be able to tell there was one less than a year ago unless they veer off the main streets.
A side street in Boone being repaired on June 11, 2025. That’s part of Rich Mountain in the background.
We enjoyed walking up and down King Street in Boone. We bought “Go Mountaineers! And Boone tee-shirts and postcards. My sister just happened to be reading a book about Watauga County musician, Doc Watson, so it was nice to stop and see his statue again at the corner of King and Depot Streets.
Alex Hallmark, a sculptor from nearby Blowing Rock, designed the statue of the blind musician seated and playing his guitar. A black steel bench was designed to fit the seated statue, so visitors can stop and sit awhile next to Doc. When we arrived, a mother and her little girl were sitting with Doc and enjoying ice cream cones. I wanted to take a picture, but I did not want to intrude.
We walked and shopped for a few minutes and I took this picture later.
Statue of Doc Watson at corner of King and Depot streets in Boone, NC, June 11, 2025
Thursday was the day that really made our trip worthwhile. From Boone, we drove to West Jefferson. We can’t go to West Jefferson without stopping by the Ashe County Cheese store. We purchased some of the cheese made at the factory across the street from the store along with some jams and jellies made especially for Ashe County Cheese Company. We looked at the fudge counter but resisted temptation.
There were jars at the cash registers at the Ashe County Cheese Company store for monetary donations to the Ashe Food Pantry, Inc. The organization accepts online donations at https://ashefoodpantry.org/ or a check can be mailed to Ashe Food Pantry, Inc., P. O. Box 705, Jefferson, NC 28640.
From West Jefferson, we headed north on NC-194 toward Lansing. We passed through Warrensville where I had planned for us to stop at The Baker’s Addict Bakery on our way back from Lansing, but we made a spontaneous decision to come home another way. My apologies to The Baker’s Addict Bakery. We’ll be sure to stop by on our next trip to northwestern North Carolina.
The little community of Lansing was hit extremely hard by Hurricane Helene. The community was left isolated for weeks and weeks after the storm. The little creek that flows beside NC-194/Big Horse Creek Road appears to be just a nice little bubbling brook last Thursday morning. There is a lovely park there and we delighted in seeing a group of young girls skating on the sidewalk in the park. We assumed they were local girls and we were so glad to see them having fun again after the natural disaster they lived through. The way it flooded all of the little business district last September was hard to imagine.
The park in Lansing, NC
There are just several businesses there, and we tried to support each of them. We had never been to Lansing before, so our knowledge of the businesses there came from the internet.
Part of the business district in Lansing, NC, June 11, 2025
Our first stop was at The Squirrel and The Nut. It is a delightful shop that specializes in locally-made handcrafted items and vintage items. I had looked at the rope bowls and was trying to decide what to buy – those or a quilted item or a vintage pitcher or a hand-painted necklace. My sister had done the same thing. For some reason, those rope bowls kept calling my name.
I returned to the display and was contemplating which ones to buy. About that time, my sister stopped beside me and picked up one of the bowls. The shop owner noticed us and explained why there were several color variations on the insides and outsides of the bowls. I had noticed that on the price tags was handwritten: “Suggested donation” along with a dollar amount. What I did not notice on the tag was where it was printed: “Helene Bowl.”
As I studied two of the bowls, the shop owner said, “Those rope bowls survived the hurricane. They were in the mud. The woman who made them lost a lot of her supplies and finished products in the flood. It was five months before she could bring herself to try to wash the mud out of those bowls. The discolorations were caused by other rope bowls fading on the ropes bowls during the flood.” By then I was tearing up. I went to the cash register with two of the rope bowls and my sister followed with another rope bowl and the vintage pitcher we had both picked up and considered.
Our Hurricane Helene rope bowls made by The Infinite Daisy, Lansing, NC.
The larger of the two I purchased had been designed and made to be a dough proofing bowl, but the shop owner cautioned me that it probably shouldn’t be used for a food product considering its history. I was so emotional, I could scarcely say anything as the shop owner wrapped my bowls in tissue.
There was a hint of a strain in the shop owner’s voice as she told us about the items she lost in the flood and the bookcase that she knew she was going to need to discard. She said it just takes a while to come to grips with such losses.
She smiled and told us of the vintage cabinet radio she purchased the week before and laughed about how her partner struggled to carry it into the shop and place it exactly where she wanted it beside the front window.
Before we left, she recommended the dress shop two doors down and lunch at The Liar’s Bench at the end of the row of old businesses. We told her we had already planned to eat lunch there, so that worked out great.
We stopped in the little clothing store and I bought a pretty, soft, pastel yellow tee-shirt with various wildflowers on the front. I was tempted to buy a wristlet/crossbody purse, but I did not need it. It would have been perfect for our great-niece’s wedding last February.
We visited Old Orchard General Store, where Marie purchased a book to give to a friend and I bought a loaf of locally-made Country Multigrain Sourdough sliced bread made by Stick Boy Bread in nearby Boone. That bread is delicious! I should have bought more than one loaf!
We ate turkey BLT croissant sandwiches and drank the best sweet tea I’ve had in I don’t know when at The Liar’s Bench at 144 S. Big Horse Creek Road. It was a one-man operation and there were just four other customers the entire time we were there. The sign said they have live music every Friday night.
The Liar’s Bench Restaurant in Lansing, NC
The sandwiches were delicious, but I felt compelled to tell the cook/cashier how good the tea was. He laughed and said, “I was afraid I’d ruined it. I put in four cups of sugar.” We were afraid to ask him how much tea he had sweetened with four cups of sugar! I told him it was perfect and my sister and I left with take-out cups of more iced tea for our trip home.
My sister asked him if the flood waters got in all the businesses along the road. He pointed out the window to a stop sign and said, “It got up to there. It was really bad.” His voice nearly broke. There was a sorrow in his voice and a sadness in his eyes. One couldn’t help but notice.
Lots of character inside The Liar’s Bench Restaurant in Lansing, NC.
It was obvious that the people in the little community of Lansing, North Carolina, have had a traumatic experience and already a difficult nine-and-a-half-month recovery.
My sister overheard one of the other restaurant customers saying, “I have 1,100 tomato plants, and if he doesn’t open and take them to sell, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want to take them all the way to West Jefferson.” Apparently, she is hoping another local business will reopen in time for her to sell her tomato plants.
After lunch, we decided to take NC-194 north to US-58 in Virginia instead of heading back to the bakery in Warrensville. I hate we missed giving the little bakery some business, and we wished we had stopped on our way to Lansing; however our spontaneous change in routing turned out to be a very interesting decision.
First of all, we unknowingly missed that NC-194 makes a 90-degree turn, so we happily continued straight on S. Big Horse Creek Road. Since we had never been in that part of Ashe County before, we did not realize we had missed a turn.
Sometimes a missed turn can lead to trouble, but sometimes it takes you on a bit of an adventure. Looking back on the route we took from Lansing, we know that God was looking out for us. We could have easily come to a road closing or worse, but we did not.
After returning home, I pulled up the map online and figured out exactly where we went after leaving Lansing. We continued north on S. Big Horse Creek Road for many miles. It became Big Horse Creek Road. We then took Mud Creek Road which took us into Virginia and to US-58/Highlands Parkway a few miles east of Damascus, Virginia.
We stopped at Tuckerdale Baptist Church in the community of Tuckerdale, NC because it was such a beautiful, peaceful place. A calm little creek ran between the church and the road. There is a one-lane steel bridge over the creek to the church. A huge poplar tree between the creek and the sanctuary provides shade for much of the parking lot. That tree is well over 100 years old. What a story it would have if it could talk!
Tuckerdale Baptist Church, Tuckerdale, NC.
A new one-lane bridge across Big Horse Creek to the parking lot of Tuckerdale Baptist Church at Tuckerdale NC.
We saw storm damage all along the way on the above referenced roads. Damage to the landscape and to houses was sobering. There were some houses that had been completely gutted by the flood waters. Their remains stood guard beside and above the little stream of water that had destroyed them as if daring the creek to rise again.
Bridges had been replaced, and there were numerous cases where we saw new bridges across the streams and creeks giving the people who live on the other side of the water access to the highway. We saw that time after time after time. We saw where the flood waters had gouged out the sides of the mountains.
We saw some tree debris that has not yet been picked up. It brought back memories of Hurricane Hugo here in 1989 and six months of tree debris lining the streets of Charlotte until it could all eventually be picked up.
We saw dump trucks hauling tree debris all three days in the mountains. It is overwhelming to realize those trucks have been hauling away debris for more than 200 days… and the work remaining to be done is massive. We saw staging areas where tree debris is piled high. Some of it has been converted into mulch… mountains of mulch.
We saw more places than I can estimate where trees are down all up and down the mountainsides. We saw where there were landslides. I have seen photos of the tree damage along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I now have a better idea of how hundreds of miles along the parkway must still look. And it would be impossible for all those trees to ever be sawed up and removed, even if the National Park Service budget and workforce had not been slashed. It is literally thousands and thousands of trees and huge rhododendrons that were destroyed or badly damaged by the storm.
We reached a point where the pavement ended and we wondered if we were still on the state highway. Little did we know… we weren’t! I guess we were on Mud Creek Road by then. In a couple of miles, we got to paved road again.
One of the sights we happened upon after crossing into Virginia was this historical marker about the Virginia Creeper Railroad at Whitetop. The Virginia Creek Recreational Trail is the path that’s visible in the photographs below. The trail’s southern terminus is at Whitetop.
Virginia Creeper Trail alongside the old Whitetop, Virginia, train station.
It was a quiet, peaceful place. There were a couple of houses in sight, but we didn’t see anyone. There was a rabbit enjoying the trail, but I couldn’t get a picture of it. I didn’t want to disturb it.
“Virginia Creeper” Railroad historical marker at Whitetop, Virginia, with a little of the Virginia Creeper Recreational Trail visible beside the sign.
Even after we got on US-58 between Damasus and Independence in Virginia, the damage continued. I knew the southwestern part of Virginia was heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene, but I didn’t know to what extent.
All along US-58, we saw trees down here and there and we could tell where what looked like a quiet little stream last Thursday had been a raging river last September. The first part of US-58 that we were on was a very winding mountain road – the kind I love to drive on! –with many switchbacks and 90-degree curves posted with “Speed Limit 15” signs.
Orange daylilies blooming along a roadside
A highlight on all three days of our trip was the profusion of old-timey orange daylilies here and there along roadsides and by highways. The largest patches of them were where I could not safely get a picture. We had never seen so many of them as we did on this trip!
At Independence, Virginia, we took US-21 by Sparta, North Carolina, and got on Interstate 77 to come home.
It was a trip we had anticipated for many months, and we really did not know what to expect. We put 500 miles on the car and visited some places in our own state that we’d never been to before. We are already hoping to return to that area and other parts of the mountains of North Carolina before the year is over. Those restaurants and shops will still need our support. Next time, we’ll look for a sign telling us that NC-194 hangs a right in Lansing!
In conclusion
After we returned home and had time to reflect on what we saw on our trip, we realized that in addition to the natural and physical damage we saw, we don’t know about the losses we did not see. We don’t know what we did not see because it was there no more. We don’t know about the houses and businesses we did not see because they were washed away in the flood.
We don’t know about the people we did not see at the restaurants and shops because they did not survive the hurricane.
We’ll never know who and what we did not see.
If our time in The Squirrel and The Nut in Lansing had been the only stop we made on our trip, it would have been worth it. My sister and I did not “need” those rope bowls or the vintage pitcher. We’re in that stage of life when we are getting rid of stuff instead of buying more stuff!
Our beautiful and priceless Hurricane Helene rope bowls made by The Infinite Daisy, Lansing, NC.
Those three rope bowls now have a place of honor in our family room. Knowing they literally survived the mud produced by Hurricane Helene makes them priceless works of art. Don’t you agree?
Hurricane Helene Update
As of Friday, 49 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to Hurricane Helene. That count included five US highways, three state highways, and 41 state roads.
Until my next blog post
Keep reading good books.
Hold your family and friends close.
Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
There will be a parade in Washington, DC tomorrow to supposedly mark the 250th anniversary of the creation of the United States Army. June 14th is, coincidentally, Flag Day in the US.
The United States flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing, according to the official Flag Code.
Photo by chris robert on Unsplash
The US flag is never to touch the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.
The US flag cannot be thrown in the trash when it becomes damaged or is updated with an additional star when a new state is added to the union. It must be disposed of in a flag retirement ceremony.
Those flag retirement ceremonies are conducted by organizations such as the American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). In those solemn ceremonies, the flag is burned.
Setting fire to a US flag other than in on officially-sanctioned retirement ceremony is considered desecration.
Flying the US flag upside-down is a distress signal.
President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 as Flag Day in 1916. Although not an official holiday on which banks and government offices close, since 1916 it has been a day set apart for us to stop and think about our flag and the sacrifice and freedoms it represents.
But then came Donald Trump
Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946, and therein lies a problem.
Trump wanted a big military parade in Washington, DC during his first term in office, but he had rational military advisors then who told him (1) that’s not what we do in America and (2) the city streets in Washington, DC were not constructed to withstand the weight of army tanks. The military advisors in place then were able to shut down the idea.
But fast forward to 2025. All the military brass in a position to or with the courage to say “No” to President Trump are gone. Therefore, there will be a military parade with tanks on the city streets in Washington, DC tomorrow.
Is Trump concerned about that? Of course not! In fact, The Huff Post on June 2, 2025, quoted him as saying that $16 million is “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
US Army tanks from Fort Cavazos in Texas were transported to the nation’s capital just for this event. That is 1,500 miles. Soldiers need practice in transporting tanks, but 1,500 miles just for a parade seems excessive.
One-inch-thick steel plates have been placed at strategic places on the streets in Washington, DC and the tanks have been outfitted with new track pads to minimize street damage.
Members of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team are scheduled to drop in to hand a US flag to Trump.
What a spectacle it will be all while the US Congress, at the instruction of President Trump, cannot find the money to fund the National Park Service or USAID or medical research or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or Medicaid or the National Weather Service or….
It is beside the point that democracies don’t have military parades in their capital cities to show their military might. That’s what the Adolph Hitlers, the Vladimir Putins, the Kim Jong Uns, and the Xi Jinpings of the world do.
But Donald Trump was jealous of them and their grand parades.
So Donald Trump will have a military parade on his birthday, and the US taxpayers be damned.
Until my next blog post
I hope all the American taxpayers who are working two jobs just to make ends meet have a nice Flag Day.
Tomorrow is also “No Kings Day” in the United States. We thought we made it clear in 1776 that we didn’t want a king. Someone will be reminded of that in 1,800 scheduled protests tomorrow.
I decided yesterday to write a blog post for today about how Trump blackmails people, universities, states, etc., and I will get to that in a minute.
Calling up the Marines
But first, after a seven-hour power outage when I was blissfully unaware of what was going on in the world, Trump decided to ramp things up in Los Angeles. When my electricity was restored around 8:30 last night, I turned on the TV and lo and behold on the bottom of the screen it said, “700 active-duty US Marines being sent to Los Angeles.”
Sending active-duty US military personnel to scare the American citizens into submission? Is this what it has come to in the country I love? Will the two active-duty US Marines I know answer the call?
I pray for all who serve today in all the branches of the US military. I pray that when the current Commander-in-Chief orders them to turn on their fellow citizens they will do the right thing.
We are in a very bad place in the United States, and I don’t think I can forgive the people who voted for this. God, help me.
Blackmail
Day-by-day, our democracy in the United States takes another hit. The people in charge are taking chisels, sledgehammers, and chainsaws to the foundations of our long-held values and way of life.
When the US President can boldly say without any outcry from his political party that if Elon Musk gives any money to support Democrats, there will be “serious consequences,” we are in a dangerous place.
The public spat Musk and Trump had last week should have embarrassed both of them, but I doubt either of them can be embarrassed.
Trump has already threatened to halt all the contracts Musk has with the US Government. Granted, that wouldn’t be an altogether bad thing, but I don’t like to see a US President blackmailing anyone… not even Elon Musk.
Trump tired to blackmail other countries by threatening tariffs up to 145%. All he did was make all our allies mad… and rightfully so. You have to be pretty low on diplomatic smarts to attack Canada.
Trump’s blackmailing of universities has been going on for weeks now. His latest threats are against not only the university system in California, but he threatens to withhold all federal funds from the state because a transperson was allowed to participate in a sporting event.
By the way, California sends more money to Washington, DC than it gets in return.
The President thinks he can bully corporations, states, cities, and countries to cave to his lame desires and threats. So far, it has worked with the US Congress, and some days it appears to have worked with the US Supreme Court.
It is his modus operandi. He does not know any other way to operate, and it is a disgusting and hideous way to run the greatest experiment in democracy the world has ever seen.
Where does this end?
Until my next blog post on Friday…
I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful week in preparation for June 14. I fully intend not to blog again until Friday. I will explain later.
Remember what the core values of our country are and be ready to defend them.
One aspect of the things the Trump Administration has cut that I have not blogged about is the Digital Equity Act.
In their slash and burn attack on the federal government to supposedly eliminate waste, Elon Musk and Donald Trump simply took a chainsaw to everything that included the word “equity” and cut it off at the ground. Then, they pulled up the roots and tossed them away.
“This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to establish grant programs for promoting digital equity, supporting digital inclusion activities, and building capacity for state-led efforts to increase adoption of broadband by their residents.
“Specifically, the bill establishes the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program to make distributions to states based on their populations, demographics, and availability and adoption of broadband. The bill also establishes the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program for supporting efforts to achieve digital equity, promote digital inclusion, and stimulate adoption of broadband.”
The objective of the Digital Equity Act was to help expand broadband internet service to rural and underserved parts of the country. It was meant to help level the playing field.
Photo by Stephen Tauro on Unsplash
Trump has pulled the funding for the Act. If the rural and underserved parts of the US do not get broadband internet service, he doesn’t care.
Public libraries in underserved areas were the recipients of some of the grants until the program disappeared. Donald Trump cannot imagine being in a situation where his only access to the internet would be the local public library – which might be 25 miles or more from his home.
As he said in his campaign for office, “I love the uneducated.” Wannabe dictators love the uneducated because they are easily tricked and easily led.
No one knows what goes on in Donald Trump’s mind. Does he want to keep the populous uninformed, or is he so narcissistic and uncaring that he does not ever for one second consider the human ramifications for the services he slashes with a scratch of his pen?
Trump has loudly and proudly bragged about doing away with everything having to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). With the full support of the Republicans in Congress, Trump has said that anything DEI is discriminatory against white males.
White males have always been in charge in the United States, ever since they arrived and immediately started killing and pushing the indigenous peoples off the land.
White men got used to being in charge, so when black people and women of all colors started taking their rightful place as citizens in the 1960s, white men had to make some adjustments. In most cases, they did not adjust gracefully.
I came of age in the early 1970s, so I met some white male backlash head-on when I entered the workforce. Now, after 50 years of advancement toward equality, it seems that Trump and his ilk have had enough. The Trump Administration has come down on diversity, equity, and inclusion with a sledgehammer.
The sledgehammer is hitting diversity, equity, and inclusion across the board with no concern for the inflicted damage. Trump and his ilk don’t see it as damage. Damage to people of color and women is not damage to them; it is just the way things should be.
One example I read about was medical research being done about a correlation between menopause and Alzheimer’s Disease. The research had to end because it only studied women. Have any studies of prostate cancer been halted? I doubt it.
It will take years for us to see the full ramifications of what the Trump Administration and his supporters have done to our society – to education, to scientific and medical research, to our military, and to our workforce. People of color and women will be passed over for college scholarships and job opportunities. It might not be as blatant as it was in the 1960s and 1970s, but it will be there. It already was there, but now the Trump Administration has put its seal of approval on the practice and once again made it “the way it is supposed to be.”
Hurricane Helene Update and the Acting FEMA Director
As of Friday, 50 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to Hurricane Helene. That count included five US highways, three state highways, and 42 state roads.
I-40 near the Tennessee line remains at just one lane in both directions with a 35 mph speed limit. And, most of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina is still closed due to landslides and the downing of thousands of trees during the storm.
The long-term ramifications on the entire state of North Carolina are massive, although the hurricane only hit the western part of the state. For instance, rebuilding and repairing state highways and roads from Hurricane Helene takes that money away from regular road and bridge repairs. It is estimated that the Hurricane Helene transportation expenses for the state will amount to $1 billion, which is what the state would normally spend on highways and bridges in a three-year period.
Last Tuesday, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and various TV media reported that the Acting Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) David Richardson said he was not aware that the United States had a hurricane season.
We do. It begins on June 1 and ends on November 30. Every year. Those are the months, Mr. Richardson, when tropical storms and hurricanes are likely to form in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico due to seasonal weather patterns and the temperature of the sea waters. It’s called science and common sense. Study history, Mr. Richardson, and you might notice a trend.
Are you wondering what Mr. Richardson’s qualifications are for the job? He is a former US Marine who has been a Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction. I couldn’t find that he has any experience in responding to natural disasters.
I’ll take this opportunity, since I have some new blog readers, to repeat that I know there are other places where the people are suffering from natural disasters; however, I am a North Carolinian, so I will continue to concentrate on the unprecedented damage Hurricane Helene did in western North Carolina last September.
Disasters are covered for a short time by the media, but then other matters and events grab the headlines. I want my readers to be reminded that recovery from any natural disaster is not an easy undertaking and cannot be accomplished in a short period of time.
Thank you to my loyal readers who have hung in there with me as I’ve reported on Hurricane Helene weekly for the last eight months. That will continue.
The parts of the mountains in NC that are open desperately need our support, as much of the economy there is based on tourism, So, plan your trip carefully and concentrate your travel dollars on supporting small businesses. Remember to pack patience for when you run into road construction or detours.
It was announced on Friday that Chimney Rock State Park will reopen on June 27, exactly nine months after the hurricane. It is normally open year-round.
Until my next blog post
I’m going to take two or three days off from blogging this week. I need a break, and you probably do, too! If all goes as planned, my next post will be on Friday, June 13. Let’s all try to have a pleasant week.
By the way, when you finish reading a good book, take the time to leave a brief review of it or at least a four- or five-star rating for it online. That really helps the author, especially if it is their first book.
Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
Janet's Writing Blog 