Tourist

With Memorial day being tomorrow this is a very fitting time to think about the word tourist. Paris, Henry County, & the lake area really benefit from tourism and the tourists who enjoy the relaxation and the recreation that Henry County affords.

Strategically located, Kentucky Lake is really coming in to its own as a vacation destination. Whether fishing, swimming, water skiing, camping, antiquing, genealogy, shopping around an old court square (just like you did when you were a kid), or golfing, Paris & Henry County has it covered!

I am mighty proud of our “community”. I am glad to see the many people working together for the common good. I believe Paris & Henry County are weathering the bad economic climate as well as anyone, and am real excited about our future.

Cradle

The thought I have on the word cradle is the Harry Chapin song entitled “Cats in the Cradle,” from the seventies. That song has so much truth to it. When you are a kid, it seems your Pa' is never doing things with you, is never at your ball games, is never there to take you fishing, is never there at your important events.

Your Dad is the reason you have a roof over your head, food on the table, and clothes on your back, and he is busy earning the money that makes those things happen. If he is lucky enough to make his living where he gets to spend the night where you are, you are mighty fortunate. There are many, many Dads who cannot. The song tells of the Dad making excuses as to why he can't play with his boy right now.

Then the boy grows up, has his own son in the cradle, is busy working to provide for his family. And has no time for his Dad. It is all kind of sad, but it is a story that plays out countless times. I guess it is just the way life is. Maybe it is even the way life is supposed to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etundhQa724&feature=related

Color

As I think of the word color, many things go through my mind. Color me gone, a saying in the seventies. The Color of Money, a movie in the nineties. A coat of many colors, a story in the Bible of one of young Joseph's prized possessions......also a song made famous by Dolly Parton. People of color, referring to the Negro race. These colors don't run, talking about the American flag and the American people, right after September 11, 2001. An off color joke, one that is not told in mixed company. The colors of a rainbow. I think I will write about my main thoughts of color from the ages of 13 through 17, then write of my thoughts from age 35 to the present.

When I was a kid of thirteen my Pa bought me a used Yamaha 100, and boy, would it scream. Color me gone was a favorite saying of mine. I had four motorcycles and a very fast car, so it is no small wonder that 'color me gone' didn't translate into 'color me dead', or 'color me all broken up', but it didn't.

I still get excited, to this day, at the sight of a rainbow. The colors are just outstanding, and the promises given to us in Genesis 9 are very encouraging. The most awesome colors I have ever seen occurred four or five years ago, on Bucy Lane. There were two rainbows visible in the sky at the same time. Both were going from north to south, with one in the west and one in the east! Talk about colors....seeing two rainbows at once was just incredible!

Gentle

I have never thought of myself as being very gentle. Rude, crude, and uncouth are more like my ways, at least more like my former ways. Back in the late fall I was called a gentle soul. Sure do not know if that fits me or not, but my bus driver, on a refinery I was working on, really called me that once! She had read one of my blogs, asked if she could put it in her church bulletin, wrote a little preface to my blog, and called me a gentle soul. Man, I smiled for a week over that one. I do not recall ever being called gentle, but there it was, in print, no less!

I need to be more gentle in my dealings with people. Especially my family, friends, and co-workers. I spent many years basically by myself, and while I would never intentionally hurt anyone's feelings, I realize I could be more understanding, more courteous, more gentle, particularly toward the ones I love and the ones that love me.

Being gentle is not just an action to take, but a mindset, a lifestyle, if you will. I would like to be known, the rest of my days, as truly a gentle soul.

Recipes

Anyone that takes a look at me, understands that I have eaten many, many new dishes made from wonderful recipes. With the internet, now, our choices for new dishes seem limitless. I guess trying new cookie recipes is my favorite, but lately appetizers, with bacon, has been our mainstay.

We tried a new recipe last night at a friend's birthday celebration. You wrap a date around a pecan, then wrap a half strip of bacon around that, and bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. To borrow some slang from a Helping Hand auctioneer, “that appetizer was 'larrapin good”. Another one of my favorite recipes is stuffed jalapenos. They are made by stuffing a jalapeno with a mixture of sausage and cream cheese, then wrapping ½ strip of bacon around it and baking for 30 minutes. Another excellent choice is bacon wrapped water chestnuts. Jean & I just love our bacon wrapped concoctions!

A lot of chefs around here cook by taste, or by appearance & the dish never comes out, for us, like the one we tried to copy. Recipes have such a great role in family dinners, but Aunt Sue's dumplings, or Aunt Irenes's fresh apple pie sure needs to have all the ingredients, with all their measurements, with correct preparation instructions, and cooking temperatures! That may be the only thing we chefs of today have over our Mothers. Bon Appetit!