Introduction
Road trip! It happened to fall on the long Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday, 5/23/2026, the “long-suffering” Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I took a day trip in my vintage 2006 Nissan Frontier to Kingsport, Tennessee, and back.
Welcome, dear reader, to the 139th entry in the Family Topic Section. Buckle up, and let's hit the road!
“Uncle” Skyler's High School Graduation Last Friday Evening
The article from 6/11/2025 explains why I call Skyler, my great-nephew, “Uncle Skyler.” A soft-spoken young man, his intellect and congeniality still impress me.
Last Friday evening, Skyler, who turns 18 early next month, graduated from Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, Tennessee. The ceremony took place inside the Buck Van Huss Dome. I was tempted to attend in person with his immediate family. The 8 PM start of the two-hour ceremony, however, changed my mind. The one-way drive would have been about 86 miles and taken roughly an hour and 50 minutes. If I had left shortly after the ceremony, I would have returned home close to midnight.
Instead of attending in person, my wife and I watched the ceremony, televised on a livestream. (Both televisions were on the livestream channel.) On YouTube, we watched Dobyns-Bennett High School — Graduation 2026, Dobyns-Bennett Athletics, 5/22/2026. The complete broadcast took two hours, 15 minutes, and 45 seconds (2:15:45). At the 1:50:19 timestamp, Skyler's name was called. The clip shows him accepting his diploma and saluting his family as he walks off-stage! I downloaded the following snapshot of Skyler saluting:
Congratulations, “Uncle” Skyler! Your great-uncle and great-aunt are proud of you! We know you will do well as you continue your education at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) this fall.
Saturday Trip to Kingsport
Bound and determined to look “Uncle” Skyler in the eye (man to man), shake his hand, and congratulate him in person, my wife and I left our house at 10:20 AM the next morning, Saturday, to see Skyler and other family members who live in Kingsport.
Last Sunday's article promised that the forthcoming article (this one) would answer the following questions: “Why was the highway patrol officer right behind us with lights flashing and siren blasting but did not pull us over? Why did we wind up at my first cousin's house when we were trying to get to our niece's house?”
The drive northward, along the two-lane section of Highway 11W before reaching Rutledge, was going smoothly. Well, that was until a highway patrol officer raced up to the rear bumper of my truck with lights flashing and siren blasting! I thought, “What am I doing wrong?” I wasn't speeding or driving erratically. Confused, I turned into the gravel parking lot of a small business and thought the officer would follow me. Instead, the trooper sped past us at a high speed. I still wonder where the fire was! At least I didn't get “cuffed and stuffed.”
For the answer to the second question, blame it on a total communication breakdown between the pilot (me) and the navigator (my wife)! I had a Google Maps printout of the route from our house to our niece's home. From there, we would go to the nearby home of my brother, closest in age to me, and his wife. Afterward, we would visit my first cousin and my next-to-youngest brother, who lives with him. Misunderstandings while riding, however, flowed like water on a rainy day. Confused, we finally found and arrived at my first cousin's house, not our niece's house as intended.
My First Cousin's House
Before starting our trip, I called Shanna, our niece, to let her know that we were on our way. She agreed to call her father and my first cousin to let them know about our plan to visit them after first arriving at Shanna's house.
The article from 8/10/2023 highlighted Waymon's visit to our home, and it honored his parents, my Uncle George and Aunt Blanche. The last time Waymon and I saw each other was on Saturday, 6/15/2024, as mentioned in the 6/20/2024 article.
Around noon, my wife and I stopped at the Subway restaurant in Mount Carmel. After eating, we misunderstood each other and the map, which I had printed out. At the junction, we should have continued left on Highway 11W-West Stone Drive to get to the home of Shanna and her husband. Instead, we turned left onto Netherland Inn Road! Confusion set in as we tried to find what wound up being Cousin Waymon's house.
Once we arrived at Waymon's house, we realized what we had done wrong. The car that Waymon usually drives was gone, but his other car was there. Thinking that neither Waymon nor my next-to-youngest brother was home, we continued to try to find Shanna's house.
Later on, we found out that my brother was at Waymon's house and that Waymon had taken a day trip to Luttrell, near our house, to visit a friend from grade school. (Years ago, Waymon, his parents, and his brothers lived and farmed in Luttrell.) My brother was cleaning up, noticed us parked in the driveway, but wasn't available to open the front door or step outside. The next day, I called Waymon and spoke with my brother and him. We laughed about the travel misadventures from the previous day!
Our Niece's Home
Trying to find the home of Shanna and her husband without help was becoming impossible. Thankfully, Shanna came to the rescue! She found where we parked on West Center Street and led us to her place. We arrived at 2 PM.
As a humorous aside, since we left the Subway restaurant around 12:30 PM, we must have wandered around west Kingsport, with a stop at Waymon's, for around an hour and a half, driving about 13 miles, trying to find Shanna's house!
Shanna's husband was still at work, so we missed seeing him. I did get to look “Uncle” Skyler in the eye (man to man), shake his hand, and congratulate him in person! Skyler, a tall, stoutly built, and handsome young man, will do well in life by God's grace.
We also enjoyed seeing Shanna's mother, Kathy, and our great-niece, Hailey. A high school graduation and early birthday party for Skyler would start at 5 PM. Plans were well underway. After an enjoyable but briefer than hoped visit, my wife and I left and started toward my brother's house.
My Brother's Home
Thankfully my brother Clark and his wife live only about three miles northeast of where Shanna and her family live! I had been to their house twice before, first, while bringing our father back from a medical appointment in Johnson City, and, next, while returning home from a week of work-related training in Johnson City. The house was easy to find.
Once inside, Clark and his wife enjoyed hearing about our confused effort to find Shanna's house when we stumbled upon Waymon's house instead! Clark and his wife were in good spirits and seemed to be in good health. The Veterans Administration (VA) has funded contractors to renovate their house. We admired the improvements. All that remains is to remodel the living room.
My brother, an eight-year Air Force veteran, contracted multiple sclerosis after serving in the Gulf War (August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991). Thanks to God's grace, he is still able to get around fairly well. The VA-funded renovations to his home are taxpayer dollars being well spent. I am proud of my brother and his service to this country. His wife honors him by helping care for him.
On the Way Home
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photographs while visiting with family. The images, however, are forever etched in my memory. Wanting to return home around 5 PM, we started backtracking our way home on Highway 11W.
My Parents' Gravesite
We stopped briefly at Howes Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery to visit my parents' gravesites. A tent and early attendees meant that a graveside service would start soon for someone recently deceased.
A few drops of rain were falling when I took the following photograph at 3:54 PM:
If we had time, I would have brushed away the grass clippings and cleaned the monument. The artificial flowers were in good condition.
The Homeplace
Continuing west toward Rogersville, we took a brief side trip to the homeplace. We did not stop, due to time, but drove slowly around the driveway, which circles behind the house.
Dad's apple trees were starting to put out apples. Granny Wood's grapevine was coming back nicely. The articles from 3/16/2026 and 3/27/2026 were about recent yard work at the homeplace. I saw the need to kill the roots before the scrub trees come back. The bushes need to be trimmed again before long.
I wish we had time to visit with our neighbors and my friend Bill. Those visits, Lord willing, will be on a future trip.
Conclusion
We continued an uneventful trip back to our house. This time, a highway patrol vehicle did not suddenly appear on my truck's rear bumper with lights flashing and siren bellowing! I did, however, enjoy passing a slowpoke.
My wife and I returned home at 5:17 PM, three minutes shy of a full seven hours away from home. My vintage 2006 Frontier had racked up 195.5 miles, with the odometer reading 200,704.5 miles in the garage. Molly, our “old puppy,” was glad to see us.
My truck wasn't tired. I was not tired. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, however, exhausted, was in bed by around 8:30 PM. I did all the driving, dear. Why were you so tired?
But seriously, folks, I wish the trip to Kingsport didn't take so long. If so, we would enjoy more visits with family up there. Perhaps we will arrange a get-together in Rogersville soon. We will see, as the Lord wills.
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