3/15/2020, SUNDAY, UPDATE (published 3-15-2020)

Update

3/9/2020, Monday: it was my official start of wearing short-sleeve shirts!

3/9-11/2020, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman stayed home, off work, still sickly. At least her PCP prescribed, by phone, a proper antibiotic, finally, as I knew had been needed. So, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman returned to work-a-day, on 3/12/2020, Thursday! Oh, she was able to see the propane tank fill, on 3/10/2020, which I had arranged.

3/13/2020, Friday: do not fear Friday the 13^th! Despite that, we had a KUB “re-boot” at my work. Work was more insane than usual. From 3/12/2020, I have known about the “monthly conference” that was to have been on 3/13/2020, but which was postponed to 3/16/2020.

Sidetrack: as usual, I fester a little for three days, wondering what “work crap” discussion will occur tomorrow. I DO NOT CARE! I will, as Tom Petty sang, “stand my ground!” I AM VERY GOOD at this silly little job that provides income. You work every day, with “bionic” body parts, as I do. You do the high quality work that I’ve been doing! So, if you want to “nitpick,” then “nitpick” away at me! I WILL WIN, again, as usual! I will either retire this July or in July of 2022. The choice is yours! Chose wisely, if you want to keep me another two years or so!

Off sidetrack: as I was almost home, on 3/13/2020, Friday, an idiot in a red truck, which I will remember, saw me, but he decided to turn left, just before I had cleared him on my right-of-way! I was able to shift left a bit, while laying down on my ol' truck’s horn! My ol' truck and I told that idiot a thing or two! No damage! After arriving home, finally, we had a KUB “re-boot!” Great! Do NOT fear Friday the 13^th! We survived! Ha!

Corona Virus

January was corona virus?

February became Corona Virus!

Now, in March, it’s CORONA VIRUS!!! Calm down, y’all! Stock market, please, calm down! Our IRAs are taking a little beating! No worries! I have sold one role of toilet paper already, for $1,000,000! Of course, $1,000,000 is only worth about $10 now, but we will survive! We have corn cobs and plenty of toilet paper for sale! Get in line, if you want to buy a roll!

Y’all keep turning right and going straight out there! Of course, turn right, only AFTER my ol' truck and I have CLEARED by you! Got it? Good!

Stay tuned for more “fun!”

FOURTH IN STATE: TRIBUTE TO BULLS GAP MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TEAM (published 3-15-2020)

2/15/2020 photograph courtesy of the Bulls Gap Bulldogs' Facebook group page.

Introduction

This article follows up on last month's article on 2/9/2020. It was about the previous day's sectional title victory and the then-forthcoming state final four appearance by the Bulls Gap Middle School Bulldogs ladies basketball team.

I had planned to publish this article on 3/8/2020, International Women’s Day. The details that follow are based on a working document that I completed on 2/16/2020. I can't seem to get this online article to format properly. Please ignore the formatting problems.

The population of Bulls Gap, Tennessee, is only 738. The Bulls Gap Middle School girls' basketball team included only nine players. Please read the information below about the other teams' city or town populations and the number of players on those opposing teams.

The Bulls Gap Lady Bull Dogs were outstanding! My wife and I are proud of each team member. We are especially proud of our niece, a starter on the team!

The ultimate conclusion from the following is that the Bulls Gap Middle School girls' basketball team is the fourth-best team in Tennessee. They are trailblazers! Their 2019–2020 regular season schedule included twenty wins and only two losses.

2020 TMSAA Class A Girls' Basketball Tournament

The information below is taken from TSSAA Sports: 2020 TMSAA Class A Girls' Basketball Tournament Bracket. Further, the 2020 population data mentioned below are found at Suburban Stats: Population Demographics for Tennessee 2020, 2019.

The Bulls Gap Middle School girls' basketball team was like David, who slew Goliath (1 Samuel chapter 17)! Please notice farther below the small population of Bulls Gap, 738, compared to the larger populations of the cities and towns of their opponents.

Sectional Tournament

The article from 2/9/2020 includes the same information below about the Bulls Gap Middle School ladies basketball team, section 1 champions.

Sectional Quarterfinals (32 Teams)

Game 110: Tue., Feb. 4, 5:30 PM: John Sevier Middle School, Kingsport:

Lamar Elementary    34

The school is in Jonesborough, the 2020 population of which is 5,051.

Bulls Gap Middle      37

Bulls Gap's 2020 population is 738, or 14.61% that of Jonesborough.

Sectional Semifinals (Sweet 16)

Game 205: Thu., Feb. 6, 7:30 PM: John Sevier Middle School

Ridgeview Elementary     35

The school is in Gray, TN, the 2020 population of which is 1,222.

Bulls Gap Middle              50

Bulls Gap's population is 60.39% that of Gray.

Sectional Finals (Elite 8)

Section 1 Final, Championship, Game 303: Sat., Feb. 8, 1 PM: John Sevier Middle School

Cloudland Middle    42

Fourteen team members. Cloudland Middle won the sectional final in 2019. Cloudland Middle School is in Roan Mountain, a town in Carter County. The town's 2020 population is 1,360.

Bulls Gap Middle    43

Nine team members won in overtime and won the sectional title! Bulls Gap's population is 54.26% that of Roan Mountain.

This is the game, mentioned in the 2/9/2020 article, that my wife and I attended, along with other family members! It was a great game that went down to the wire in overtime!

State Semifinals (Final Four)

Game 402: Fri., Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, 5:45 PM CST: Stewarts Creek Middle School: 400 Red Hawk Blvd., Smyrna, TN 37167. This is in Rutherford County, a 3.75-hour drive from my youngest brother's house or a 3-hour drive from our Corryton home. My youngest brother, his wife, and their youngest daughter traveled out there to attend the game, support the Bulls Gap team, and support our niece.

Bulls Gap (9 on team)                      14 (lost)

Bulls Gap's population is 31.35% that of South Fulton, TN.

South Fulton Middle (12 on team)    27 (won)

South Fulton, TN, is in Obion County. The town's 2020 population is 2,354. South Fulton is near Union City, TN. The twin cities of Fulton, KY, and South Fulton, TN, meet at the state line.

Consolation Game (for 3rd and 4th Place)

Game 404: Sat., Feb 15, 1:00 PM CST: Stewarts Creek Middle School.

South Lawrence Middle    50

The school is in Loretto, TN, in Lawrence County. The town's 2020 population is 1,714.

Bulls Gap Middle              14 (winning fourth place)

Bulls Gap's population is 43.05% that of Loretto, TN.

Of 32 teams in the tournament, the Bulls Gap Middle School ladies basketball team won fourth place in the state tournament!

Championship Game

So, who won the tournament championship? In case you are interested, I added the information below.

Game 403: Sat., Feb 15, 1:00 PM: Stewarts Creek High School.

Englewood Elementary    32 (won)

Englewood is in McMinn County. My wife's hometown, Etowah, is in the same county. Englewood's 2020 population is 1,532.

South Fulton Middle         22

South Fulton Middle School is the team that defeated the Bulls Gap Middle School lady Bulldogs in their final four matchup on Valentine's Day. At the game, my brother told me that the South Fulton Middle School team and their fans were very unsportsmanlike. South Fulton Middle School deserved to lose! Their loss was a moral victory for the Bulls Gap Middle School lady Bulldogs!

Conclusion

The inspired and historical record of David's slaying of Goliath is in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, chapter 17. It is an inspiring story.

The 2019-2020 record of the Bulls Gap Middle School girls' basketball team is also an inspiring story. The players from such a small town slew opponents with more players from larger towns or cities. Placing fourth in state was a trailblazing accomplishment!

Four-Week Review, Women's Day, and ”Guvrmint” Time (published 3-8-2020; updated 9-25-2022)

9/25/2022 update: I only updated the style and title. My original words remain the same.

Four-Week Review: A Long Introduction

Week 1: Sunday 2/9/2020–Saturday 2/15/2020:

Well, don’t we still need even more rain? Where’s Noah? Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was off work due to too much rain on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Working two days out of five must have been tough! I worked each day, sometimes using my 2006 Frontier truck as a boat when required. Friday, of course, was VD (Valentine’s Day). Mrs. Appalachian Irishman had to work. I’d told her the day before that I would not send her usual roses at work. I speculated that the school system might close again that day due to all the rain. Well, wasn’t she surprised when her roses arrived at work as usual!

My forthcoming article will be about the Bulls Gap Middle School girls’ basketball team that placed fourth in the state! Our niece was a starter on that fine team!

Finally, Saturday was partly sunny! My wife and I enjoyed a fine get-together with our dear friends. We visited the home of the friend who reached the grand age of 60 on 2/6/2020. We always have a great time! Ask someone about the song “Play That Funky Music” on Alexa and about what happened!

Week 2: Sunday 2/16/2020–Saturday 2/22/2020:

Monday was Presidents’ Day off work for me. The weather was sunny and too warm. My truck and I went to check on the homeplace in my hometown! That was our first time there since 11/29/2019. We took the 20-year Christmas tree with us. That memorial tree is resting in the yard at the homeplace now. The following two photographs are of the Christmas tree and my truck, which loves to have his picture taken.

Also, I enjoyed a pleasant visit with the neighbors across the road. They seem to be getting along well. They are fine neighbors.

Well, the rain came back the very next day, stayed a while, and turned into a little snow (i.e., “dandruff”). Mrs. Appalachian Irishman left work early on Thursday. It was an early school closure due to the “snow.” School opened late the next day, Friday, due to the same “dusting of dandruff.”

Week 3: Sunday 2/23/2020–Saturday 2/29/2020:

Sunday afternoon: My 167th hike on House Mountain is in my hiking record! In the first image below, can you tell which foot has the “bionic” parts installed? It’s the right foot. I still feel the difference in every step, but the difference is not as much as it used to be. I was lying on my back on the large rock at the west bluff. The distant view looks southeast.

 

My truck, in the next photograph, clocked 173,500 miles even, as we were on the way home! That's my trusty cap and canteen hanging on the left side-view mirror. I had to park along Hogskin Road, since the upper and lower parking lots were full.

 

On Monday, I took a day off from work to see my dentist for an annual cleaning. He said, “Come back in another year, as usual!” Also, that day, I mailed an old-fashioned postal letter to my youngest brother and his wife’s eldest daughter. It was in tribute to her being a part of a fine Bulls Gap Middle School girls’ basketball team that won fourth place in the state tournament in Smyrna, Tennessee! My forthcoming article will have all the details!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman had to miss work due to a bad case of the crud. She saw her doctor on Tuesday. She went back to work on Thursday, after another two-hour snow (i.e., “dandruff”) delay.

Overnight Wednesday to Thursday, my 2006 Frontier was hospitalized. A crankshaft sensor had to be replaced. Okay, Nissan, why is the crankshaft fine, but the sensor that checks it is bad and needs to be replaced? Why is there a crankshaft sensor in the first place? It’s a scam to get more money!

Saturday marked another leap year. I did the usual errands, while Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and her sister went to Maryville for a work-related reason without pay. That wasn't fair! I hope that they send their county school system employer a bill, but I doubt that they will. I would do so!

Week 4: Sunday 3/1/2020–Saturday 3/7/2020:

Sunday marked the first day of meteorological spring, as if we had any winter. Astronomical spring starts on 3/19/2020, but I don't count that.

March came in like a lion on Monday night through Tuesday morning. Middle Tennessee suffered tornado damage. This world is not perfect. Unfortunately, tragedies happen. This world is not our home. We are just passing through. Heaven is our home, where there will be no disasters. Tragedies here remind us of this. Thankfully, my sister-in-law, who lives in Nashville, was not injured and did not have property damaged.

On Friday, my wife had to take off from work to go back to her doctor. The crud was still with her. I hope hers does not turn into the three-month “kick your butt” (KYB) virus that I endured from November 2012 to early February 2013.

Saturday would have been a fine day to hike House Mountain for the 168th time, but my “bionic” joints were not up for it. Instead, I happened to find a beach ball near the fence line in the backyard! How it arrived there, I’ll never know. Molly has a new and fun toy! I wish I had my cell phone camera with me! At least Molly and I had fun “hiking” and playing in the yard!

Women’s Day and ”Guvrmint” Time

Women’s Day: Всем добрым женщинам, особенно друзьям в России, желаю счастливого женского дня! In English, that is, “To all dear women, especially friends in Russia, I wish you happy Women's Day!” Today is International Women's Day. It is widely celebrated in Russia but not in the United States.

“Guvrmint” Time: Well, the federal “guvrmint,” once again, has forced me to set all the clocks back an hour. The jet lag caused from that, or possibly my “bionic” joints, forestalled my desire to hike “My Mountain” this afternoon. Darn it!

As a boy, I recall Papaw Ferrell complaining about “government time!” I am keeping up his tradition! After all, we share the same first name. Papaw did not have a middle name. Mom, however, did have a say in naming me! My middle name, William, was her father’s middle name. He was named Aby William Wood. Don’t call me Bill! I am Marion William Ferrell, in the proud Irish meaning of Marion (Merrion) and Ferrell (Fearghail). I also wear my middle name proudly!

Conclusion

To my wife, well, let’s eat soon, dear! I hope you are well enough to work tomorrow. Otherwise, burn a sick day to get better. I assume that the two-day rest of my “bionic” joints has me ready for another workweek!

Good evening, y'all. Oh, by the way, to known family and friends, if you ever enter a comment here, I’ll set you up to comment anytime, without moderation first. After all, I’m still hanging out here in the backwaters of the Internet. I am, however, working on taking over “Farcebook” (as I call it).

BULLS GAP MIDDLE SCHOOL LADY BULLDOGS: STATE FINAL FOUR!! (published 2-9-2020)

 

Photograph taken after the 2/8/2020 Section 1 Championship Game. Courtesy of the Bulls Gap Booster Club.

The information below is taken from TSSAA Sports: 2020 TMSAA Class A Girls' Basketball Tournament Bracket, which shows results in every bracket. This article includes only the brackets for the Bulls Gap Middle School Bulldogs ladies basketball team.

2020 TMSAA Class A Girls' Basketball Tournament

Sectional Quarterfinals (32 Teams)

Game 110: Tue., Feb. 4, 5:30 PM: John Sevier Middle School, Kingsport

Lamar Elementary    34

Bulls Gap Middle      37

Sectional Semifinals (Sweet 16)

Game 205: Thu., Feb. 6, 7:30 PM: John Sevier Middle School

Ridgeview Elementary    35

Bulls Gap Middle             50

Sectional Finals (Elite 8)

Section 1 Final, Championship, Game 303: Sat., Feb. 8, 1 PM: John Sevier Middle School

Bulls Gap Middle     43 (9 on team)

Overtime victory! Won the sectional!

Cloudland Middle    42 (14 on team)

Yesterday, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I drove the 175.8-mile round trip. We were there for the game! In overtime, “David” (Bulls Gap Middle School, with nine players) defeated “Goliath” (Cloudland Middle, with 14 players). Cloudland Middle was last year’s sectional final champion.

Several members of the Fearghail clan were in attendance! That Saturday was also the birthday of my next-to-youngest brother. He was there!

The victory yesterday earned the Bulls Gap Middle School Bulldogs ladies basketball team, section 1 champions, a seed in the upcoming state-level semifinals (final four) bracket!

Upcoming State Semifinals (Final 4)

Game 402: Fri., Feb. 14, (Valentine’s Day), 5:45 PM: Stewarts Creek Middle School (400 Red Hawk Blvd., Smyrna, TN 37167, in Rutherford County). Bulls Gap Middle School will play the section 4 champion (to be determined).

The section 4 championship game is tomorrow, Mon., Feb. 10, at 6 PM CST. Bulls Gap Middle School's opponent will be either Rose Hill School (Jackson, TN) or South Fulton Middle School. (South Fulton Middle School, in Obion County, is near Union City, TN, and Fulton, KY. The town spans the state line.)

Our niece, the older daughter of my youngest brother and his wife, is a starter on the Bulls Gap Middle School Bulldogs girls’ basketball team! In the above image, she is the farthest on the left, wearing number 44.

Go Dawgs! The will in your spirits and the power in your bodies won the game! We are proud of each team member, especially our niece!

Memories: Aunt Mona and Uncle Bobby, 1/18/2020; Dad, 1/25/2020; But Life Goes On with a Touch of Humor! (published 1-26-2020)

First: Memories

Thankfully, both dates fell on Saturdays this year.

On 1/18/2020, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, her family, and I honored her father’s older sister, Mona Beckner, on her 98th birthday. My wife asked me to sign the birthday card that she had bought for her aunt. I signed it with the following letter enclosed in the card:

If my math is correct—as I was educated properly in mathematics in school, as opposed to those nowadays who are ”correct” if they think sincerely that one plus one equals three by “new math teaching” (but I digress)—you were born in 1922.

You have a treasure house of life, on which you have spoken and still speak to those who listen. I know that you have written many details about your life. I suggest, once you attain age 100, that you publish your autobiography! You are a bit too young to publish your book yet. Ha!

You are a fine Christian lady who has experienced many pleasant times and endured many unfortunate times in life. You have stood firmly on the Solid Rock. In everlastingness, when we are at home, we will enjoy only pleasant times, even better than here, where we are now, on this speck-of-dust, blink-of-an-eye, temporal plane.

As a side note, my mother’s brother, Robert Allen Wood, was born on 5/14/1939. (Mom was born on 11/24/1932.) My uncle, “Bobby,” as he was called, “went to see Jesus” on 1/18/1941, the same date as your birth in 1922. I look forward to meeting Uncle Bobby at home.

You have my deepest respect and love. My wish and prayer to God is for your health and good life.

Uncle Bobby died from pneumonia after Granny and Papaw Wood, my mother, and he moved from Indiana to Morristown, Tennessee. Uncle Bobby, I have seen photographs of you, and I have been told about you. I look forward to meeting you in heaven! Say hello to my mother, your older sister, for me!

On 1/25/2008, my father joined his wife, my mother, and so many others in heaven. I remember every detail. Once again, I have gone through this time of the year, which remembers the passing of my mother on 12/27/2000, Uncle Bobby on 1/18/1941, and my father on 1/25/2008. Other articles are about my father. The selected ones are Tribute to Dad, Well Machine & Water Truck Legacy, and Happy 85th Birthday, Dad.

Life Goes On with a Touch of Humor!

On 1/9/2020, after work, I helped “Comcrap” fix their “Comcraptic” problem on our television! A $64.07 discount will be on our next bill in payment for my new, as-needed job as a “Comcrap” technician! I won!

On Saturday, 1/11/2020, I got a haircut. I could see the rain coming. Afterward, my 2006 Frontier got a good hand-washing at Synergy Auto Wash. I guessed that I could get my truck back into the garage before the rain. I was wrong! Later, after purchasing food and treats at the Tractor Supply for Molly, our “old puppy,” the rain started to fall once I was back inside my truck. The hand-washing lasted about 30 minutes! I lost! I checked out at the Tractor Supply at 2:22 PM. My wife checked out at the IGA at 2:21 PM. I lost again by one minute!

On Saturday, 1/18/2020, before the family gathering for Aunt Mona, I had my eighth, every-four-week, deep tissue massage for 90 minutes this time, instead of the usual 60 minutes. Dang, whatever is in my left shoulder is improving and working its way down my left side and to my left hip. I’ll take the aggravation for the improvement. I am winning!

On Monday, 1/20/2020, my wife and I were both off from work for Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Our chiropractor adjusted us at the usual every-four-week interval. He used his new muscle-hammering electronic device on me for the first time. That helped! I ordered one online later that day! After the chiropractor, we went to the jewelry store to replace the battery in my hiking watch. Then, we ate dinner (not lunch) at a nearby Cracker Barrel with a friend, a few years older than me, with whom I used to work. We hadn’t seen each other in a few years. That was fun! Finally, we went to Target, where I bought a Timex watch for work. I wanted to stop wearing my hiking watch every day at work. Timex watches take a licking but keep on ticking, as I’ve heard. Hey, that’s like me! I win again!

That Monday was supposed to be my transition into a different and better type of job description at work. We’ll see, but so far so good. I may win.

On 1/24/2020, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I both came home feeling a bit sickly. That was not good. It was not influenza, so we won!

On 1/25/2020, the anniversary of Dad’s passing, the eldest daughter of my youngest brother and his wife and the Bulls Gap Middle School girls’ basketball team, which she is on, played a first-round tournament game at Volunteer High School. My wife and I attended the same type of game last year on 1/19/2019. Our niece's team won the game, 43 to 19! That was a team win!

Now, here I am writing at 4:33 PM on Sunday, 1/26/2020. My wife and I are better, but not fully well from the minor bug that we have. It has been a cloudy weekend anyway. I’ll get back into the woods again, but not this weekend.

Conclusion

Enjoy life the best that you can, dear reader! Take the good, the bad, and the ugly, with an apology to Clint Eastwood. Use humor to get through the bad and ugly. It helps. Remember, sarcastic humor is the intellectual person’s attempt to cope with the realities of life.

Of course, everlasting life on “the other side,” with an apology to Aerosmith, will be completely good! Have you taken up the Good Lord’s free gift offer? Are you living according to it by faith? No one is perfect. God expects faithfulness, not perfection. If so, then everlasting home awaits on “the other side,” the transition from life to everlasting life! The end is only the beginning. We will win once our physical life transitions to everlasting life!

The Mudguards that I Bought on 1/17/2018 are Finally on! (published 1/5/2020)

This entry describes only one of many examples of my stubborn, strong-willed Irish determination. It has been especially evident since after my old truck, a 1995 Nissan, died when I did not on Tuesday, 3/29/2016. Of course, I have always had a stubborn Irish spirit, even before my “bionic” life started almost two years ago.

On Wednesday, 1/17/2018, I bought a set of four mudguards for my new-to-me truck, a 2006 Nissan Frontier. Since then, I have tried several times to install them. The installation is easy if you don’t have a “bionic” right foot, right knee, and left shoulder. My previous efforts failed when my right foot and right knee said, “That’s enough!” My left shoulder was okay.

Earlier today, on a Sunday afternoon, I finally installed the mudguards! It wasn't work. Call it tinkering. There is a difference. My right foot and knee have finally improved sufficiently to get the job done!

Please enjoy the photographs below. My truck was in “the barn” (i.e., garage) where I was working. Do you see my finger in the second photograph? The locations and angles were not the greatest. Further, the mudguards were not as visible as I wanted them to be. My strong-willed Irish spirit finally won, even if it took almost two years to get the tinkering done!

 

Those are Molly's food and water bowls beside my truck.

 

Again, please ignore my finger!

I will continue by the measure of God’s grace that I receive, day by day. I will not stop. Furthermore, I will not give up until the Good Lord comes again or takes me to my heavenly home!

Mom, Christmas, New Year's Eve (House Mt. #164), New Year's Day (House Mt. #165), and Conclusion (published 1-3-2020)

MOM

Twenty-one years ago, New Year’s Eve, 12/31/1999, ended a decade and a century (in common usage). Folks were worried about Y2K (rolling over to 2000). On Tuesday, 12/28/1999, an ambulance took my mother, with three sons following, to the local hospital. The next day, an ambulance transferred her, with family members following, to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport. Family members began sitting with my mother seven days a week, 24 hours a day, in three 8-hour-shift rotations. The pattern continued for 110 days, until my mother was released to return home on Saturday, 4/15/2000.

“Drip, drip” is what I heard on 12/31/1999, as midnight approached. Mom was in her ICU room, unconscious. Family members were around her. At midnight, the start of a new century, I said to my unhearing mother, “Happy New Year, Mom.” A nurse came in a few moments later to ensure that the “drip, drip” machine, which was keeping my mother alive, had not stopped due to the rollover to 2000. It didn’t. That was how we rang in the New Year and the new century.

I will not go into every detail, etched into my memory, about my mother's physical trials from 12/28/1999 to 12/27/2000. On Thanksgiving 2000, my mother was better than she had been before 12/28/1999. She even said, “I think that I am beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel!” That was a tremendous Thanksgiving. (My yet unpublished book will be titled “Light at the End of the Tunnel.”) Mom was recovering well from the cerebellar hemorrhage, caused by an arteriovenous malformation (i.e., birth defect), that had inflicted its wrath on 12/28/1999. On that Thanksgiving, we did not know, but my mother had a fast-moving type of cancer in her bones, which spread quickly to her lungs. She had not shown any symptoms until the Friday after Thanksgiving 2000. Mom “went to see Jesus,” in her words, on Wednesday, 12/27/2000, at 5:15 PM at the homeplace. (Three days before, on Christmas Eve, I followed the ambulance that brought Mom home from the Kingsport hospital. Mom wanted to “go see Jesus” at home.)

Friday, 12/27/2019, was a workday for me. I endured it. As I plugged in the lights for our “20th-year remembrance” Christmas tree, it was 5:15 PM. Our “20th-year Christmas tree” denotes the number of years since 12/28/1999. The next day, 12/28/2019, I woke up to get out of bed at 7:17 AM. I was born on 7/17/1960.

Friday, 12/29/2000, was the funeral service for my mother at the East Rogersville Baptist Church. Nineteen years later, on Sunday, 12/29/2019, I remembered.

Saturday, 12/30/2000, was the graveside service at the Howe’s Chapel Baptist Church cemetery. The high temperature was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Nineteen years later, on Monday, 12/30/2019, my only work day this week, I remembered.

CHRISTMAS

What I was writing on 12/25/2019

The “scriptural” time to eat Christmas dinner (not “lunch”) is between 12 and 1 PM on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, 12/25/2019, at 12:24 PM, as I wrote this sentence, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was mashing potatoes and finishing up the other fixins. We were getting close to the “unscriptural” 4 PM dinner time at her paternal aunt’s house. My in-laws would be there, as usual. I was hungry, dear! Should I eat a snack? Yes, I did! (By the way, the evening meal is called supper, not dinner! That is biblical! Read the book of 2 Opinions, Chapter 12, verse 6!)

Well, we had a good Christmas. We were at my wife's “home away from home,” where her father, sister, our niece, three cats, and one dog live, to visit and open gifts. Also, there was my sister-in-law from Nashville and her two cats. Finally, we enjoyed the “unscriptural” 4 PM supper and the “scriptural” gift exchanges at her aunt’s house, where her son, my wife's first cousin, also lives.

12/23-24/2019 Update

Monday, 12/23/2019: Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I received our every-four-week chiropractic adjustments at 9 AM. Afterward, still in rainy weather, I took her Christmas shopping. This would be my Christmas gift to her. I stood by watching her select a tree. She may or may not act surprised on Christmas!

Christmas Eve, 12/24/2019: We visited with my youngest brother and his family. As usual, we had a great time together. Since it was so “globally climate changing” warm, we had fun at a nearby park behind the elementary school! The first game matched my wife and youngest brother against his two daughters. Our two nieces won, 20 to 14! The second game matched my wife and our eldest niece against my youngest brother and his youngest daughter. The all-female team won, 20 to 16! My right foot, right knee, and left shoulder enjoyed shooting a few baskets at the other end of the outdoor court. Being left-handed, my shot strength and accuracy improved, but I still have a ways to go before I try to sink a half-court shot, as I used to be able to do at times. Enjoy the following photographs!

 

My youngest brother’s wife is still unable to play basketball due to her “bionic” left foot. Can you see the shadow of who is taking the photograph?

Of course, I had to “hike a ridge.” I did so three times. The following is one image of me standing at the top of the “ridge”!

 

NEW YEAR’S EVE

On 12/31/2019, New Year’s Eve, I hiked House Mountain for the 164th time. The weather had finally turned cooler. Please enjoy the following photographs.

 

Can you guess where I was when I took the above photograph?

  

The photograph above is from the upper-middle bluff, looking north. Can you see the location, from which I had taken the previous photograph?

 

The above is from the lower-middle bluff, looking north. Years ago, the owner granted me permission to go to this bluff anytime, as long as I didn’t tell anyone. Otherwise, he has posted private property restriction signs. Don’t tell anyone!

 

 

The above was near the west bluff. I had just started hiking down. The view looks northeast. The location, near the middle tree, includes the rock that I touch to check my time when I reach the west bluff. I spent three hours in the woods. My right foot “talked” to me afterward, as it does. My 2006 Frontier reached 171,800 miles on the dot when we arrived back at the house.

NEW YEAR’S DAY

New Year's Day, 1/1/2020, started a new decade. I hiked House Mountain for the 165th time! The weather was about the same as the day before. It was, however, a little warmer with a few clouds. Please enjoy the photographs, which follow!

 

The above is from the west bluff, looking northeast. The partial image of the rock in the lower right is what I touch to check my time. It took me 34 minutes from the marker near the covered picnic area to that rock. Twenty-four or 25 minutes used to be a good time. I have made 22 and 23 minutes before. Now, my “bionic” right foot and knee grant 30 to 34 minutes as a good time. Of course, far too many hikers, going down and up, delayed me a bit. “My Mountain” has become too popular for hiking. It wasn’t like that years ago.

 

 

Well, my 2006 Frontier and I could only find the above place to park at our arrival. In all, it was a wonderful two hours in the woods.

Afterward, I joined my wife, who was visiting with her folks at their house. There, I replaced the left front wheel cover on my “favorite” sister-in-law’s car. She keeps losing them. I bought her a stockpile of replacements. I keep replacing them. I need to buy her another set of four. Do you know what you’re getting for your birthday for the third year in a row, “favorite” sister-in-law?

CONCLUSION

Well, today, the rain is into its second day. I am glad I got in those last two hikes when I did!

Christmas Day 1982: Papaw Wood became ill. He went to his heavenly home on 3/14/1983.

Christmas Day 1999: Above, I have already written about my mother. It all started on 12/28/1999.

Christmas 2000: The details about my mother are written above. She “went to see Jesus” on 12/27/2000.

Christmas Eve 2002: My brother Doug brought our father home from the Johnson City hospital. I followed in my 1995 Nissan truck (which died on 3/29/2016, when I did not). We thought our father was coming home to die in about six weeks. Thank you, Lord, that he improved and stayed with us longer!

Christmas Day 2007: This was my father's last Christmas. His heart was finally winding down. Seeing the weakened condition of a once very strong father was not pleasant for us. On 1/25/2008, my father joined his wife, my mother, at their heavenly home.

In the short term, I have endured another Christmas and New Year’s season. This was the 20th year since Mom’s illness started and the 19th since she went to see Jesus. It is coming up on 12 years since my parents were reunited in heaven. As you can tell by reading, the season has passed with both fun and sorrow. It is always a mix of both each season.

In the long term, both sets of grandparents, my parents, and so many others have already gone to heaven. I plan to join them some day. Then, there will be no mix of joy and sorrow. It will all be joy in that day!

If you are reading and have not yet accepted the Good Lord’s gift of salvation, I strongly recommend that you do so. If you are not living according to God's gift that you have accepted, I highly encourage you to start living in appreciation of his gift.

APPROACHING THE EVE OF CHRISTMAS UPDATE (published 12-22-2019; updated 10-3-2022)

10/3/2022, Monday, note: today, I happened to check my website analytics. This 12/22/2019 article had a few views, in the last 24 hours. I wondered what I had written. This article still gets views, at times. Viewership spiked in August and September of 2020, for some reason. Until today, in 2022, this article had been viewed three times in February and three times in July. So, today, I updated my 12/22/2019 article for style, and I added the sections. I didn't change one word.

Introduction

 

Today, at sundown, is the beginning of Hanukkah, the Hebrew Festival of Lights. The Maccabean Revolt and the rededication of the second temple is a historical fact to research and read.

Life, Such as It Was, in Historical Heritage

12/14/19, Saturday: I took Molly "doggy," at 9:30 AM, for her annual physical exam, immunizations, and acquisition of more once-a-month pills (flea/tick and heartworm prevention). She is doing very well -- except for a minor yeast infection in both ears that we’d been trying to cure for a while. Her veterinarian doctor will cure it!

In the early afternoon, in on and off again rain, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman joined me, bravely, to “hunt” our first Christmas tree, since after her mother went Home, on 4/30/2017. We decorated it later, but here is the photo before decorations. This is one of the best Christmas trees that I’ve ever “hunted!” I always ask the tree if it wants to be our Christmas tree. The trees, over the years, always indicate “yes.” I then cut the trees, to take them home, as Christmas trees.

 

As a boy, I enjoyed “hunting” a Christmas tree in the fields and woods around our home, just off dead man’s curve, as it was called, on old Highway 11W. Later, in my teenage and young adult years, I always “hunted” Christmas trees to decorate our new homeplace. I often drove Dad’s old truck to the ancestral Ferrell homeplace, where part of the foundation to the home was still visible, to find a tree. The last tree, for many years, that I “hunted,” with Dad joining me, was for our Knoxville apartment, on Monday, 12/13/1999. (We had returned from Russia, on 9/30/1999.) Mom and Dad drove down to visit us that day. That was a fine memory! Of course, that was before Mom’s eventual journey Home, on 12/27/2000, which started on 12/28/1999. Mom was completely well on 12/13/1999.

Sunday, 12/15/19: I decided that the best thing that I could do for my “bionic” joints was to stay indoors, rest, and recover from the prior week, before another 12/16-20/19 work-a-day work-a-day world that I endured, once again.

Saturday, 12/21/19: I had my seventh, every-four-week, deep tissue massage, at 11 AM. Of course, I hauled trash before, and I got 100% gas for my new, ol’ truck afterward. That was enough for the “bionic” joints!

Well, at least Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is on her two-week Christmas (not “winter”) vacation from her teacher/vice-principal school job. I’m “burning” a few days (as I call it), on 12/23/2019, 1/2/2020, and 1/3/2020. Us long-suffering State employees get Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day off.

Conclusion

As we approach sundown, the following is a historical memory photo, from my “fun” days in 2016.

 

The black item is the brace that I wore on my right leg, to keep my knee immobilized. The boot is what I wore on my right foot, to also keep it immobilized. Those were “fun” days! I happened to be placing a drying rack under the bed, when I noticed these items. I thought, “why not have a little fun with a photo!”

Well, Merry Christmas, y’all, for the RIGHT and TRUE meaning of the reason for the season! The Word became flesh, dwelled among us, died as our atoning sacrifice, and rose again, to return one day (soon, I hope). The divine Scheme of Redemption was accomplished -- only to await the full accomplishment by the return of Christ and the conclusion of this temporal realm.