Walking At Night (A rerun of one of my old favorite posts)

This is a rerun of a post that first appeared on September 30, 2009:

          Darkness does not have to always refer to that which is bad, evil, or scary. One definition is that darkness is merely the absence of light. Normally, though, the absence is not absolute. Often it is quite easy for most of us to see in the dark once our eyes adjust. We just might not see everything or see as well as we might if there were more light present. Walking in the dark can sometimes be illuminating to the mind and soul.


          I've been thinking more about my past experiences with walking at night in the mountains. When I was in my years between about 19 and 25 I did a lot of night walking, not for any bad intent, but just because it was interesting and it was something to do.

           I was still living at home with my parents in Maryville, Tennessee while attending the university in Knoxville. One of my favorite places to go any time of day was the Foothills Parkway, at that time a 16.5 mile stretch transversing Chilhowee Mountain going from the town of Walland to Chilhowee Lake. Foothills Parkway is still mostly unfinished, but should one day extend a total of 71 miles all the way to Interstate 40 near Cosby, Tennessee.

            Back in the early 70's the Chilhowee Mountain stretch was the part of the Parkway that was most accessable to me. It was about 15 minutes from my parents house to the parkway entrance so it was a easy place to go for a pleasant drive, to watch the sunset, or park and enjoy the city lights at night. The views were spectacular--the Great Smoky Mountains to the south and the beautiful Tennessee Valley to the north. If it was really clear, looking northward you could possibly see past Maryville-Alcoa to Knoxville and as far the Cumberland Mountains. No matter what the time of day the views were picture postcard perfect.

           My friends and I probably went up to Chilhowee Mountain at night almost as much as in the daytime. At about the midway point of that stretch of the parkway there is the Look Rock Observation Tower which is a circular concrete structure easily accessible by a ramp. The view from the top is amazing and attracts many visitors throughout the year. Most people don't go at night. That's when I usaully went.

           The Look Rock Campground, which is operated by the National Park Service, is nearby. Sometimes we would camp at this beautiful campground and walk up to the tower during the night. There were usually very few people who camped here. Most of the time the campground was closed and when that was the case we would park across the parkway from the tower access road and walk up to the tower. This way was much easier than the designated hiking trail which wound up from a scenic overlook area up through the woods. The access road was not as steep, it was wider, and much easier to follow in the darkness. We never brought flashlights. We never needed them. There was plenty of starlight, moonlight if the moon was out, and whatever ambient light exists that typically lights the night.

           After reaching the top of the tower we would nearly always spend the first several minutes silently taking in the view around us-- the shadowy majesty of the Great Smoky Mountains silhouetted against the night sky, a glimmering peek of Chilhowee Lake behind the foothills, the darkness of the valleys, and the expansive spread of the constellation of lights between us and Knoxville and beyond. We could see the lights of the Knoxville McGhee-Tyson Airport and watch the coming of going of the air traffic. There was the continous movement of the lights of the ground traffic flowing the streets below. The world of the night time spread out all about us as we watched in a sort of awestruck silence.

          Then after our meditation on the night, we would begin our musings on the possibilities of not only the night, but our lives, the world, the universe, or wherever our imaginations took us. Much like conversation that is traded around the campfire we would tell eerie stories and ponder the mysteries of the unknown all the while watching the skies in hopes of seeing a U.F.O. or at the very least a streaking meteor. It was a time of dreams and wandering thoughts. Eventually we would make our way back to the campsite or the car with renewed spirits and unanswered questions.

          After night has come, most of us sleep and dream. I've heard some people say that they don't have dreams. According to research, we all do dream and dreaming is essential for good mental health. Research tells us that on the average humans spend six years of their lives dreaming. Even animals dream according to scientific studies. Those who say they do not dream probably just don't remember their dreams or recognize that they are dreaming.
 
           Darkness inspires the dreams of sleep as well as the dreams of wakefulness. I'm sure you have heard people say, "Close your eyes and imagine...". What happens when you close your eyes? You create a personal state of darkness where there are no overt visual distractions and you can focus on an inner state of peace. It's good to dream whether it be nightdreams or daydreams. So close your eyes and dream of things as they have been, as they are, and as they could be. All that has been accomplished was initially dreamed. Let your dreams work for you. And don't be afraid of the dark.
 
            Do you listen to your dreams?   What have they been telling you?   Are you afraid to walk in the dark?
 
 
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K-Town: Knoxville, Tennessee

          I keep seeing where Blabbin' Grammy is going over to Knoxville to do this or do that and I'm getting a bit jealous.  I'd like to go to Knoxville, but that's not so easy coming from L.A.  Grammy is only about an hour away from K-Town, as many of the locals call it, and she can hop right over.  Why do I want to go to Knoxville?  Well it's my old stomping grounds--it's close to my home of Maryville, Tennessee.

            A few days ago B. Miller was talking about her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina and it just got me thinking about home towns.  I wasn't the only one.  Roland D. Yeomans posted his eloquent reflections on his home town of Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Knoxville actually was the first K idea that I had come up with back when I made up my original calendar of ideas back before the challenge began. Knoxville just seemed like my logical choice for K.

          Knoxville is about fifteen miles from where my parents lived, which is where I continued to reside during my years at the University of Tennessee.  As the urban center of East Tennessee, Knoxville sits at the junction of the major interstate arteries of I-40 and I-75.  Only about 30 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville attracts tourists from all over the world.  In 1982, Knoxville hosted a World's Fair and parts of the fair park remain for recreational use and nightlife entertainment.

          Back in the early 70's when I attended the University, Knoxville was the go to place for liquor and wine.  Weekends invariably began with a run over to the Cumberland Avenue strip to one of the University area liquor stores or to the blue collar area of Vestal, depending on which side of Maryville we were coming from.  I would often attend concerts at the Civic Coliseum or at one of the University venues.  Knoxville was our destination for partying "supplies" or urban entertainment, but Blount county was our running around area.

         Of course, I spent much time in Knoxville attending classes at the University of Tennessee, but I also worked for a while at a business in Knoxville.  For a few years I worked at a carnival supply company called Acme Premium Supply.  People used to like to kid me that it was the place where Wiley Coyote got all of his gadgets to try to capture the Roadrunner.  Acme was on East Jackson Avenue, which at the time consisted of older warehouses, many abandoned and on the verge of collapse, and homeless men and winos who tended to congregate at the corner of Jackson and Central.  Now this area has been reclaimed by developers who have converted the old buildings into lofts, restaurants, and night clubs.  Old Town Knoxville is now a popular area of galleries and boutiques by day and dining and drinking at night.

       If you are visiting East Tennessee you are more than likely going to be spending most of your time around Gatlinburg and the Smokies.  However, you will find much to do in Knoxville and the surrounding area.  Knoxville is well worth a visit.  Any time of the year you can find something interesting going on.  I wish I could hop over to K-Town right now.  But I guarantee you if I could, I'd soon be over in Maryville visiting my family and friends and then maybe heading up to the mountains.  There's no place like home.

Speaking of home here's a few homestyle blogs for you to check out:

Kellys Home --The Hoosier family from North Carolina invites you to stop in for a visit. 

Families Are Forever -- and that's what it's all about on Kristen C's messages from home down Georgia way.

Everything Emerald -- Marjorie always takes an interesting approach in her posts.  Not sure where she is but my guess is somewhere in Arizona.

Becoming Three --  Family thinngs and other things, a bit of this and some of that.

Randomness with the Whitings --  Fun and frustration of family life.  Nifty ideas, crafty crafts, and musings about whatever randomly might come up.

Stop by these blogs and pop your head in the door and say howdy.   You may even want to come inside and sit a spell. 

Tuesday in Tennessee

            Tennessee is actually three states according to Tennesseeans.  There is the flatland region that is part of the Mississippi River basin that is West Tennessee.  This is where you'll find Memphis.  There is Middle Tennessee with it's plateaus and where you have the state capitol of Nashville.  And then finally you have the beautiful Appalachian region of East Tennessee that has Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  That's where I am now.

           This is what I now think of as home even though I've been living in Southern California for the past 18 years.   I moved to Tennessee with my family right as I was starting high school.  This is where I graduated and where I went to college.  Most of my friends live here and I have some family members still living there. And if I'm going to be from somewhere and call it home, East Tennessee seems like a pretty good place.

            The biggest attraction in East Tennessee is The Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding area.  The national park is over 500,000 acres with about half in Tennessee and the other half in North Carolina.  There is a wide array of trees and plant life and a large number of different animals.  History is a large focal point of the park as this was a site of the early American settlers as well as many Indian tribes.  Recreational activities include hiking, camping, fishing, and many other things.

           One of the biggest attractions are the towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.  Most of the tourists stay in these towns. There is a plethora of shopping opportunities of all kinds ranging from souvenir shops to antique stores to outlet malls. Several amusement attractions are located in this area, the most notable being Dollywood, the country flavored Disney-type attraction found by country music legend Dolly Parton.  Also, much like Branson, Mo., there are a number of theaters where you can find family entertainment shows.  With all of the things to do here it's no wonder so many tourists flock to the Great Smokies each year.

           The place where I'm staying is on the quieter side of the park.  I'm in Maryville, which is halfway between Knoxville and the National Park.   Maryville was a pretty quaint little place when we moved there in the mid-60s.  Now it has built up and has much upscale shopping and dining.  This is also where the Knoxville airport is located.  From my mother's house it takes about twenty minutes to get to the National Park entrance.  The town is centrally located and has good quality living.  And there are some pretty nice people there as well.

          If you are considering a vacation and you've never visited East Tennessee, no matter what your interests are, you will probably find something to suit you here.  I encourage you to check it out and consider visiting.  It's a relatively easy driving distance for over half of the U.S. population and flying there is very convenient.  So why don't you'all come on and stay a bit.  The biscuits and gravy are gonna be ready soon.

          If you've visited East Tennessee, how'd you like it?  When vacationing what do you prefer-- the splendors of nature or the shopping and civilized amusements?   What's your favorite National Park?  Are you going to take a vacation this year and if so, where?


          

                

Home in East Tennessee

          I may live in California now, but when I think of home I think of the place where I am right now-- East Tennessee.  If you've never been to East Tennessee, you really should put it on your list of "places to see before you die".  It's where you'll find the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited national park in the United States.

          Besides being an absolutely beautiful place to go, it stands to reason why the Great Smokies would be the most visited national park.  It is located in the center of the most populous region of the United States.  I will tell you more about the Great Smokies and East Tennessee on Tuesday.

         Hope you had a splendid Christmas.  I spent most of the day travelling and perhaps I'll talk about that when my posts are no longer on autopilot.  If you didn't read my short story The Princess of the Plinth you can go back to the post of Tuesday 12/22 and read the four installments of the story that ran through Friday's post.  Hope I got some comments on the story, even if it was just telling me that you saw it.

          If all goes well in my posting assignments for the upcoming week I'll have some surprise stories.  I'm winging it here.  If you see something weird come up you'll know I didn't make it to a computer and I didn't write up a scheduled post either.  I'm still waiting on my Christmas laptop.

          And if I don't get a chance later---- Have a Happy New Year!

Lost in the Great Smoky Mountains

          Halloween often conjures images of ghosts and other mysterious beings lost and wandering in the night.  Unsettled souls who have not found rest in the afterlife haunt the living as seen or unseen supernatural forces that chill and terrify. I personally don't have any proof that ghosts exist, but some of the most frightening and mysterious stories are the true tales of people who disappear without a trace. Today, in what has become a Friday tradition on this blog, we will look back on some unsolved missing persons reports that have come out of the Great Smoky Mountains.

             My interest in missing persons has recently been sparked by the disappearance of Mitrice Richardson , who still has not been found. I have not seen a great deal of coverage in the local news media and a check on Google mostly brings up stories that are over a week old. Apparently there is not much in the way of new information and there is not enough sensationalism factor to the story to warrant more coverage than the story has received.  However, I did come across some information that I had not previously heard in the MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS in a story by Anne Soble which was dated October 14.  The Los Angeles Police Department continues to work on the case and has followed up on reported sightings from Northern California to New Mexico-- the LAPD is convinced that she is still alive somewhere. Some of Mitrice's family members, including her father, have complained that police were slow to act on the case and that not enough has been done so far.  According to this article there are feelings among some that some of the problems of the case may stem not only from race, but also from gender, and from the fact that Mitrice was gay.  An insinuation was made by an undisclosed source that perhaps Mitrice did not want to stay overnight in the jail and was anxious to leave because of the attentions of the jailer, "a black woman" -- at least this is what I derive from what the article says. Mitrice was released in the dark early morning hours in an area that is relatively remote and with rugged canyons. Was she lost in that canyonland, was she a victim of foul play, or did she just take off for her own reasons and is still out there somewhere? 

 What happened to Mitrice Richardson?

            According to Tru TV , 2300 hundred people a day are reported as missing in the United States  The National Institute of Justice makes the following statement:

"The facts are sobering. On any given day, there are as many as 100,000 active missing persons cases in the United States. Every year, tens of thousands of people vanish under suspicious circumstances. Viewed over a 20-year period, the number of missing persons can be estimated in the hundreds of thousands"

Dennis Martin

        In the summer of 1969 I had recently graduated from high school and had just begun working a summer job in construction to raise funds for my upcoming first year at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  Neil Armstrong had not yet become the first man to set foot on the moon and Woodstock was still two months away.  It was June 14, Father's Day, when something would occur that captured headlines in the Tennessee papers and tug at the hearts of millions throughout the nation.  Dennis Martin, who was about to turn seven years old, had been camping with his family in the Great Smoky Mountains. Their campsite was in Spence Field, a highland meadow near the Appalachian Trail. The area was somewhat remote requiring campers to backpack to the site. At about 4 PM on that Sunday, Dennis was playing with his older brother and two other boys when they decided to hide and scare their parents.  Dennis was instructed to come from one direction because he was wearing a bright red shirt that made him easily visible while the other boys waited in hiding to scare the parents. When the parents arrived the three boys jumped out from their hiding place but Dennis was nowhere to be found.  The father began calling for Dennis and then, according to the reports,  when there was no answer they began searching for him not more than 3 to 5 minutes after he had disappeared.  The boy's grandfather hiked down the mountain to alert park rangers who joined the family in the search throughout the night and with pouring thunderstorms.
             As the week progressed, hundreds of trained personnel and volunteers scoured the area in search of "little Dennis Martin" as the media referred to him. The FBI was called in to investigate on the possibility that Dennis had been kidnapped.  After two weeks the intensive campaign was called off, althougth the search continued for the next two and a half months by a team of experienced park rangers.No trace was ever found of the boy and after 40 years  the case remains open until this day.

Trenny Lynn Gibson

           Little Dennis Martin is but one of many who have disappeared without a trace in the Smoky Mountains. On October 8, 1976 a group of 40 Knoxville high school students were hiking to Andrews Bald.  They had eventually broken down into smaller groups according to pace.  Sixteen year old  Trenny Lynn Gibson had joined various groups throughout the afternoon.  Then sometime around 3 PM she disappeared.  She was last seen near Clingman's Dome, an area highly popular with tourists. The search for Trenny continued until the end of October but not a clue was found.  Until this day no one has reported ever hearing from her.  There is plenty of rumor and speculation after over 30 years but perhaps no one will ever really know what happed to Trenny Lynn Gibson. 

Thelma Pauline Melton

            Twenty-eight years ago Thelma Pauline Melton disappeared while hiking with two friends on the  popular Deep Creek Trail in the National Park.  The 58 year old woman, who was overweight and had some health problems, is said to have walked this trail for 20 years. At around 4 PM, as the three friends were returning to the campground where they were staying, Thelma began walking ahead of the others. They saw her disappear over a hill and that is the last they ever saw of her. There are various theories ranging from becoming disoriented and becoming lost, to suicide, to running away because she was having an affair. We may never know and the case remains unresolved.

            Stories of people vanishing into thin air are intriguing, tragic, and sometimes even romantic. Can you imagine the terror of being lost in the woods or kidnapped?  The recent stories about Jaycee Dugard remind us that missing people can be found after many years.  What you do if you became lost in the mountains or taken captive by someone you didn't know?  Have you ever imagined just taking off on your own without telling anyone?  In any of these cases, who would miss you and who would be hurt?  Ghosts don't have to be supernatural.  Sometimes our memories are like ghosts.

Walking In The Dark

        Halloween is associated with darkness.  The main activities of Halloween are in the evening. The events usually include some sort of "haunted" attraction that is dark or dimly lit. The mythology and imagery surrounding the occasion mostly deal with graveyards, spirits, witches, vampires and other places and creatures of the darker realms.  Halloween celebrates the night.
        I got to thinking about this last night as I walked around in darkness.  My wife usually goes to bed much earlier than I do, so when I am coming to bed I keep the lights off as much as possible so as not to disturb her sleep. I shut off the lights in my home office and prowl through the darkened house as I make my way to bed.  At first, before my eyes have been able to adjust to the change in lighting, it seems very dark. Then gradually I am able to realize that it is really not that dark at all.  Light from the outside filters through the closed blinds. There are many red, green, or amber lights from appliances and electronic devices and clocks throughout the house. I am amazed at all of the various lights that remain on always. Momentarily I recall hearing on the Southwest Radio Church program one time that the government of the "Beast" that will one day rule the entire world will be able to "watch" everyone in Big Brother fashion through the electronics that are always on in our homes. Pausing, I wonder if they could see me in this darkness.
          I enjoy walking around the house in the dark.  In a way it seems like an exercise that helps increase my visual acuity as well heightening other senses. I walk carefully so as not to hurt myself or knock anything over. A few times I have painfully banged my toe making me more careful about where I direct my steps. I pride myself on my night vision.  Walking in the dark house is like practicing for being blind or having a severe visual impairment.  I hope it never happens, but for short periods I get some sense of what it would be like.  I like being able to see well so I want my eyes to be healthy, but walking in the dark can be a challenge.
          As a matter of fact, I've always liked walking in the dark.  Back to the idea of the challenge in one part, but also the feeling of mystery and fear and sense of peacefulness and solitude walking or just being in the dark sometimes offers.  To be in a darkened room, not sleeping, but just resting, reflecting, and meditating can be immensely restoratitve to the soul.  The womb-like retreat of a dark place can feel safe and sheltering.  Usually you can see in the dark as we usually encounter darkness like as when I am walking around the house.  It's not like the demonstration of real darkness that cavern tour guides in places like Carlsbad Caverns give you when they will at one point turn off the lights. That's real darkness. Back when I was in my 20's my friends and I would sometimes engage ourselves in spelunking--cave exploration--and almost always at some point we would turn out our lights to experience the darkness.  If we would have ever lost our lights, then that would have been true terror.  True blindness.
         Once, in that same era of my life when I was still living at home with my parents back in Tennessee, my friend Fred (God rest his departed soul) and I decided to hike to the top of the Chimney Top peaks in the Smokey Mountains to see the sunrise.  Fred spent the night at my house and we got up about 3 AM and drove to the Chimney Tops trailhead.  It was a couple hour hike so most of it had to be done in the darkness in order to experience sunrise at the summit. I had attempted the hike twice before in the daylight.  The first time my friend Marvin and I somehow got off the trail and ended up on a different trail where we came upon some other hikers who had food and shared their lunch with us. We never made it to the Chimney Tops. My second visit with two other friends reached the intended destination and it was then I decided that one day I would return for the sunrise. When Fred and I made the trek we did so without flashlights. The darkness was especially intense on the trail because it was totally forested. We walked carefully.  The trail was visible enough to follow but all around us was the ambiguity of the dark, silent mountain forest. We had a goal and persisted until we reached the top.  The sky was lightening with the dawn and the cool August morning air was still with anticipation.  We found some rocks at the pinnacle and waited.  Then, as though God were speaking to us, the sun appeared along with a grand whoosh of the wind.  It was breathtaking and the two of  us watched silently.
           I like to walk in darkness, in the literal sense, as long as I can see a little bit and I'm not totally blind.  If I can see something in the darkness and have a pretty good idea of where I'm going, then I know that if I am careful I should be okay and get to my destination safely. However, often I think we all walk in darkness in the figurative sense.  We may lack spirituallity, God, love, friendship, knowledge, wisdom, or whatever makes us more enlightened or goal-oriented in our lives.  We walk with uncertaintity, loneliness, sadness, and fears that cannot seem to be assuaged.  That is not a pleasant darkness in which to walk.
            Some oft given advice for trick-or-treaters since they will be out walking in the dark is that they should carry some sort of light.  The light is not really intended for the trick-or-treaters to find their way through the streets. Normally there is enough light  for everyone to see where they are going in the streets of the neighborhood.  The light that they are advised to carry is so that people can see them.