The Family is One of Nature’s Masterpieces

"The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” ~ George Santayana When I look at this little picture, I’m reminded of what it takes to make the one simple, glorious creature of you. It takes your immediate family of course, but it takes every generation back into a time we can’t imagine. You see, every generation…

The Wolves of Insignificance From the Door, by Beverly Hicks Burch

“Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.” ~ Saul Bellow ~ “ I was going through my portable hard drive this morning and rediscovered this image. It’s one of my favorites…I love doors, they hold mysteries behind their closed portals in my opinion. I apologize if you have seen…

Happy Birthday, Daddy, by Beverly Hicks Burch

It just so happens that the last few days I have been doing a little research on my East Tennessee and Western North Carolina “roots”. This picture celebrates two really big reasons I have those roots I love so much…my Papaw Hicks and my Daddy. Of course, my Papaw is the proud dad of the…

God’s Green Earth, by Beverly Hicks Burch

In the foothills of the Smoky Mountains there is a little hamlet called Townsend, TN. It is part of my ancestral roots. My Daddy was born there and his daddy before him and so on and so on. The Hicks Family and the Walker family and the Dunn family were Blount County residents for generations.…

Encounters, by Beverly Hicks Burch

Encounters By Beverly Hicks Burch I am a suburbanite. I am a child of the burbs. So, what the heck is it with me and critters lately?! Mind you, I’m not talking about your run of the mill, mediocre, pedestrian house pets. Oh, no… Don’t get me wrong. I dig animals…most of them at least.…

You Don’t Say, by Beverly Hicks Burch

You Don’t Say By Beverly Hicks Burch I am a hard sell. I don’t know if it’s the Scotch-Irish in me, or that teeny, tiny touch of Cherokee purported in my latest DNA test. It could even be the frugal German. Better yet, a throw back to the East Tennessee Mountain roots that run deep…

Family Plots, by Beverly Hicks Burch

Family Plots By Beverly Hicks Burch This past weekend I did something I’ve wanted to do since I moved back to East Tennessee two years ago, and that is document some of the grave sites of my ancestors for my genealogy files. Sounds morbid, doesn’t it? Well, it really isn’t. Gravemarkers, headstones or tombstones as…

It Was Memorial…by Beverly Hicks Burch

It Was Memorial… By Beverly Hicks Burch Before the ravages of ill health wrapped its icy fingers around my body and started wrecking havoc, one thing I really enjoyed doing on a more routine basis was travel. I still enjoy traveling, I just don’t do it as often. I have to pace myself when I…

Oh Henry…Rachel that Is, by Beverly Hicks Burch

Imagine you’re speeding down an interstate. You’re traveling at 55, 65 or 70 mph on you way to work, vacation or some other desired destination. You’ve had a pretty smooth trip so far, a little bump here and there. Along the way you’ve had to use a road map or atlas to help you find…