What's in a name?

Nearly 6 years ago I started noodling around on this here interwebz thingy. A crazy time in my personal and professional life. (Of course I have no profession other than whatever I'm doing at the time, which has been everything from a dairyman, flyboy, cattle breeder, explosives user, (( I was never an expert)), house builder, pulpwooder, swampwader, insurance sales, sawmill operator to jewelry manufacturer).

I picked the name Red Hill Kudzu because we lived in the Red Hill areas and I'd recently given a talk about the Kudzu that can entangle a persons soul.

Pretty tenacious stuff and there is plenty of it still growing here even though we've lived in Athens 3 years and 11 months.

I joke around about taking my meds and trying to stay a little bit sane in an insane world where, as the poet said, "all around you men are losing theirs (Mind)". In a comical attempt "To be a man, my son".

Sometimes I succeed and sometimes not so much.

But sometimes you have a day that is like Balm_of_Gilead. also, also.

Today was such a day. To celebrate the Birthday of my Grandson Cody, his parents, his girl friend, his grandmother and I, his aunt Kathy and current beau with his son in tow, and two close family friends sat out to go 'tubin' th 'hooch. Not as some of you have done up in Helen, Ga, but lower down that lovely river below the Lake Sydney Lanier Dam unto Suttles Bridge where we disembarked and were bussed back to our cars and trucks.

The River is deeper here, not quite so bustling, but deep in spots and cold enough, about 45 degrees, to make grown men squeal like little girls, and little and big girls alike, have lip lock so tight you never have to worry about floating through a warm yellow patch.

Clear the water was, bottle green, and you could see trout swimming and avoiding the snares of anglers wading along the banks and watch the stumps of old trees as we floated gently and quietly past, standing sentinel along with a Great Blue Heron who flapped majestically off at our approach, squirting out a 5 foot long stream of shit, both to lighten the load and probably to express his displeasure with our intrusion.

The mood was joyous, we giggled and talked as the sun beat down upon us. Thank goodness for SPF-50 else my lily white legs, which have only infrequently seen the light of day for decades now, would have been char-broiled to medium rare perfection in the 3 hours it took us to reach the bridge.

Afterwords back to the daughter's house for grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, with suitable libations for the grown-ups while we children made do with diet pepsi and Mtn. Dew. Of Course the obligatory birth day cake (white with chocolate icing) then some playing with the Wii until time to return back here.

A warm day, a sunny day, a cold river to float lazily upon, good friends who are family (a combination which is a great blessing far beyond any expectation so many years earlier), and a peaceful, prayerful feeling, unlike so many other evenings at this keyboard for so many years.

Amen