Hiking Through Life

I love winter, While most people are staying indoors and, when they venture outside, have permanent scowls, I am revealing in this season's beauty. I love the nip in the air, the bright blue skies, the amplified sounds at night, the calm frigid cold as I gaze at the stars, I love seeing the constellation Orion on clear cold nights. I love wearing winter clothes, snuggling under an electric blanket and a quilt at night with my husband. I love drinking hot chocolate and feeling its warmth spread inside me. I love visiting Newport, Rhode Island in winter when one has the mansions and restaurants and hops all to oneself. I love snow (and I know how to drive in it! - a factor of living in both northern Indiana and Iceland). I love ice storms that create magical crystal scenes. I love Christmas and all its trimmings, especially hearing the Salvation Army bell ringing as I make my way into stores. Frankly, I can't imagine traveling South (or farther south) for the winter. In my o...

In 1994, when I moved to Memphis, TN, to be closer to my Mom, I remember her telling me somewhere along the way that Memphis was not really part of West Tennessee. Of course, being a geographer (and probably argumentative by nature), I argued that of course Memphis was part of West Tennessee. It was, in fact, the western most city in Tennessee. However, now, 23 years later, and as a resident of Jackson, TN, I finally understand what she means. From Union City and Martin to Henderson and Bolivar and Jackson to Paris, the look, feel and demeanor is so different from Memphis and its surrounding bedroom communities. The people are more genteel, the atmosphere is more laid back, the friendliness is more apparent. We love our West Tennessee home.