Taking care of our own

Taking care of our own

  

First the situation.

It is the winter on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, and most people get cold as things outside get, and often stay chilly. One might even say we are in the winter time.

Second is that we take care of our own, and usually in our own way.

Now what does that mean?

For one, it means sharing food, like if there is no refrigeration and someone kills a deer, then we all share it before the meat goes bad. Said another way, we eat the dog gone thing in time.

It also means sharing and splitting wood for heating. Now the more modern and maybe even urban boys and girls might use expressions like “just in time” and “solar heating” but here locally nobody cares about expressions as much as just being warm enough. Sometimes even long johns fail somewhat.

So my priority list puts me last in a queue of three right now. And if I climb up to a higher priority in the future (using my own judgment), I am confident others will both know it, and help me, too. Said another way, we are as honest to each other as one can hope for. And we get through this winter time, too.