When Covid hit in 2020, it was an additional burden added to my husband David who was already facing long, exhausting days as the only certified operator of the Grantsville Municipal Water Plant and would be such for the next 2 years. Add to that the randomness of calls as a volunteer Fireman and the responsibility that comes from being Chief of the Fire Department and the stress on him could be described as a rubber band on the brink of breaking at any given moment. Not writing for sympathy but rather understanding. So here we are in the summer of 2022, with his first vacation since 2019 at the top of the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee where creation awes us and an attitude and expression of rest has occurred for the first time in 3 years.
Why is that news?
It’s not really news, but it is a message of hope to the weary and an encouragement to stop where you are and take a moment to breathe in the goodness of God. And maybe snap a picture and send it to the Ridgeview (with notes of where you are). I’d love to run those images!
I’ll be doing my best to cover Ridgeview News events fro the next few days (with the assistance of daughter Whitney Butler) and anyone who sends articles via Facebook or email to talk2shari@gmail.com. I’ll also be sharing the views of Gatlinburg, which I assure you are worth the 6 hours to travel from home.
Yesterday was spent in the Great Smokey Mountains (after we napped for several hours upon our arrival). A family from Atlanta seen David and I struggling for a selfie on the mountain, and pulled in to offer us assistance and take the picture below. (Thus the laughter)
Mental note… there are nice people everywhere! We also met a young man from Wisconsin on the mountain. Just taking in the views and telling us “this was so worth the drive.”
I assure you my images do not do these scenes justice. And while this morning left me light on the news side of my life, the desire to be your eyes and voice in the community never ceases.
Blessings! – Shari Johnson, Publisher, Ridgeview News
