Snapshot

Brenda and I are going to see my dad this weekend. He lives in the beautiful foothills of western North Carolina. It was twenty nine years ago at Easter that I was introduced to its lovely land and it's people.

My brother, Jon, and I were in a rock band traveling all over the US back in 1981. The keyboard player, Terry Hyder, lived in a small community called Bostic, near Forest City, NC. The Easter holiday created a few days where we didn't have any bookings. So Terry invited us to come down and stay there with his family. I was impressed by the deep rust-orange color of the dirt (something I never saw in the sandy soil of my southern California home). The trees were in bloom and the beautiful, purple hues of the Mountain Laurel peeked out between the fresh, green leaves. The air was cool enough to wear a light jacket and the sky was deep blue.

I immediately made a mental snapshot in my mind of that place in time. My dad was thinking about retiring and moving out of state in a year or so and this place seemed to be too special not to mention it to them for consideration. For my parents, moving away from Fullerton was a challenge. But all the way to North Carolina seemed to me to be far fetched. I was surprised to find my parents willing to check it out. They made a trip across the country and fell in love with Forest City. They moved there soon after my dad retired in 1981. They sold their home and moved their lives into a beautiful, brick, two level-house, nestled amongst tall hardwoods and pine trees, with a small stream out back.

Between travels I would stay there with them for days at a time. I was able to befriend many folks there and the friendships exist to this day. I eventually left the road to marry Brenda and raise our kids in Mobile, Alabama. On April 19, 1997, we received the call that would bring us back to Forest City, this time to live there. My mom had passed away. I felt I needed to be near my dad, mostly for my need to grieve with him. We moved our family there the following July. So many things transpired during our nearly four years in the community. We even helped start a new church that is still thriving called Cornerstone Fellowship.

Now, we have been in Spring Hill, Tennessee for almost nine years. I always dreamed that Nashville would some day be my home. I am more apt to stay put these days. But when the mornings are cool and the sky is blue with the new buds pushing their way out toward the sun, I think of the foothills of western North Carolina and remember that snapshot in my memory.