A sisters' trip to mid-Tennessee

Beverly

Saturday, July 16, 8:14 a.m. in the back seat of Bev's Honda Hybrid, I begin writing about a few of the week's activities while vacationing in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. Today was the end of our annual sisters' trip that began last Sunday, one day after I turned 80. Carolyn and Barbara were the other sibs. We had been comfortably condo-ed in the Oak Knoll area.

Carolyn
Leaving our condo right at eight a. m. --the hour that a roadside truck farmer/ farmer-ess were to set up their stand--we'd stopped for fresh produce to take home: cantaloupe, 'peaches-and-cream' corn, cucumbers and peaches for me. I forgot tomatoes, but later, I begged one from Carolyn. The grizzled man and his super-tanned wife were friendly and helpful.


Friendly and helpful described everyone we met. Clerks in the myriad shops were genial, visiting with us, helping us find things. Then leaving us alone to browse.

Browsing was the name of the game. Huge stores housing Habitat Restore, Bread of Life thrift store (a business of the Crossville Rescue Mission), Good Samaritan thrift store, a thrift store whose sales supported an animal shelter, the Rocking Horse, and too many other venues to recall.

Recalling our "missions," each of the five of us had at least one. (The 5th of our bunch was Glenda, a friend from Evansville, who spent two nights with us.) My mission was to find a "small pocket knife" for my landscaper/ handyman/ brother & heir-to-Couchwood. As G. W. Bush once said, "Mission Accomplished."

Barbara

Accomplishing all we wanted to do--selecting stops, mapping for the best route between them, then letting Siri audibly direct us--was the job of Barb and Glenda, inveterate thrift-store pros. They could smell out desirable places like bears to a food source. That's how we found so many shops.

Shops in the Fairfield Glade Mall were upscale, yet advertised 20-or-30 percent off. I (who rarely shop) purchased two two-piece tops, plus some Christmas gifts.

Gifts we looked for ranged from wall decorations to tiny vases, which would be filled with flowers and taken to Hospice House, or assisted-living homes to be left for clients.

Clients and volunteers kept the thrift stores clean and well-displayed. Folks helping folks seemed the order of the day everywhere we went. And--when we purchased useful items, we were also helping make the area more pleasant and peaceful.

Friend Glenda

Peace reigned in our section of the world, even though chaos erupted in Nice, France. In other places, chaos seemed to be the order of the day. After a week of togetherness, eating, playing Mexican Train dominoes and Phase Ten, watching "Someone Like You" and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," and visiting on the deck, we ended our trip in peace and love and anticipation of next year's jaunt.