A series of essays.....
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| PRESTON ROBERTS AND HIS YOUNGEST GRANDSON PHOTO FROM HIS BLOG SITE: 'RAMBLINGS OF A DREAMER' |
.....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
BELEAGUERED*
adjective
1. harassed, trouble, plagued, torment, hassled
(informal), aggravated (informal), badgered, persecuted, pestered, vexed, put
upon There have been seven attempts against the beleaguered
government.
2. besieged, surrounded, blockaded, encompassed, beset,
encircle, assailed, hemmed in, hedged in, environed The rebels continue to push
their way towards the beleagured capital.
First of all.....who uses the word 'beleaguered' in a
normal, everyday Tweet, anyway? I mean, was his intent to write a novel in
one hundred and forty characters (or less)? Prove that he has a better
vocabulary than he did yesterday when we all know that he does not? A repetitive
vocabulary of simple, one to two syllable words does not count as having a full
on, adult, (2. The sum of words used by, understood by, or at the commanded of a
particular person or group.) vocabulary.
Did he have to ask someone to use it in a sentence first
in order to familiarize himself with the word? And, even so.....this may not
have helped him. If I were to choose proper substitute words from the definition
above that he could have used instead, the only one might be the word 'trouble.' All
of the others, still a little too advanced for him.
BELEAGUERING (bĭ-lē′gər)
tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing,
be·lea·guers
1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by
problems.
2. To surround with troops; besiege: The enemy is
beleaguering the enclave.
There is only one person I see doing any beleaguering
here and that's the man issuing the Tweet in the first place! Oh, and this
definition tells it like it is! So, maybe I'm misguided here, after all, and should be thinking in these terms:
"We, the beleaguered people, the harassed, beset,
besieged, tormented, and the persecuted people of these United States of America
these past six months, would like a change. No, deserve a change. Nay, demand a
change, for the enemy doth beleaguer the enclave....."
EUSTACE AND PRESTON
In watching the past several seasons of Mountain Men on
the History Channel I've become quite attached to two characters who, at least
for me, have epitomized the true nature of life among the valleys, foothills and
the roiling purple haze of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountain range of North
Carolina. Their names are Eustace Conway and Preston Roberts and, I guarantee
that through their teachings and beliefs, they capture the 'inner joy' we should
all share for living off the land and fulfilling our 'simple lifestyle'
dreams.
Sadly, Preston Roberts passed away several days
ago.
Preston was a woodsman, educator, artist, craftsman, and
environmentalist. He has been romping around the woods of Western North Carolina
for over fifty years and has always claimed to be a "Jack of all trades....
Master of some."
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| PRESTON ROBERTS AND EUSTACE CONWAY TOGETHER AT TURTLE ISLAND PRESERVE Picture Courtesy of Turtle Island Preserve |
Together, with his business partner and friend, Eustace
Conway, they have been running Turtle Island Preserve near Boone, North
Carolina, where, "they live, teach, breathe, and believe in nature's governing
truths." They interact with the beautiful, clarifying teachings of nature and
pass this accumulative knowledge on to whom they call, "the wild youth," the
kids who attend camp and classes at the Preserve in order to learn this important knowledge for their future selves and personal well being. "We dig deep,
reaching profound connections within us, touching our ancestral roots," and
Eustace, Preston and Staff have shared their extensive knowledge with others at
Turtle Island for many years.
The core of Preston’s world has always revolved around
the traditional Appalachian mountain people and he has had the honor of being
taught by some of the best.
Included in his brief Bio that is a part of his own Blog
site, I found this paragraph and realized, in no uncertain terms, why I am so
enamored by this generous and loving man:
"Preston was born in 1957 and was raised in the once
small town of Brevard, North Carolina. Pisgah National Forest was his early
tromping ground, and he still frequents those familiar haunts. In 1975, he met
the woman of his dreams, Kathleen DuPont McGuire and wasted no time in marrying
her. While many people use the old adage “Behind every good man is a good
woman,” Preston frequently is found saying “Beside every good man is a good
woman,” and that she is. Together they raised 3 fine boys, and they are about to
celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary."
Having fallen deeply in love with this area of the
country myself as a young girl, we have since purchased our North Carolina
property that borders on Pisgah National Forest and Preston's old tromping
grounds. It's a beautiful, magical place and a stone's throw from several
entrances to the Blue Ridge Parkway where you can ride along the misty mountain
ridges, stop a thousand times to take that 'perfect' picture, and fall madly in
love with this area all on your own.
The world has lost a great man. Our youth has lost a
great teacher. The History Channel has lost a fascinating, colorful, and soft-spoken character. Cancer is a demon we must destroy. I will miss you, terribly, Preston
Roberts, and may all of the fortunate students you have fostered along your
memorable journey through life carry on your traditions, good will, and zest for
what comes naturally in this world. You are among the heroes that we all
seek in our lifetime....
Note: Let us not forget all of the toughest Mountain
Women, the likes of Mardy Mûrie who studied wildlife in Alaska, Hallie Morse
Daggett, the first woman to work for the Forest Service in 1913, and the wives
of Mountain Men who have proven to be as tough, proud, and courageous in every
way....and then some!
'THE VINTAGE NEWS'
As far as I'm concerned, The Vintage News is a FaceBook
Page that should be shared and savored by all of us. If you enjoy history and
are even remotely interested in knowing who helped, what transpired, and how we got to the places
we are at today, and get to see archived pictures that illustrate every step
along the way, then this one's for you!
I mean, where else can you discover as you're scrolling
through your Timeline news that "A huge wall at Cal Orcko in southern Bolivia
reveals more than 5,000 dinosaur footsteps" (accompanied by a photo of said
footsteps), or how the "Families of Titanic’s musicians were billed the cost of
uniforms after the ship’s sinking." What?
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| TITANIC MUSICIANS |
Several days ago, The Vintage News posted a picture of a
1908 Auto-Armchair Motorcycle. That's it. No accompanying story behind it; just
a picture. It appeared, however, to have sparked my long-term admiration (love
affair) with scooters, small motorcycles, and mopeds, alike.
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| 1908 AUTO-ARMCHAIR MOTORCYCLE PRESENTED BY THE VINTAGE NEWS FB PAGE |
Did I happen to mention the Italian Vespa by any chance?
I mean, what young girl didn't envy every rpm of Audrey Hepburn's scooter
adventure through the streets of Rome with co-star, Gregory Peck, in Roman
Holiday? I was two years old at the time of its release but always held a passion for black and white movies as I grew older. I have traveled upon many Greek island roads while following the curving shoreline along the brilliant blue sea while seated upon my own mint-green
Vespa. The subconscious mind is a very powerful tool! This particular adventure,
unfortunately, remains in 'to do' mode, for now.
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| MY MINT-GREEN VESPA ISN'T SHE SWEET? |
Orlando, Florida, promoting its sultry days and nights
and making scooter travel an option for residents twelve months out of the year,
has opened-up its Vespa sales into a wide market catering to those who embrace a
'mini-version' of the European mainstay of convenient transportation. I have had
my mint-green Vespa picked-out for ages! The Vespa is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. So far, we have artfully managed to
avoid these retail shops, mostly located in Winter Park, because to even sit on one of these beauties could prove to be extremely detrimental to the pocket
book.
The power of suggestion that just one photograph has
supplied me may serve to represent the power behind this magnetic FaceBook Page,
The Vintage News. The 1908 Auto-Fauteuil was a step-through motorcycle with an
armchair instead of a saddle. (Yes, I did look it up!) According to most Web
sites, the armchair idea never really caught on, but given women's attire back
then, it certainly catered to the modern woman 'on the go,' even though woman were not the target market.
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| AUDREY HEPBURN AND GREGORY PECK IN THE MOVIE ROMAN HOLIDAY |
If you happen to be an avid FaceBook adventurer, I
encourage you to check-out The Vintage News Page. Who knows where the adventures
will lead you; what enchanting stories their photos will encourage you to
write about.....
*Definition of the word 'Beleaguered' and 'Beleaguering taken from:
Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
