Friday Again
I've heard people say there's nothing going on up here in the mountains. It seems however Wanda and I have more of a social life here then we ever had in "the city". Tonight our friend, Bob returned from Florida for several days and we are off to Galax for dinner. Tomorrow it's Roanoke for some shopping and a stop at our favorite sushi restaurant. Then Sunday, church and of course football. Not much going on Monday but Tuesday we are hosting a bible study at home and of course you are all invited. And so it goes. And we don't even make it to many of the festivals, auctions, yard sales, concerts and other assorted events in the area.
The beagle sisters have visited the local vet to assure there are no little beagle puppies at Villa MacBeane. They also received the necessary shots. Since they made it an overnight of it's been pretty quiet around here.
And the news is full of local happenings. Other than the guy who was arrested for operating a moonshine still about three miles down the road. In the next county the sheriff and a bunch of his deputies were arrested for selling drugs and guns. You can read all about that as well as other local events here. We live in Patrick County, where the high sheriff was busted is Henry County. The counties were named after, you guessed it, Patrick Henry.
Moonshine is and has been a local cottage industry in these parts for generations. After the whiskey rebellion chased the Ulster Scots out of western Pennsylvania they fled to south finding the mountains of southwest Virginia a perfect place to set up shop. My Scottish ancestors had little respect for he law and great respect for a wee dram of the water of life. It is said that other of the pioneers coming south would actually avoid the settlements of my ancestors. I can't imagine why. The poor fellow mentioned above had just begun his first "run" and he was caught by the "revenuers".
I mentioned in the last post about my weird dreams. The one the other night was about a new design for an aqua blue toilet brush. How weird is that? It would have been better if the product design were practical.
I can't believe we are already seeing Christmas commercials. I just wish as much attention would be paid to the reason for the season.
The beagle sisters have visited the local vet to assure there are no little beagle puppies at Villa MacBeane. They also received the necessary shots. Since they made it an overnight of it's been pretty quiet around here.
And the news is full of local happenings. Other than the guy who was arrested for operating a moonshine still about three miles down the road. In the next county the sheriff and a bunch of his deputies were arrested for selling drugs and guns. You can read all about that as well as other local events here. We live in Patrick County, where the high sheriff was busted is Henry County. The counties were named after, you guessed it, Patrick Henry.
Moonshine is and has been a local cottage industry in these parts for generations. After the whiskey rebellion chased the Ulster Scots out of western Pennsylvania they fled to south finding the mountains of southwest Virginia a perfect place to set up shop. My Scottish ancestors had little respect for he law and great respect for a wee dram of the water of life. It is said that other of the pioneers coming south would actually avoid the settlements of my ancestors. I can't imagine why. The poor fellow mentioned above had just begun his first "run" and he was caught by the "revenuers".
I mentioned in the last post about my weird dreams. The one the other night was about a new design for an aqua blue toilet brush. How weird is that? It would have been better if the product design were practical.
I can't believe we are already seeing Christmas commercials. I just wish as much attention would be paid to the reason for the season.
And I'm so tired of the politicians and their rhetoric. As Mark Twain once said, the problem with a democracy is someone always gets elected.
posted by The MacBean Gene at 3:13 AM
7 Comments:
You know Ally, one thought for the derivation of the name "Bean" is from the Gaelic (sp?) for "water of life". And I've always believed in going directly to the source!
Oh oh, taking precautions are we, with the Beagle sisters? *lol*
My, are you a busy couple indeed. Pheeew. Making me exhausted just to read about all the fun!
I'm for moonshine in any shape :-)
That toilet brush... uhum... maybe it's a symbol for all the sh*t talk that's going on after all the drinking...? *LMAO*
You know, I think i have to create more cargo in my cruise ship for all the "water of life" we have to take with us for all our friends...
Then, on the other hand, they'll be emptied rather fast!
The mountain area sounds like an interesting and busy place. Like you, I am very tired of all the mud-slinging and promise-the-moon political ads. They would really be in a mess if they were required to do all they promised. ec
I liked this whole post! Lots of interesting news and information. I love hearing about the Scots coming here and bringing along their culture...including their whiskey.
My dad did a DNA match thing and found fellows of our lowland Scots surname living in the south that are almost exact matches for him.. like 97%. Reading about your moonshining Scotsmen feels like hearing about family.
Water of Life in Gaelic? Uisge Beathe (Ishka Baha as I've heard it pronounced). The same term in Latin is Acqua Vitae, which is likely not a coincidence.
My first and middle names are Sean Donal. One of my great great great great grandfathers, a respected Mi'kmaq, married himself a Keagan girl 22 years his junior (oooh a scandal!) who was begotten from a Keagan and a Baldin. That might help explain my fascination with old Gaelic derived names.
Sean
Come on over and have some Friday fun bun ;-)
Just wanted to let you know that Double Trouble was spotted over at Doe Run today. Please, please, please do not let your girls get hit by a car.
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