Hard Workin’ Women

These mountain women are real worker bees. The town of Tellico Plains was in danger of losing their Christmas Candlelight Walk, so the Cherokee Women’s Club jumped into action. Josie invited me to come with her to a planning meeting at Center Presbyterian Church. I accepted because I like Josie and because I’m already invested in the event’s success in that Jack is signing and selling books there. Josie and her Jeep picked me up at my house in the holler, and off we went.

This group was a wonder to behold. I’m so used to volunteers with no business experience that it was a new treat to listen to these women run their relay race. Each committee member gave her report in a concise manner and passed the baton to the next runner. This committee person ran with the baton and handed it on. This went on until all issues were addressed; then the meeting was adjourned.

Someone made coffee, but it was most definitely not a coffee klatch. If you wanted coffee, you could get your own. Anyone who wanted lunch brought their own. This was definitely a focused work meeting. I came away thinking the candlelight walk would continue to be a success if these women had anything to say about it.

It’s always a joy to be with Josie; she exudes adventure and creativity. Every time I admired a piece of wearable art on one of the women at the meeting, it turns out that Josie either made it or taught the wearer to make it. You name the artistic medium, Josie is into it. She quilts, sews, knits, paints, and she never goes anywhere without her camera. It seems that in all the media she attempts, she excels. I feel positively artistic just being around her, and I can’t even color inside the lines.

Neither Josie nor I brown-bagged our lunches, and both of us are always hungry. So, after the meeting, we headed up the Cherohala Skyway to my favorite spot on the river, Tellico Kats -- I’ve become addicted to their paninis. My policy is that if Josie drives, I buy her lunch. This pays great dividends for me.

Even though Josie was very clear during lunch that she intended to head straight home for a nap, she must have gotten a second wind as we stepped back into her Jeep. Instead of pointing the nose down the Skyway, Josie headed up and hung a right at the ranger station. We wound around in the forest, through gurgling streams and dancing waterfalls until we came to a bit of heaven – a sweet cemetery at the top of a bluff overlooking all of creation. There, a picnic pavilion and meditation benches awaited the families that may want to spend some time with their loved ones who have passed over to the next life. Josie called this “homecoming.” I had never heard this term in relation to a cemetery, but it’s certainly a soothing thought.