January 8, 2009. Chevy Chase, Md. Friends.

We are so fortunate. While we were away in Mexico enjoying the warm weather, Bedford County had a storm. It rained and it rained and it rained. The real problem was the temperature. It was very very cold, so when the rain fell, the rain turned to rain, and the tree branches cracked and fell and the roads were impassable. Of course, the electrical lines came down when the broken branches fell to the ground. Our electricity was out of commission for thirty hours. Our friends Tammy and Bryan come by to be sure everything in the houses are fine, but after the third day, Bryan was fearful that all the meat in the freezer would thaw, so he brought the generator up from the barn to hook up our electricity to keep our meat frozen. Now I call that a good friend. Remember that when the electricity is not working, the water pump will not work, so Bryan can not run the water at the barn. Normally, the cattle drink at the creek, but the temperature is so low the creek is frozen, so Bryan keeps a tub of water in the barn. Now when we moved from our Franklin house, we had Keith build a wine cellar in the basement, so our wine could be transferred. Keith had never built a wine cellar, but Ken gave him the details, and it has served us well ever since. Keith commented at the time that our wine cellar was the first one in Bedford County.

We bought our first farm in 1973, along with Dave and Irene, so we have known our local friends ever since. They have always considered us as ordinary nice people, even though Ken was a Doctor who they could question. We bought our new farm in 1997, and I can tell you, installing the wine cellar in the old farm house moved us into a whole new group. The story of our wine cellar was told to everyone. Andrew had always been an endless number of stories for Bryan to relate, as Andrew had over the years come up with several actions that a country boy would never have done. Bryan and Andrew get along very well together, but Bryan still calls Andrew "City", not Andrew. Bryan had a young man with him when he was hooking up the generator, and told the helper all about the wine cellar. Three other men who had been working at the barn came over to the basement to see the wine cellar too. Bryan took them all over to the wine cellar, only to discover that the cellar was locked. He told us today that he was kind of glad the door was locked, because he felt sure the men wanted a bottle to drink right then and there. Bryan regaled us with the story today. Ken and I were just happy that such responsible friends take care of our property. We are very fortunate with our Family and Friends.