Blue Ridge Parkway

 

        There is a log cabin nestled amidst the pines along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.   You can’t see it from the road, or for that matter, you can’t even see it from the hiking trail that runs about 600 yards behind it. 

            Over the years it has never changed owners.  It was built with a great deal of skill and craftsmanship.  The roof has never leaked, the walls have always been airtight, and the large rock fireplace is a work of art.

            The view from the wrap-around porch is spectacular.   Each and every chair on the porch is hand-made, and rocks smoothly and without a single squeak.   The entire cabin is so well constructed that you’ll discover a noticeable absence of bugs.  No spiders, crickets, or beetles have ever been seen inside.  If they didn’t come through the front door, they didn’t make it in.

            It has running water and electricity, two bathrooms and four separate sleeping areas.   The furniture is clean and well maintained.  There are over-stuffed chairs, comfortable, pullout couches, and a large dining table with high-back chairs.

            In the back of the pantry there is a straw broom and a dustpan.  Next to the broom, hanging from a small nail is a sign that says, “I’m here for you.”

            In order to rent the cabin, each member of the renting party must submit four paragraphs about themselves.  The owners believe that the average person will have difficulty writing four paragraphs about themselves, and will give up and stay elsewhere.  They do this because they believe this most peaceful and beautiful place deserves better than average renters. 

            Along the west wall of the living room is a bookcase filled with a wide selection of reading material.  There are several large binders housing all of the submitted paragraphs collected over the years.  The majority of the submissions are several pages in length.  It is some of the best reading you’ll find - leaving you wishing you had met these people in person.

            Mr. and Mrs. Wan Lee, from Hokkaido wrote about how their children had saved to send them on a trip to America, and during their research had discovered the cabin along the Blue Ridge Parkway.   As the Lee’s are not proficient in writing English, their children translated and wrote for them.   It is beautifully written and is a story you’re not soon to forget.

            Mary Kaylynn and her daughter Nora, from Greenwich, Connecticut wrote about themselves, while actually painting an image of their life without Ted, who was a fireman, killed during the 911 attacks.   It wasn’t until they actually arrived at the cabin that they came to write this last paragraph, and slip it into the binder.

 

                        It was Ted’s dream to someday retire to a place just like this.

                        He loved nature and being somewhere where he could just

                        sit and listen to the birds, and hear the wind in the trees.

                        Throughout my life, whenever he would hold me tight in his

                        arms, he would whisper, “I’m here for you.”

                        When I looked into the pantry - I cried all over again.

 

 

Reprinted by request.