Tag Archives: Tennessee River,

The Hana Chronicles: Month 10, Day 1

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Posted by on in children, Education, Family, Historical, Personal Values

October 22, 2026- Hana has now been ten months blessing our lives and keeping us on our toes. In the past month, she has mastered standing up and scooting. She is actively walking with support and has taken a few steps, independently, here and there. Babbling with intention is now accompanied by pointing to something she wants. She tries to help in little ways-picking up a clean diaper and a package of wet wipes; pulling her shirt off, at changing time; trying to put on her own straps and secure the tray, when placed in a high chair.

My grandchild loves to look at books and makes “comments’, after looking at a picture or two. She does best when given a limited number of books (2-3) to look at, at any one time. Otherwise, a whole shelf of books could end up on the floor.

She also likes our stroller walks, and is still very much interested in the Halloween and Harvest displays that alternate in several of the neighbourhoods we have covered in our meanderings. Her favourites are the skeletons, especially the tall ones.

HANA’S NOTE- I like sleeping in the stroller, on the way back home. The streets Papa chooses for each walk are sometimes the same ones; sometimes new ones. I like the neighbourhoods though.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Alabama-I have been in the Heart of Dixie seven times: First,in 1987, on a bus bound for Phoenix, by way of New Orleans and Houston; then, in 2011, with several days visiting Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Selma and Birmingham; 2015, in Daphne, near Mobile and a visit with a friend in Sylacauga; 2022, to Tuskegee, at the tail end of a road trip by rental car, that began and ended in Atlanta; then a train trip from Atlanta to New Orleans, which went through Birmingham and Tuscaloosa; and finally, in July of that year, making a brief stop in Florence and Muscle Shoals.As in other parts of the South, I have encountered only graciousness and hospitality, from anyone and everyone.

The turf- Northernmost Alabama is covered by the Cumberland Plateau, which extends south from Tennessee. To its southeast is the Appalachian Valley, the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. South of the Appalachians is the Piedmont Plateau. The rest of the state is Black Belt, a reference to the rich black soil and coastal plain, whose soil, especially in the Sawgrass Region, of southeast Alabama, is a bit sandier. Alabama is drained by the Tennessee, Alabama, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Chattahoochee, Tombigbee, Black Warrior and Mobile Rivers, along with their tributaries. The state is bounded by the Gulf of Mexico, on its southwest.

First Nations-Alabama is the ancestral home of the Alabama-Coushatta, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Yuchi peoples. Mound builders were active in Alabama, before the ascendancy of the Five Civilized Tribes, and left some decidedly civilized structures at places like Moundville. Choctaw and Creek maintain presence in Alabama in the MOWA and Porach communities, respectively. All other Indigenous people were removed form Alabama in the 1830s. As settlers encroached on Native lands, in the 1810s, a civil war broke out among the Creeks, The Red Stick faction opposed white settlement; another faction allied itself with the U.S. Government. The Red Sticks were soundly defeated in the Creek War of 1813-14, in the Battles of Tallushatchee, Talladega and Horseshoe Bend. The other tribes were included in the Trail of Tears, as indicated above.

Where I most feel at home- Daphne, Sylacauga, Tuskegee, Selma, Florence

Where I most feel at peace- Sylacauga, Tuscaloosa, Ozark

NEXT: Florida

The Hana Chronicles: Month 9, Day 25

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Posted by on in children, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

October 16, 2026- Hana decided she would help me this afternoon. When I had several items to carry upstairs, she wanted to go with me. So, I supported her, while holding two envelopes. She carried a third envelope. She was very proud of herself for not dropping the envelope-and I thanked her for being a helper.

Yunhee put a pair of pants, with a black and white cow on her, then made a mooing sound. Hana then made her own mooing sound and started giggling. Her intentional babbling has really taken off this week. She is mostly out of the playpen and walking with one of us, then playing quietly in whatever room suits her fancy.

HANA’S NOTE– I wanted to help Papa, so I took one of the envelopes and tried to hold onto a plastic bottle, but I dropped it. Papa just tossed the bottle upstairs.

EXPANDING CIRCLES:Kentucky- The Bluegrass State is one of two that stretch from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. The other is Tennessee. Kentucky has the shortest Mississippi shoreline of any state in the valley:60 miles, including the Kentucky Bend enclave, that is surrounded by the river-and Tennessee. I have been to Kentucky three times, in 1979, 2011and 2017. My focuses were on the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, the state capital, a large cavern , some friends from my Xanga days and extended family in the Louisville area, albeit across the river in southern Indiana. Family friends have moved back to Kentucky, from southern California. It’d be nice to visit them there some day.

The turf- Western Kentucky, an area known as Jackson Purchase, is the state’s lowland, lying along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, near their confluence, which is in a nearby area of Illinois. The rest of the state is upland or rolling hills: Cumberland Plateau, including foothills of the Appalachian Mountains; the Bluegrass Region and the Mississippi Plateau occupy the northern and central parts of Kentucky, respectively. Kentucky is drained by the Mississippi, Ohio, Big Sandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, Cumberland, Green and Licking Rivers, along with their tributaries. The Tennessee River has been dammed to establish two large reservoirs: Lake Cumberland and Kentucky Lake. Land Between the Lakes is a popular National Recreation Area.

First Nations- Kentucky is the ancestral home of the Shawnee, Cherokee, Yuchi and Chickasaw people. The Cherokee maintain a homeland in the Henderson area. There was considerable conflict between the Native peoples of Kentucky and settlers who began arriving in the mid-18th Century. Battles ancillary to the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 resulted in defeat of the confederated tribes. The harshest defeats were at Fallen Timbers, in 1794 and further afield, at the Battle of the Thames, in Ontario, in 1813-which saw the death of Tecumseh, leader of the Confederated Tribes. There was a period of voluntary Native American removal, during the presidencies of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams (1821-1829). Under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, forced removal of Cherokee people from North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as several tribes from Georgia, constituted the Trail of Tears. The expelled nations were forced into what is now Oklahoma. Some Cherokee returned to Kentucky, in time, and live in the above-mentioned community.

Where I most feel at home- Hodgenville, Mammoth Cave, Paducah, Louisville

Where I most feel at peace- Falls of the Ohio, Mammoth Cave

NEXT: Tennessee