But I Left My Sticks in Marnie’s Truck

My visit to Chickamauga, Georgia to see my sister and her family was wonderful! Green, plush, slathered with historical sites and wonderful! There are so many little tales I could tell, but as I was showering this morning I realized something awful…I left my sticks in Marnie’s truck!

You know Marnie, of course, but what you may not know is that Marnie and my sister, Luanna, are really good friends and that Marnie lives near my sister! That’s how Marnie and I met…through my sister. Anyway, I couldn’t possibly go to Georgia to see my sister and not see one of my best friends who lives there, too! So one day my little niece, Sara, and I went to visit Marnie on her beautiful acreage in Ringgold, Georgia! Marnie, Sara and I wandered through the grass and green onions (green onions grow wild there) just enjoying the sunshine and looking for treasures. (Here’s a photo of Marnie, her dog and my darling little niece walking along. No…Marnie doesn’t really have alien antennas…I just wasn’t paying attention when I took this photo.)

The day was beautiful!! Everything green was greener than I’ve seen in years! And the sticks…well the sticks were great! There’s nothing like a good stick. Especially if you pick them up in a place you want to remember. So, as Marnie, Sara, Marnie’s dog and I were meandering toward Chickamauga Creek, I found a great little stick! It was actually probably more like a part of an old tree-limb, but it was moss-covered and dry…old and wonderful! Naturally, I had to have it…something to remember having been at Marnie’s. So I picked up the stick and the three of us continued our little walk. Marnie took a quick detour to look for her missing goats and then we found ourselves on the banks of Chickamauga Creek.

Marnie loves Chickamauga Creek...it inspires her in her writing and you can see why! Can’t you just imagine Marnie sitting in the green, green grass on the bank of this creek here…dogwood blossoms drifting down upon her little shoulders as she pens a tale of a Yankee soldier and his southern sweetheart? Chickamauga Creek...actually, Chickamauga itself, is an incredibly historical area. One of the most significant battles of the Civil War was fought here, and if you stand quietly, listening to the creek as it travels along, inhaling the scent of the trees and grasses…you can almost hear the past whispering to you. I think you’re beginning to see why I picked up the stick…I knew that every time saw it, held it, thought about my walk with Marnie and Sara to the Chickamauga Creek…I’d think of Marnie out there on the creek bank reliving history and writing away.

As we headed back to Marnie’s house…all too soon, I might add…we veered off the beaten path we’d taken before and into this lovely stretch of grass paralleling the creek. There I found another stick! It was just as interesting as the one I’d found before…and of course, I didn’t want the first stick to be lonely…therefore, I knew I had to have the second stick, too! Picking it up, I studied it carefully. Yes—another wonderful stick to remember Marnie and our lovely walk with! Wonderful!

Eventually, we headed back to Marnie’s house, Sara, Marnie’s dog and sticks in tow. We ate some left-over birthday cake, talked, and Marnie showed me some Cherokee artifacts she’d found as a kid and the hammer she’d made in college. It was a great afternoon and I was just glad I had my sticks to remember it by.

When it was time (my sister had been in town for a short chemo treatment), Marnie, Sara and I piled in Marnie’s pickup and headed down her driveway to meet my sister. That night, as I sat reflecting on our lovely walk, the creek, the men who had so long ago fought on those same banks Marnie visits now, I thought, “But I left my sticks in Marnie’s truck!” It was true! In my haste, and with everything else I was carrying when I transferred Sara and myself form Marnie’s pickup to my sister’s van…I’d left my treasure-sticks! Of course, I instantly called Marnie and told her not to throw my sticks away. At first, she thought I was nuts…asking her to ship old sticks to me. Still, once I explained their value as sentimental treasure…she understood.

Rocks and sticks have always been one of my favorite treasures to remember places by…and I need my Marnie’s pasture sticks! I need them so I can set them right next to the Albuquerque cottonwood tree sticks I have. You know…the old cottonwood tree sticks I picked up about eight years ago in Albuquerque down on the banks of the Rio Grande…the cottonwood tree sticks which have the dry cicada shells still clinging to them. Of course, I keep those sticks in an old jar so that the cicada shells don’t get smashed. (I loved to hear the cicadas in the trees in Albuquerque. I miss their summer song so much!) So anyway, you can see why I need my Marnie sticks! I loved my trip to beautiful Georgia! I’ll have to tell you the story of my sister and the giant moth. But for now…I just can’t believe I left my sticks in Marnie’s truck!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada