I’m 54 and have lived in the country since I was 6 years old. I have many good memories of those times, gardening with my Grandad, going to revival meetings, hunting and fishing anytime I wanted until I started working at 15. I learned about respect for others, integrity, honesty and hard work. The water from our well came from a vein between two pieces of granite over 250 ft. deep. It was the best tasting, coldest water I remember. Nothing today can compare to it. Life was good and simple. We worked hard and helped each other much of the time. Problems were few and the world was a different place. We would sit on the porch on summer afternoons and shell butterbeans and other vegetables. We would cut off and can our own corn at the cannery in Dekalb County. I roamed thousands of acres of woodlands never seeing another human. I learned to hunt, track, trap and fish. Many times, I long to go back to those simple times and away from the hustle and bustle rat race that we now have. When I retire in a few years, I am planning on returning to that way of life. Buying 10-20 acres and putting my home right in the middle of it, landlocked on a major river basin. I always loved working the tractor and hope to do so in the future. Life was at a slower pace and you could enjoy yourself in the moment. I could live in John Oliver’s cabin in Cades Cove with running water and AC and be content. This is what I look forward to. But I will treasure the memories from the past for they are part of who I am.