July 20, 2003 Yesterday was nice. Jeffery Rich from Ortheopedic Associates drove up from Huntsville and gave me the best sports massage. In a sense he bandaged me up and threw me back onto the battlefield! In the afternoon we drove to Land Between the Lakes to walk through an 1850 living settlement. The employees were running around trying to catch the new rooster who did not want to get into the chicken house with the old rooster, so we didn't get to see them do too much 1850 living. That was fine with us, we had the written descriptions. It was interesting, and I will bring my kids back to see it. We picked up a paper as we were leaving this beautiful place. The National Park Service has taken Land Between the Lakes over and is preparing to log it. Ouch! We saw quite a few logging trucks parked at a station and my heart went weak. Do these people not realize that trees filter pollutants out of our air, give us the air we breathe, filter the soil, reduce erosion, and are homes to thousands of birds and animals? No trees means more dirt in the river - that means less oxygen - that means fewer microorganisms - that means less fish - that means less food... I stopped at a BP and bought a bag Skittles to help the pain- OK, two bags. A light fog rested on the river this morning; it was gorgeous. The sun shone brightly and I felt great. The frustration of logging energized my mission. Here is the prayer I recited a hundred times during the next 4 1/2 hours: Give our hearts understanding to never take more from the river than we give. Never to deny our hands to help build her beauty Never to detroy the river for the forbearance of greed, Never take from her more than we can use. Give our hearts the understanding to never take more from the river than we can give. To destroy her is to blind us to beauty. To callously pollute her fragrance is to create a river of stench. Care for her and she will care of us. We are incredibly blessed to have the Tennessee flow through our states, incredibly blessed. Today was a great day. Now, I am going to eat. Thanks for your support, mimi