A Story Unfolding...

"Stories are alive" declares Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers. He continues,"I have always suspected that stories are alive. They seem to be conscious and purposeful. Like living beings, stories have an agenda, something on their minds. They want something from you. They want to wake you up, to make you more conscious and more alive. They want to teach you a lesson."

I cannot help but reflect on his storytelling wisdom as I embark on this journey. I believe that the story of Finding Nona has many lessons in store for me not the least of which is do not put off until tomorrow what you should do today. In the days leading up to my trip to East Tennessee, I have unexpectedly learned that my step grandmother has past away since we spoke. While searching for her address online, I found her obituary instead. My family has not yet heard the news and I am stunned. The sadness I feel has now quickly turned to panic as I realize that I may have missed it. I may have missed this opportunity to find critical information I need. Not to mention, I fear, the treasures in the attic will most assuredly be lost to an estate sale or worse yet the garbage.

Despite the fact that several months have slipped by since her passing, my aunt, who lives nearby and knows about my journey, drove by the house on a whim. As fate would have it, a neighbor recognized her and it was as I feared..."A YARD SALE!!" The neighbor relayed the news to my aunt along with a lead on where an Adam style commode Nona had made and hand painted as a replica to the Louis XVI L'innocence may have ended up. The house, however, was for sale by owner and maybe, just maybe, not all has been lost. You see, all of my step grandmother's possessions ended up with her nephew and my family having no knowledge of this series of events has now possible lost all these precious treasures...scattered to the wind via a yard sale. We have reached out to her nephew and with any luck at all, I can meet with him on my trip.

All the arrangements have been made and we are staying in Abingdon Virginia at the Martha Washington Hotel across from the Barter Theatre. I have an appointment with Central Christian Church to see the paintings I previously wrote about, but in an attempt to make the most of this journey I have also mapped out antique stores in the area where maybe I will find some of these treasure lost to the yard sale. Each day brings a new twist to my story...this is truly a story unfolding.