Tracing The Steps

This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle. We all follow paths. Whether that be a road to work or a trail to a waterfall.

But have you ever wondered who was there before you? Have you ever realized that you are in fact retracing the steps of people and animals who were there long ago? As we travel along the Natchez Trace Parkway on the days ahead, we realize that there were animals and people here long before this became a road of beauty.

The Natchez Trace is a 444 mile road that takes you to sites such as waterfalls, historic sites and overlooks.

One end is near Nashville, Tennessee and the other end is in Natchez, Mississippi. It goes thru three states, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

There are no advertising billboard things. Or stores. It’s been relatively untouched. But long ago, animals made paths here, persons followed that path for their own reasons, and SO many traveled that it is still easy to recognize where they traveled. Persons from many different cultures and ways of life used the same path. It is so well worn. I find this very special.

Because not only did these travelers make history, but they actually taught us something too and left their path.

Everywhere we go, we make a path.

Are we leaving our marks in a good way or bad? Would we be proud of the steps we took and want others to follow? Or would we want to cover up our tracks?

Sometimes, I like to look at examples of ones perhaps that I think had something to teach me. It’s like learning to draw. To create our own art, sometimes it helps to trace another’s art.

Then, we get the hang of it and make our own masterpiece once we learn the skill by example. As we travel the Natchez Trace Parkway after bad weather passes again this week, we look forward to what we will learn and how we can appreciate what was left behind for us to learn from.

Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle

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Would You Like Pepper On That?

This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle. Everyone knows I’m spicy. I’m the kind of spice you think isn’t so bad when you first taste it. But then it hits you a few seconds later just how spicy it is. And it’s deliciously peppery.

Imagine what a world without spices and spicy individuals like me would be like. Pretty boring! But what happens when you run out of spices? When you’re camping and traveling, you realize that you’ve taken for granted being able to get what you need when you need it. Such was the case when we ran out of a few things this weekend and the campground store wasn’t as stocked with supplies as we had hoped.

First. We needed some water. We didn’t calculate Digby’s thirst after a plate of pancakes.

Then we needed trash bags. Yeah. Digby makes a lot of trash. And then we needed salt. Pretty important to Girl Person is salt. She cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner. She can live without a lot on the road. But don’t take away her cooking necessities. Don’t.

So Boy Person does what he always does. He went to take care of it. He would get our supplies. Problem was, we’ve been so tired from the weather and other stuff that Boy Person didn’t care to drive far to get the water. And the trash bags. And the salt. So he decided to stop at the first store he saw. Yes. It was small. But he thought even a small store would have these things.And maybe he wouldn’t have to call Girl Person ten times to ask her where in the store those things were.

As he walked around the store gathering his supplies, he noticed there were no price tags. He also noticed that the only salt he could buy was either in a gallon jug or a small salt with a small pepper attached. Yes. Yes. That would do.

For some reason, persons like to stand behind counters when they give money and take money and buy things. So the counter person took Boy Person’s items and things beeped. And cash registers chirped. And it was proudly announced that the total would be $17.03.

Now. If you know Boy Person, you know he’s the type of guy to look for a quarter on the ground and if he finds one, he does a happy dance. So to hear this total was a shock. He heard Girl Person’s last words to try a dollar store. Oh. How he heard those words. As he asked the counter person how much everything was, he was told the salt and pepper was $4.50. Um. Boy Person almost passed out. He said that’s how much it is for salt and pepper? And the counter person proudly told him pepper was…expensive. Pepper. Was. Expensive.

Boy Person was asked if he wanted bags for his pricey treasures. And Boy Person said yes. Yes to all the bags. Because they did not have trash bags to buy! And as he made his way home with $17.03 less to his name, he felt terrible. Terrible he didn’t go to that dollar place. He contemplated driving back and returning all his expensive goods. But the sun was going down and Girl Person needed her salt. And she was gonna get some pepper. With a spicy attitude.

You can imagine how excited Girl Person was to get her salt, but when she told Boy Person she had pepper already, he exclaimed that he really liked pepper. He really did. He wanted pepper on everything. Everything. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Dessert. Sprinkled on his dreams.

Girl Person told him it was a lesson. A lesson to be more prepared and maybe a lesson to go the extra mile when you have to.

A little extra work at the time can save problems later. And we are trying to put that into action.

We’ve been so busy and on the go so much for years that we haven’t had time to acknowledge we might need to change things up. To go the extra mile to make those changes. You don’t want to be caught on empty with no salt. Because you may get more than you bargain for. Do you need to make changes but afraid of the extra distance or effort? I have just one question. Would you like pepper on that?

.-Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle

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