November 2017 Newsletter

Turkey and dressing, cranberry salad, macaroni and cheese, green bean casseroles – some of the traditional fare we’re about to share.  ***Hint to hostesses – Fat Daddy’s BBQ in Cross Hill is offering Thanksgiving take-out:  smoked turkeys, dressing, macaroni pie, and other sides.   Call ahead:   864-994-3032   Pick up is the day before Thanksgiving.    (You’re welcome….I’ll see you there.)

     Joe and Phyllis are responsible for generations of lake lovers now.   When they were newlyweds back in the fifties, they bought land with Dr. Lee Rodgers and Dr. Bill Klauber.   All three families would build off Frazier Road on Summer Place.  (This is between Summer Pointe and Grand Harbor, which didn’t exist.  They were just gorgeous open properties filled with blackberries and wildlife back then.)

     Many Brim were hauled in using cane poles and bread balls.    A snake showed up once during a swim across the cove to the Thayer’s cow pasture.   Let’s just say there was time spent meditating on the other side waiting for a boat to retrieve said person in their briefs.  There were Thanksgivings overlooking Lake Greenwood.  Children ran through the yards playing and jumping off walls into the lake.   When you’re young you don’t feel the cold the same way!

      Now Lee Rodgers and his wife Mildred are both on the other side.  So are the Klaubers along with one of their sons who loved swimming in front of their home.   Grown grandchildren now vacation in the homes, soon to introduce yet another generation.  Life is fleeting and so precious.

     This opportunity to gather and reminisce about Lake Greenwood feels nothing short of sacred.  You see, Daddy has been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder.  This precious man spent his life serving others as a Dentist, just as his father before him.   He’s brilliant too.   He pioneered techniques to help people with TMJ problems, built his own home on the lake, and grew his own Paulownia Trees to harvest the light wood; which he now crafts into an airplane.   This is the same man who kept his head about him as his Cessna went down with all five of us on board, along with the dog.  He put the plane right between two tall pines to break the crash.  We all walked away.

    This is a man who stayed true to his wedding vows to the only woman he ever wanted to marry.  He hung in there with his three children through thick and thin, naming his first boat KTR after his kids.  We waited for the second he could come home from work to pull us on skis.  Stormy nights he would sit with us to watch the lighting cross the lake, pointing out the clean smells and beauty of it all.  This man is my hero, and now he begins the journey of losing pieces of himself slowly but surely.   No one has discussed this with him, so please don’t.   This is being shared so that when you sit down with your family, you won’t take Thanksgiving 2017 for granted.   You will remember that we’re not promised together forever.   Take Thanksgiving this year and make the most of the time together, and the majestic natural beauty we share.  You can bet we will be dining lakeside, soaking in every precious moment.