I have been blessed with an eventful life, most of it spent in the Smoky Mountains area of East Tennessee. I have traveled to every state in the United States, I have hunted and fished from the Caribbean Islands to the Tundra line in North Canada, and the lands between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I have enjoyed participating in business relationships with people of all ages and walks of life, from the deep hollers in the mountains, from the ghettos in the cities, to the government of China. Never in my life have I seen a more diverse set of personalities than in Townsend, Tennessee. This may be due to people from all over the country, mainly Baby Boomers, retiring to this area. Some of the local diversity is driven by economic status, or lack thereof. Some is driven by education, or lack thereof, and some is driven by tremendous intelligence, or lack thereof. When the Federal government displaced the people living in the mountains to create the Smoky Mountains National Park the social fabric of communities from Native Indians to pioneer villages was often compromised. My writing instructor, Tom Bird, owner of Sojourn Publishing, LLC, once made the following remark: "All books are to some degree autobiographies of the author." This is true. I have been keeping notes and writing stories over my events or stories told to me by others for decades. Most of the stories in this book are fact. Some are speculation. Some parts may be completely false. But the stories were told, and the dreams were experienced. My first attempt to organize these stories ended in a book of over 900 pages with over 60 characters. Under Tom Bird's guidance, I have broken this effort into more than one book. Hounds and Whippoorwills is the first one. Tuckaleechee Tears now almost complete will follow. The one thing you will sure think about after completing this book is who are the people living in your community and how well do you really know them?
About the Author: The author was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, raised in Stamford, Connecticut, and then returned home to attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He is an avid outdoorsman and hunter who has the greatest respect for the beauty of East Tennessee and all the wildlife that lives here. His philosophy is, if you kill it you eat it, take out what you take in the woods, and it is our responsibility to be good stewards of God's creations. He became a licensed contractor and has been building custom homes for over thirty-seven years and restoration work for insurance companies for fourteen years. During his early years he lived in Townsend, Tennessee. While living there, he and his partner developed a 1,800 acre golf course community known as Laurel Valley Resort. He is also a licensed real estate broker and has developed numerous subdivisions. After having three children, he and his wife, Penni, moved to Maryville, Tennessee for the superb school systems. Together with Pastor Jeremy Graham, they have been working with a men's ministry called True Purpose Ministries, helping to train young men in the construction trades, helping with job placement once they graduate, and assisting with the men's housing and needs.