A day late and a dollar short. I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase often. Maybe you even said it about something or other or someone or other. I’m usually the one that’s a little late and a dollar short. That just means I was late getting something done and without all the resources I might need. I figured that saying had been around forever, but when I looked online it said the first published use of the phrase was in 1936. Thatwas way later than I expected. I thought maybe people had been a day late for a lot of things for a lot of years and I’m sure they have. But that time frame would fit Piper’s summer adventure in An Appalachian Summer. This cabin might fit right in too as she rode her horse up in the mountains to help the Frontier Nurses.
This cabin was in a different mountain range than the Appalachians. We were just down in the Smoky Mountains for a visit and took time to check out some of the historic cabins and also some of nature’s views. That’s why I’m that day late with this post. I don’t think the dollar short counts for me since nature doesn’t charge for the beauty you can see or the pleasure you can get from a walk in the woods with your grandchildren.
The kids were amazed at the idea of families living in such a small house. And I have to say I was too especially after my research into life in the Appalachian Mountains for my mountain stories. It was easy to imagine those lofts with wall to wall beds for the many children some of the families had. One of my granddaughters said that they were probably outside all the time. I’m sure she was right. The children would be working alongside their parents to build what they needed and to grow enough food for their table in summer and through the hard months of winter. They didn’t worry about the beautiful lawns we have now. they had way too much time to worry about grass except for finding what their animals needed for grazing. The people had to be self-sufficient because they didn’t have grocery stores nearby or money to buy anything even if there had been. They had to make do with what they could do on their own.
But you had to wonder as you stood in these old cabins and listened for echoes from the past, whether these people would have told you how happy they were in spite of the isolation and hard work. I like to imagine that they would have told you how they loved their beautiful surroundings. Just think about exploring in those mountains and coming across a waterfall like Grotto Falls where a person could stand under the water cascading over the rocks to splash down into a creek. I liked to imagine them enjoying this natural shower before they moved on down the mountain with the creek running alongside them. The sound of a rushing mountain stream has to be one of the best sounds ever.
Maybe these early settlers climbed up on a boulder to get a better look or just because it felt right to stand atop of boulder. That’s what my grandkids thought and then of course, in this day when every pocket holds a camera, it was picture taking time. But on every trail, one had to think about how it used to be before the tourists came. The mountains are old and have seen much. It’s neat to think back on some of those past times and to imagine.
Have you ever taken a trip to the Smoky Mountains and walked any of the trails?