When I roam the roads of Cade's Cove, I have this longing to go back in time to those simpler days.   Several times I have fought the urge to cry over what has disappeared from our culture.  The simple living and hard work and true "ownership" of property has been replaced with the American Dream - somehow now defined as being wealthy, having a dream home, not having to work much, throw in some fame and a fancy car and the latest cell phone, oh, and if I can get something for nothing, then I have arrived.   Yes,  this is a bit cynical, I admit, but up in these hills, I feel it the most.   There, right in front of me is a community of folks who worked hard because they had to.   A community where each one provided some important piece to the survival of them all.   With no interference from the outside,  they were free to pursue the most efficient way to improve their life and provide for the wellbeing of their families and the group as a whole.     So walk with me a bit, down this dusty road, and lets visit the past where there were only two rules -  Don't encroach and Do what you say.   With  these two rules, folks can live in peace, plan for the future, and build a dream where no one can take it away.   This is where I want to go, down the Road to Yesteryear.   Not to the old way of doing things, because I do like my technology, but to the old way of common sense and common good.
 

~ Mark Keathley