Wind through the trees and purple haired old ladies

Well, the jonquils are starting to peek through the remnants of last fall that remain through winter so I reckon that means it's going to be spring time again.  It also is the completion of our second year living out here.

This winter was relatively mild, more wet than anything.  At least mild by Ozark standards.  No real snow to mention but of course on a hilltop that wind can chill you to the bone sometimes.

It's odd that the wind and storms are comforting to me.  You'd think that being amongst tall timber it would be a terrifying thing to know those big ol' trees are swaying back and forth as you hear the wind just screaming through them.  In reality though I get the best sleep when the wind is blowing.  I guess it's kind of like folks with sleep machines or something.

This time of year means the storms will more likely be warm and bring in the thunder and lightning.  Same effect with those... I just sleep like a baby.  On the other hand if it's quiet, I'm listening for noises, etc.

It's still an adjustment, though a welcome one.  I'm now used to not hearing sirens or people shouting as they walk past the house venturing out from the campgrounds or the various other things that came with living in a populated area.  No sir, don't miss it.

But, there are new challenges to deal with in a tiny town.  One of which was someone who took offense to my Facebook tagline which was lifted from a Bocephus song most folks know by heart.  Apparently "we say grace, and we say ma'am, if you ain't into that we don't give a damn" was somehow offensive to her and her purple hair.

In reality, that is very country and totally "live and let live" so how anyone could get offended by that is beyond me; but one can't assume to understand any grown person with purple hair I reckon.

The funny thing is that the tagline used to be "I live back in the woods you see, the woman, and the kids, and the dogs and me".  But the kids grew up and sadly I just recently had to put my last dog down.  That tagline just kinda broke my heart I guess so I picked another line from the same song that fit. 

Yes, we do say grace, and I'm back to saying ma'am in the heritage of my Ozark-American upbringing despite it slipping from me for years, but if you choose not to, no sweat off my brow.

Anyway, the whole thing reminded me of a meme that a friend shared and I re-shared that was something to the effect of "If you don't know how much Bocephus' friend lost his life over than we probably can't be friends."  Which if I stop and think about it, just about anybody I'd count as a friend, or as I used to say as a younger man, "someone to ride the river with", probably wouldn't be able to resist singing along if said song came on the radio.

So I guess this two year mark might just sum up how long it took for me to openly tick someone in our tiny town off.  But like the storms and seasons, this too will pass and so it goes.  After a while it all just fades into a blur of old memories. 

But, perturbed purple haired ladies or not, I look forward to a wonderful spring, more wind through the trees, and nights of deep sleep as the thunderstorms roll in and out here in the place I happily and thankfully call home.