Bluegrass and Purple Cows

Could it be? Is spring actually here? I do believe that it may be! The softly blowing warm breezes accompanied by the sweet caress of the sun have woken the gently budding trees and early spring flowers. Our pear trees in the front yard are looking absolutely lovely. I can’t wait for them to grow a few more years. I love large trees full of early spring bloom.

Of course, spring in Eastern Kentucky is still highly unpredictable. By the time you read this, the weather could have taken a turn for the worse. It could even be….gasp….snowing again. With the crazy weather we have had this year, anything is possible.

However, since we have been having some really nice weather lately, Lisa and I decided to get out and about. I have probably mentioned this before, but Lisa and I love to get out in the car on a really nice day and just drive. We won’t really have a destination in mind. Usually we will just pull up to an intersection and Lisa will ask me if I want to go left or right. At the next intersection, she will decide. And so on and so on until we find ourselves deep in the hills of a beautiful Eastern Kentucky day.

Recently we found ourselves heading toward Natural Bridge. I hadn’t been there in a while, so we decided to drive on in and look around. Everything was still shut down for the season, but you could tell that things were starting to be cleaned up for the upcoming tourist season. There is something sad about the place when it is all shut down. It reminds me of an empty playground…existing without a purpose. But soon things will change and the people will return.

I’ll have to admit that it was pretty cool to visit the place during the off-season. There weren’t throngs of people around. It was very quiet. Sitting on one of the benches at Hoedown Island, all that I could hear was the wind in the tops of the trees. Making a hushing sound, the wind was trying to lull everything back to sleep….Nature’s snooze button. But the sun was shining and the birds were starting to chirp. Time cannot be halted. So onward we continue to march. Such is life.

After a nice relaxing moment at Natural Bridge, Lisa and I drove on toward Beattyville. Lisa had always wanted to eat at the Purple Cow Restaurant. I had only eaten there once as a child and decided that I would like to eat there again as well. Stopping in, I was surprised to find that, besides the staff, we were the only people in the place.

If you have never eaten at the Purple Cow before, you are missing an experience. The place is an historic restaurant from the 1930’s. While it may have seen its better days as far as interior decoration, one does have a sense of almost stepping back in time when entering the place. However, I was surprised to see that the place has carpet that looked stained with food. I would suggest that they take up the carpet and put down tile. It would give the restaurant an even more authentic feel.



On the back wall, someone had painted a nice country scene that included a large purple cow resting in the grasses. It was quite a mural! Other than that, the other decorations were run-of-the-mill. I was sort of disappointed. I was sort of hoping to find decorations that had been saved from over the years. Other than the mural of the field and the purple cow, I could have been in any restaurant. However, I will say that the place was very clean. It reminded me of the Family Diner in Jackson before it burned down.

Lisa and I both ordered one of the specials of the day…roast beef with mashed potatoes. The food arrived quickly, which was a plus since we were both rather hungry from our day of adventuring. The meal consisted of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and a roll with butter. Everything was great. The beef was fork tender, the potatoes tasted homemade, and the beans were definitely a specialty of the house. The only complaint that I had about the meal was the gravy. It was obviously from a jar or a mix….not homemade. Since it was poured all over the beef and potatoes, it took away a little from an otherwise lovely meal. I hope that they learn to make homemade gravy with this meal. It would make it perfect!



The best thing about the place was the friendliness of the staff. We were welcomed at the door, and our waitress was very attentive. She kept our glasses filled and checked with us regularly to see if there was anything that we needed. I felt at home. Keep up the good work!

Making our way home, we felt as though we had had a fantastic day. The weather had been great. Our meal had been very nice. As we continue to get deeper and deeper into the warm waters of spring, hopefully these days will come more and more often. Care to go for a swim?

Until next week….class dismissed!

Uncle General

My dad recently told me the funniest story that I had ever heard about my great uncle, General Lee. General died when I was very young, so I never knew him. Also, for some reason, everyone in the family pronounced his name with a real Southern drawl. Up until last week, I thought that his name was Gennel. Go figure.

Anyway, my great uncle General had moved to Chicago during the late 60’s to find work. As you may know, there was a huge migration of people from the Appalachian area at this time in history. Several thousands of people flocked to the north to find work in the factories of Indiana and Illinois. You may still have family in the area today.

General was living in Chicago at this time and was trying to find work. Unfortunately he couldn’t read or write. So, he got one of his friends to fill out his employment application for him. His friends decided to play a joke on him and wrote down on his application that he had graduated high school and had gone to two years of college. When he turned in his application, the company put him in an office position. I am not sure what they wanted him to work on, but it involved a lot of paperwork. They kept checking on him throughout the day, but he never seemed to make any progress.

Finally, his supervisor asked him if anything was wrong. General said that he didn’t know what they wanted him to do.

“You went to school, didn’t you,” his supervisor asked him, “Surely this shouldn’t be too hard for someone with your education.”

“Yeah,” my great uncle stated, “I went to school for a lot of years. I just never could learn anything!”

Needless to say that General didn’t get to keep his cushy office position for long. He ended up the day working with the custodial staff. From what Dad said though, he never did keep one job for very long. He was a Jack of all trades.

Another story that involved my great uncle General dealt with the problems that people often have with language barriers. As I stated before, I had always thought that his name was Gennel because that is how everyone in my family has pronounced it all these years. Well, in Chicago, it is obvious that there would be a language difference. This caused some problems for my great uncle.

One day, he went to the drug store on the corner to buy a pitcher so that he could keep cold water in the refrigerator. When he went into the store, he told the ladies that were working that he was looking for a “picture.” Confused, they brought him a picture album and several picture frames. General just kept on getting angrier and angrier.

Finally, he said, “No! I want a picture! Something to make water in!”

Of course, what he really meant was something to keep water in. However, the workers had something else in mind. They brought him a bedpan!!! You can imagine my great uncle’s response. Needless to say, I can’t put it in print…LOL!

I wish that I could have gotten to know my great uncle better. He seemed like he really enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest. I hope that each of you is doing the same. Until next time…class dismissed!