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A cryptic message leads to the clarity of Life's purpose. |
| The protagonist receives a cryptic message sent by an unknown person for some unexplained reason. The dark veil draws him to pursue answers, and in the process, he finds clarity as never before. |
| "Chattanooga, Tennessee is a great place to live, regardless of your age, but experiencing Chattanooga, during your college years is exceptionally sweet. What better way is there to set a strong foundation for the future than to learn in a place steeped in a very tangible past? "Yet, the past with its myriad sights of Civil War era cannons, and monuments, honoring those, who fell on the many battlefields around our fair city are but two of the types of attractions, which make Chattanooga a year-round feast for the eyes. "I remember five years ago when I moved here to go to college, I had to deal with a couple of months of nearly unbearable heat because I arrived in August, and the temps didn't start cooling off, until the middle of October. "O, what a change when they did arrive. The trees of Highland Park, where I live, were ablaze with the colors of reds, oranges, and yellows added to the greens and browns of their base hues. That's why one of my favorite respites was to spend two or three hours in the late afternoon of some fall day, drinking in the wondrous colors of the trees, the explosion of sounds of ducks and geese on the pond at East Lake Park, crickets, leaves swirling and crunching underfoot, people strolling around the lake, and children having a great time on the playground. "Southerners know how to slow-cook barbecue. Therefore, driving around town with the windows down was a must. Trips to Missionary Ridge would become experiences of olfactory temptations to full-blown hunger, whether from local restaurants or homeowners cooking out in their back yards. That bacon, hamburger meat, slab of pork or beef tenderloin, and baby back ribs all became a cacophony of aromas, that made me unable to think about anything else, until I had a plateful sitting right in front of me. "Missionary Ridge is a lovely drive, if you have the time to drive from one end to the other because all of the twists and turns insure, that nobody will be speeding up there. Now, if I want to spend an hour or two kicking back, enjoying the view, then the Bragg Reservation is my park of choice because at that spot you can see for miles into the valleys on either side of the ridge. The Bragg Reservation was the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, during the Civil War. Frankly, I enjoy that spot because I can see the biggest auditorium of my university from there. "So many things to remember. Do we have enough time? I love the simple pleasures, like buying a hamburger, a hotdog, and a soft drink from the comfort of my car at Central Park, one of those fastfood restaurants, that has two drive-throughs, but absolutely no dine-in opportunities. "I wish I had time to describe the Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex, which is a mini mall, and the inspiration for Glenn Miller's famous song. I would love to describe Ruby Falls, Point Park, (which is where the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought, and is sometimes called 'The Battle Above the Clouds,') as well as the great view of Mocassin Bend on the Tennessee River from there. "There are so many things I would like to show you about Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of the greatest college towns on Earth, but maybe we could do a meet-up some weekend. I would to be your tourguide. I would love to relive my days in college with you. Thanks for listening to what I've had to say so far." by Jay O'Toole on October 19th, 2022   |
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