Tennessee Drifter

If you read my profile you will find that it says that I am “a son of Tennessee, born in exile”.  You may wonder what that means.

My ancestors arrived in Tennessee in 1804 and remained there until 1957 when my parents married and moved from Middle Tennessee and went to the Chicago area, where I was born.

We lived in Chicago until I was about 10 and then my parents moved back to Tennessee-to the area where my family had lived since 1804.  We only stayed 5 years and then moved again to Iowa, where I graduated from high school and joined the Army.  The 5 years I spent in Tennessee were the best years of my youth.

My people are from Tennessee, and I was raised on southern values handed down by my parents and their parents before them, most of whom were farmers who tried to scratch a living out of the ground. I have more in common with the farmers of my past than I do my contemporaries.

So, Tennessee Drifter is a tip of the hat to my ancestors, and an acknowledgement that I have travel away from “God’s Country” but I’ve always kept it close to my heart.