The battle of the bugs has already begun with summer officially still three weeks away, as our hometown puts on shorts and flip-flops to deal with sweltering days.

On a hot late afternoon, I made a return trip to Dr. Dan Netherland's self defense dojo located off Highway 411 after you turn off Knoxville Highway. He had some important news to share that's good for Cocke County. Netherland was appointed in late May as Chief Director over the Grandmaster/Head Founder Council for the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame. The physical location of the facility is at Fayetteville, Arkansas, where it was founded about 15 years ago. In late July he will be going to Nashville to preside over black belt martial arts promotion. The "board" of this organization is composed of about 200 8th, 9th, and 10th degree black belts from across the world. Dr. Netherland is included in that small group who have international certification. He is an 8th Dan Kempo and Aikido master and holds the highest 10th Dan in Aikijujitsu because of his 50 years experience. I noticed some improvements to the front of the training facility, such as the rock garden, narrow wooden bridge under the shadow of a brick-red arch. He identified the tall arch as a Tori that signifies the separation of worlds. When you cross under it, you leave the world of business and daily chores and enter into another for "soul polishing" and fitness training. The bridge, or Michi, is a symbol of life's adversities that you must cross. Many of you know him as the pastor of Jenkins Community Chapel Church off Bogard Road. He also performs weddings in Gatlinburg, he told me, adding the slow economy has caused the number or weddings he performs to drop from dozens per month to a handful.

The past several columns we've talked about things that went into the ground, coffins and time capsules, so maybe it's time to turn our eyes and thoughts to the sky. In late May I got information from a Newport man of an unusual happening. Maybe you had a similar experience, things falling from the sky on your house or head. Jeff Lillard contacted me by mail, and I first thought it was Jeff, who handles printing for Willie Greene at Newport Printing. No, he said it's a different Lillard. I learned that the Jeff who knew the story about scrap metal falling from the sky is Peggy Lillard's son and a great nephew to Tommy Lillard. So, here's the story. For years, Jeff said he noticed nails and screws in his driveway and wondered how these got there. Did the pieces of metal fall out of the family work van? "I've been lucky not to have gotten flat tires, but others have," he said. There's been enough of the metal to consider recycling at the scrap iron yard in Morristown. Then, on May 27, another nail fell out of the sky, and Jeff knew it because he and a friend were working nearby and heard the ping. They walked over and sure enough found a nail. With a little investigation and eyes to the sky he discovered that birds were flying over and dropping the nails. Was this done on purpose? Did they accidentally drop their payload in route to nest building? "They must have heard you could recycle metal, but I wish they didn't take the route over our house. Let's hope big birds don't get into brick recycling," said Jeff.

You have read the recent interesting columns called "The Headquarters" and written by Cynthia Hart. Perhaps you would like to know more about this transplant from Florida who now lives on Chestnut Mountain off Highway 32, someplace between John Wodalski's Trail Hollow Rd. humming birds and the Appalachian Trail. She has mountain blood because her great grandmother ran the Balsam Mountain Hotel near Sylva, North Carolina.

Cynthia lived in upper Florida before moving here in Feb. 2000. As a child, her family traveled to the NC side of the Smokies, though she said Gatlinburg and Tennessee appealed more to her. Over the years when it got harder to return to Florida from her vacations in the Smokies, she decided to stay and found some land "at the bottom of Chestnut Mountain." She fits in well and likes her neighbors. Some folks she named included the late Don Ramsey, Billy Phillips, and James Barnes.

She is as slim as a sapling and full of energy, despite being disabled and retired. Winters have been a real change, as Cynthia left beach sand, warm rivers, and semi-tropical weather to deal with 60 inches of snow this past winter. She reported this to NBC. Most of the traffic she sees is comprised of tourists, some who know where they are going and others completely lost. During the I-40 closing she saw many more lost souls and determined truckers who got stuck trying to take a 50-feet-long trailer through snaking curves.

Her hobbies include exploring nature and photography, which she shares with Plain Talk readers. Writing comes natural and her column topics vary, most recently reporting on litter and tax appraisal problems. "There's no limit on what we can talk about," she said, inviting folks to read her column and give her a call to share news.

Cocke County Farmer's Cooperative hummed with June activity when I visited days ago on a mission to meet the new general manager. Also, Neal Denton, Knox agriculture extension leader, had talked to Newport Kiwanis recently and recommended some products to fight insects so I wanted to see what Co-op carries. Justin Thompson said "Hello" in between customers at the store, phone calls, and office work. I hope to return to learn more about him and let you know.