Ron Praite Source: Wikimedia Commons
After a long day out in the woods making moonshine, Mark and Jim Tom head back to their secret holiday home cabin. Come to find out the two men had consumed too much of their moonshine and couldn’t find their safe trail back to the cabin. It is a dangerous thing to get lost in the woods of Tennessee, especially away from the main trail. Urban legends say anything is possible to be seen in the woods of Tennessee when off the beaten path. The only thing Mark and Jim Tom know is that they must head East to get back to the cabin. With only some matches, a compass, and some fresh made Tennessee apple moonshine they head on their way back to the cabin. Along the way they hear rummaging from the tall pine trees up ahead. Jim Tom whispers to Mark “Ya hear that noise over yonder”. Mark says “Yeah, sounds like two guys arguin’ over somethin” As the two men creep closer to the pine trees they see the two men in a standoff through the clearing of the pine trees. One of the men looks to be a Japanese soldier unaware that WWII has ended over 50 years ago, the other is a lumberjack type fellow. The men are just about to start a shootout when Jim Tom lets out his Tennessee famous bigfoot cry. Both the Japanese man and the lumberjack look around in fear and then at each other. Before you could blink an eye both of the man ran in opposite directions of the woods of Tennessee and were never seen again. Jim Tom and Mark let out some good laughs and began on their way again back to the cabin. They can see the cabin in the distance however a barrier lies in between. Nettles surround the only entrance to the cabin. Jim Tom and Mark have a plan though, there is still one jar of highly flammable moonshine in their backpack. Jim Tom pours the last of the sweet Tennessee apple moonshine around the nettles and Mark takes his book of matches and sets them a blaze. Finally, the men find a clear path to the door of the cabin. Once inside the cabin, Jim Tom says “Mark, we got one problem.. We’re out of moonshine to drink now”
Author's Note
Inspired by Tom Gauld's map starting from the west side of the map and moving east towards the "Holiday Home".
Bibliography
Map of the Area Surrounding our Holiday Home, a cartoon by Tom Gauld from his book ROBOTS, MONSTERS Etc., 2006
Ha ha, this is hilarious, Tyler: it's like you have got a motif in every single sentence there. I love how the moonshine was the key to their rescue (I didn't see that coming!), and I also really like how there is a kind of "to be continued" at the end: they need some other set of motifs, like a genie in a lamp, who can grant their wish for more moonshine now that they are back in the cabin. What a hoot! You also found a perfect picture to go with the story too: excellent!
ReplyDeleteI got excited when I saw the title of this, because I love the Appalachians. :) Mountains and moonshine is such a stereotype...but in some cases it's completely true (the museum in one of my hometowns even has an exhibit about local moonshiners!). I liked the echoes in the story of folkloric style and elements, and the ending was amusing.
ReplyDeleteTyler, I found this story very great! I thought the ending was hilarious because the two character are very laid back the entire story (only caring about the moonshine!). I also agree with Professor Gibbs in that the picture fit the story perfectly.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading the story.
-Trevor Eckard-
Hi, I also really enjoyed the humorous tone to this story. It was a nice change of pace from the other Week 1 stories I have read, many of which have a more serious tone. It seems that you may be a little familiar with moonshine though. I look forward to reading more of your funny writing, thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteWow Ty! What a good story! I really liked how you decided to end the story with a funny comment. It made the rest of the story really come together and continued the light hearted theme throughout this story post. I also thought it was cool to base a story around moonshine and the Tennessee setting worked perfectly with the story line. If you haven’t seen it already I watch a show called moonshiners all the time and it is a lot like this story. Have you ever been to Tennessee because I hear the woods are beautiful? One suggestion I would have for you is to maybe put the picture in the middle of the story or possibly break the story into paragraphs to make it easier to read but other than that I think it is perfect. Great job. I'm curious to read more of your stories in the future.
ReplyDelete