Western North Carolina. Circa 1994. My little family was packed into the minivan, traveling on a summer vacation, and speeding toward our mountain cabin along a rural highway. We drove past an occasional billboard, one of which advertised the "Hemlock Inn," evidently a luxury resort in the Great Smoky Mountains. A few miles later another Hemlock Inn sign. We are apparently closer still. My eight-year-old daughter Jill remarked from the back seat, "When I see the Hemlock Inn sign it reminds me of hemlock remover." Hm, I thought. That's interesting. OK. The trip continued. General family interaction and children fidgeting in the back. Miles later, another Hemlock Inn billboard.
"There's another one! Every time, that sign reminds me of hemlock remover!" spake Jill.
Now I needed to know. "What in the world are you talking about, Jill?" I insisted. "What is hemlock remover?"
She explained, "You know. It's what you do when someone's choking."
4 comments:
So glad you recorded this for posterity. I was there, in the car behind you.
Love you dad.
I just posted twice on accident. But another "love you" is cool, too.
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