Old Airstream
Awaken again by fever dreams of ghosts from the past and things unknown, Suzanne gets up from out of her bed. She quickly gets dressed knowing that in a few minutes the three little ones will be up demanding her attention. The tiny trailer they call home is parked in a secluded area of Table Rock State Park in northwestern South Carolina along the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains. Suzanne found herself here several years ago after being thrown out of the only home she had ever known in Georgia. Her intention at the time was to head to the mountains of North Carolina to camp out and find her bearings again. But car trouble left her abandoned at this state park. So she camped out there till she could find work to pay for the repairs and then move on.
But what she thought would be a few weeks stay turned into years. After falling in love and giving birth to three doorstep children. Her husband Bernard has worked at the park for years as the maintenance man and jack-of-all-trades. Where Suzanne raised the kids, tended her garden, and sustained their little slice of heaven. Suzanna met Benard soon after she started her little “homesteading project” to get the car fixed at the park. It didn’t take long before Benard and the other park employees and volunteers figured she wasn’t going anywhere fast. But due to her gentle nature and radiant smile they all fell in love with the little hippie child from Georgia, especially Bernard. Soon their little romance soon became the worst kept secret in the park. The volunteers and the regular seasonal campers all kept a running tally of their young love as it blossomed over the spring and summer.
As Bernard and Suzanne’s romance grew beyond the summer and into fall. Suzanne had moved into Bernard’s old Airstream camper. Although Suzanne’s had long since been repaired, she felt with all her heart she had finally found a home with Bernard. So she continues working odd jobs in and around the park. Doing everything from running errands for older campers, to chopping firewood for those that really couldn’t, to helping Bernard and the park crew clear hiking trails that had overgrown. As the months and years passed Suzanne made a home in that old Airstream nestled in the pine hills of that old flat rock. As often the case with love, Suzanne eventually give birth the three doorstep kids one right after another. Benard and Suzanne never had siblings of their own but come from large distant families. So in their youth and enthusiasm they decided to make a large family of their own.
But as you can imagine the reality of raising and clothing three growing little kids was hard, and money was tight. A state employees salary might have its benefits, but the pay is never enough. While their home life was manageable, Suzanne had to have major surgery after the birth of their youngest child. Leaving Bernard a small group of friends to help care for the young ones. That and the added debt of aftercare took this young family to places they dare not wanted to be. After Suzanne’s long eventual recovery, she knew that somehow, some way she needed to step up and help her family financially even more.
So Suzanne’s mind turned to the potions and folk magic her grandmother taught her. And how those potions and spells brought a little extra money into their household. So during the isolation of the pandemic, Suzanne pooled together all her knowledge and resources to create a social media page where she told stories of going up in the sandy foothills of Central Georgia. With tall tales of haunts and ghosts, of the black panthers that secretly roamed the woods and hollers. Along with simple potions one can make for scratches, wounds, and bug bites. Along with tutorials on canning and managing a small backyard garden. On various platforms her post took off captivating a wide audience. Soon she was publishing booklets of home remedies and appearing on a number of other like-minded individuals podcast and websites. Her slow southern draw and the fact that she was an absolute beauty didn’t hurt either. Only added to her viewership and eventually bringing in much needed cash for her family. All from the inside of that old Airstream. But hard times would eventually come again, leaving Suzanne and Bernard to have to make some tough decisions about their families future…
Awaken again by fever dreams of ghosts from the past and things unknown, Suzanne gets up from out of her bed. She quickly gets dressed knowing that in a few minutes the three little ones will be up demanding her attention. The tiny trailer they call home is parked in a secluded area of Table Rock State Park in northwestern South Carolina along the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains. Suzanne found herself here several years ago after being thrown out of the only home she had ever known in Georgia. Her intention at the time was to head to the mountains of North Carolina to camp out and find her bearings again. But car trouble left her abandoned at this state park. So she camped out there till she could find work to pay for the repairs and then move on.
But what she thought would be a few weeks stay turned into years. After falling in love and giving birth to three doorstep children. Her husband Bernard has worked at the park for years as the maintenance man and jack-of-all-trades. Where Suzanne raised the kids, tended her garden, and sustained their little slice of heaven. Suzanna met Benard soon after she started her little “homesteading project” to get the car fixed at the park. It didn’t take long before Benard and the other park employees and volunteers figured she wasn’t going anywhere fast. But due to her gentle nature and radiant smile they all fell in love with the little hippie child from Georgia, especially Bernard. Soon their little romance soon became the worst kept secret in the park. The volunteers and the regular seasonal campers all kept a running tally of their young love as it blossomed over the spring and summer.
As Bernard and Suzanne’s romance grew beyond the summer and into fall. Suzanne had moved into Bernard’s old Airstream camper. Although Suzanne’s had long since been repaired, she felt with all her heart she had finally found a home with Bernard. So she continues working odd jobs in and around the park. Doing everything from running errands for older campers, to chopping firewood for those that really couldn’t, to helping Bernard and the park crew clear hiking trails that had overgrown. As the months and years passed Suzanne made a home in that old Airstream nestled in the pine hills of that old flat rock. As often the case with love, Suzanne eventually give birth the three doorstep kids one right after another. Benard and Suzanne never had siblings of their own but come from large distant families. So in their youth and enthusiasm they decided to make a large family of their own.
But as you can imagine the reality of raising and clothing three growing little kids was hard, and money was tight. A state employees salary might have its benefits, but the pay is never enough. While their home life was manageable, Suzanne had to have major surgery after the birth of their youngest child. Leaving Bernard a small group of friends to help care for the young ones. That and the added debt of aftercare took this young family to places they dare not wanted to be. After Suzanne’s long eventual recovery, she knew that somehow, some way she needed to step up and help her family financially even more.
So Suzanne’s mind turned to the potions and folk magic her grandmother taught her. And how those potions and spells brought a little extra money into their household. So during the isolation of the pandemic, Suzanne pooled together all her knowledge and resources to create a social media page where she told stories of going up in the sandy foothills of Central Georgia. With tall tales of haunts and ghosts, of the black panthers that secretly roamed the woods and hollers. Along with simple potions one can make for scratches, wounds, and bug bites. Along with tutorials on canning and managing a small backyard garden. On various platforms her post took off captivating a wide audience. Soon she was publishing booklets of home remedies and appearing on a number of other like-minded individuals podcast and websites. Her slow southern draw and the fact that she was an absolute beauty didn’t hurt either. Only added to her viewership and eventually bringing in much needed cash for her family. All from the inside of that old Airstream. But hard times would eventually come again, leaving Suzanne and Bernard to have to make some tough decisions about their families future…
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