This is Deputy Digby Pancake.  It’s been said that I am afraid of heights. Because I am afraid of heights.  I am not a bird.  I cannot fly.  I don’t need to fly.  And therefore, to be up high where there is a chance I will expected to be a bird is frightening.  Frightening.

So when the persons said that we were going to somewhere called the Pinnacle where you can see three states at once from a very high place, I thought that I may just stay in the car. No car that I know of has ever been expected to fly.

When we got to this overlook place in the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, it wasn’t a long hike. 

And there were alot of persons there that also wanted to see three states at once.  You can see Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee! But. I wasn’t in any hurry to get up there.  So we took our time, and along the way, a person stopped me.  He wanted to pet me and told Girl Person that I looked like his dog who wasn’t with him any longer.  He was sad. 

But he was happy when he petted me.  I let him rub my back and I didn’t go to the bathroom on his shoe.  And he didn’t seem to want to say goodbye.  I certainly wasn’t in any hurry.  We were walking up to that Pinnacle thing. 

I had all the time in the world. But we eventually had to say goodbye as he told Girl Person his dog had been his family.  He never had children. And his dog was the best thing that had ever happened to him.  He said that when he was with his dog he felt like he was on top of the world. 

And now, the valley below is where is finds himself.  Sometimes, there isnt much you can say worth more than a hug, a smile and encouragement.  Pancakes help too.  But I had none except in my belly.  Girl Person looked at me and Brickle and said this Pinnacle place seemed quite appropriate to be at now.

When you are at your highest place in life, you may not even know it.  You may not have much money.  You may not have your bills paid, or even a stamp for them.  You may be in a situation with a job you don’t like, or maybe you wish you had a better car to get there. 

But you have the ones you love.  Your dog or your cat or other pet.  You have your family.  Your friends.  And it may just seem normal to have them in your life.  But having them in your life is worth more than you know. 

You may look back one day and say you would have gladly given up all that you had now for one more day.

As we walked up to see the overlook, Brickle and I noticed all the families up there.  All the ones holding hands and looking down below on the Cumberland Gap and the cities and the states they learned about on the sign.  Is that how life is?  Does it take a climb to see what’s important? Does it take a climb to remember where you came from and who was there with you?

When a place of beauty can make us examine what in in our hearts, it has done it’s job.  Yes. Cumberland Gap has a place in history. But it’s more than history.

As we live on our earth, take the lessons and the knowledge it has for us to heart.  We were meant to enjoy our earth, to take care of it and to appreciate it. 

Being in nature is real life. Traffic and chaos and hardship are not.  We think it is because we are in it every day.  But step back for awhile, or climb high if you need to.  Place value in the things that have always been here.  And be better for them.  For the ones around you.  For you.  

Life will have peaks and gaps and valleys.  We cannot deny that.  But appreciate who is with you when they are with you.  Don’t get lost in a world that doesn’t matter.  Make the ones who are your world a priority. Because you are their world too.

-Deputy Digby Pancake

Show some love to our November Rescue Of The Month Sponsored by Primo Water!

Paws Of SWVA! 

P.A.W.S. of SWVA, Inc. (People for Animal Wellness and Safety of Southwest Virginia) is a non-profit 501(c)3 animal rescue group located in Wise County, Virginia. Their funds help support the care of foster animals and a low cost neuter & spay program for adopted animals.

They are a group of volunteers working in their community with no formal facilities. They depend solely on tax deductible donations and volunteer assistance. If you would like to make a gift or support our cause, please visit our DONATE page at https://www.pawsswva.org/donate.