On March 30, 2017, I returned from an annual reunion with friends in the home of Nick Nickerson, located on the bank of the Chattahoochee River, White County, Georgia. Besides Nick, Emory Jones, an author and speaker, from Cleveland Georgia, was there.
A recent novel he wrote is titled “The Valley Where They Danced.” He also wrote “Distant Voices,” the story of the Nacoochee Valley Indian Mound, plus other publications. The books I mentioned are on Amazon & Kindle.
As a person and friend, Emory appears to embody the best of the hardy, honest and achieving people of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian area of the south. Through his writings many people beyond this area will learn more about our part of the nation. I could listen to Emory share things all day long.
Another good friend, John Foster, owner of the WCON radio station in Cornelia, Georgia, was there as a regular attendee. He also has a wide knowledge of the people, ways and history of this northeast area of Georgia. It was a pleasure to sit and eat tasty food prepared by Nick in his lovely home perched above the storied Chattahoochee River and listen to Emory Jones and John Foster tell of people, events and history of this beautiful area of the south. I just wish we could meet more often!
Nick’s relatively new dog, Gertiegirl, did her part to be a good companion as we shared memories and good food. Nick and Gertiegirl often join me in morning walks along the storied Soque River near the old plant near Clarkesville that now has all kinds of arts, crafts, books, antiques and other things for sale. Gertiegirl and I took a walk after the great meal and saw ducks on the river.
Nick has a family line back to the days when his forebears hunted whales with sailing ships. For example, Thomas Nickerson (1805-1883), at age 14 survived an ordeal at sea when a whale sunk the Essex on Nov. 20, 1819 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean a thousand miles from land. This event led to survivors becoming cannibals. Thomas later became a captain in the Merchant Service. He wrote a book about the ghastly voyage. A movie, “In the heart of the Sea,” was directed by Ron Howard. He based the movie on Nathaniel Philbrick’s book, “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex.”
Nick wrote something called “Pozitivity” which I’ll quote a small part: “It’s easy to say things are bad, it’s easy to say I never had. It’s easy to put people down, but it is hard to pick yourself up off the ground. It’s easy to turn and look away. It’s easy to put things off another day. It’s easy to say the world owes me help, but it is hard to learn to rely on yourself. It’s easy to say the deck is stacked. It’s easy to lay on your back. It’s easy to say I’ll never win, but it’s hard to get up and try, try again!”
