Ecstatic is defined as feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement. See if you can guess if this adequate description fits me upon my arrival at our destination. My bet would be you would not require three attempts to produce the correct answer.

The first event that occurred after Dusty and I walked through the mahogany front door was to reach a verbal contract that changed my life. I so desperately desired to believe what he told me, but twelve years in Hermitage Hall had produced a barrier I knew I had to break down if I was ever going to believe anything anyone said. There is an expression "I'm from Missouri. Show me" that dictated at that time the way I generally felt about words people spoke.

Out in one of the rural areas of Davidson County, Dusty had purchased the one-time working cattle farm he called Country Comfort about six years prior to my arrival. I liked the idea there was only one gravel road between his spread and the nearest town. The peace and quiet pleased me.

As Dusty explained, Country Comfort, like much of the area, had a lot of history associated with the property. Originally homesteaded during the Civil War era, Country Comfort's roots made the plaster and brick home one of the most ancient, private, domiciles in Nashville.

The history surrounding Country Comfort was established prior to the War Between The States being contested. Probably a good millennium or longer. Dusty told me at least five different tribes of Indians were known to have occupied the land. Over the years, I have discovered many arrowheads, and other odd trinkets, around the vicinity of Country Comfort.

Here is a little tidbit about these five groups of Indians that in time I came to appreciate the more I learned about them, including the formative years I wore nothing but moccasins on my feet.

-The nomadic Paleo-Indians were possibly the first ones to inhabit the Nashville region somewhere around 15000BC-8000BC.

-The Mississippi Mound Builders came next. Famous for the mounds of earth they built, the one in Nashville stood ten feet tall and possessed a ninety foot long diameter. This mound was located on the site where the Jefferson Street bridge now stands, and probably some 14,000 years old. These people were corn growers, and painted elaborate pottery. They also seemed to mysteriously disappear as time elapsed.

Jefferson Street became important as the cultural center of the African-American community of Nashville.

-The Yuchi Indians of the 16th Century provided their word "Tanasi," which gave its name to the State of Tennessee.

-The Chickasaws, who claimed much of Western Tennessee as their hunting ground, mainly for deer and wild turkeys.

-The Cherokee, who claimed Southeastern Tennessee as their homeland.

I found, for the most part, the stresses of life at Country Comfort ran on a slower pace than anything I experienced at Hermitage Hall. One of my favorite activities, which became an unspoken chore, was to feed the wild animals that often visited the calmness surrounding Country Comfort. These included plenty of different varieties of birds.

The light of day had not broken before I'd get out of bed and scatter feed around the property I now own. The task completed, I frequently plopped down in my chair at the patio table. Eagerly, I anticipated the arrival of my breakfast guests. To this day, I still feed flocks of blue jays with their noisy calls, perky crests, and blue, white and black plumages. Not to be outdone by their cousins, are the long-tailed cardinal songbirds, and their short, thick bills, that take refuge at the parceled frontage of my residence.

At one time, before I inherited Country Comfort, I resided in a one-room log cabin Dusty constructed on the property before he ever encountered this wayward soul. I do not like to profess I "own" Country Comfort. In my view, I am simply the current caretaker. The place was here long before me, and no doubt, will be after I am dead and gone. Though I plan to reside there until that fateful day comes. All these years, I have tried to be nothing more than the best provider of care for Country Comfort I could be.

(TO BE CONTINUED:)