Silver Spotlight ~ Tom Arnold

Reckon I'm a Rustic, a living embodiment of country ways and speech, preferring rural simplicity to citified whizbang, heir to generations of folks, who in some form or other, have made a living off the land. I love being this way.

An 8th generation Tennessean, 3rd generation in the highway construction business, conservative, God fearing, opinionated, introspective, creative, fun loving, hardworking, front porch philosopher, poet, I've owned and operated an organic farm, milked cows and goats,(I am a goat whisperer) worked in political campaigns and edited a country newspaper. In my youth I was a traveler, seeing quite a bit of the world, but now my favorite spot is on the quiet banks of my beloved Caney Fork River.

I'm also over-educated in literature, history and philosophy, but my thirst for knowledge has enabled me to increase my intellectual abilities without losing my common sense. I have a great love for all of the arts but my tastes in music run towards the classics Bach, Beethoven, Hank, Merle and Patsy.

Tried marriage a couple of times~sigh~ but was never blessed with any children of my own. I do love them though and spoil considerably my nieces and nephew.

For me, the greatest thing in my life is to just still be here. About 7 ½ years ago I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, stage 3, liver spleen and lungs. After many rounds of chemo and a failed stem-cell transplant I now have a hot spot about the size of a dime on my liver. It is kept in check with a couple of doses of chemo a year and has remained unchanged for three years. It is to me a miracle and while I have watched many others pass on... it has caused me to wonder why I am yet here,for a higher purpose I hope. But until the revelation unfolds... I just continue to live , love, laugh and be amazed at my life.