Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

There's Talent in These Hills

Posted Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 11:08 AM

My parents - Cal and Evelyn Pearson; my paternal grandparents - Robert and Cecilia Pearson; my maternal grandparents - Tom and Ardieth Staffey

WOW! Now and then I’m awestruck by the scale of creativity shared by folks in these foothills of the Ozarks. Not all of them are schooled in conventional ways. Many are self-taught masters of their particular fields as much as those with degrees and apprenticeships.

In retrospect I realize my parents and grandparents were the first creative souls I knew. They were not artists and musicians, builders and tinkerers, writers and poets in the traditional images that come to mind. They were creative in the resourceful department. Mom and Dad were both first-born children of large families. Both sets of grandparents managed to shelter, feed, clothe, educate and inspire their offspring during hard times in rural areas of Arkansas and Missouri. My great-grandparents may have had ties to Tennessee and Kentucky. Their faith, vision and hard work are evident in my familial DNA though my twenty-first century wellbeing doesn't teeter on life-and-death habits and decisions. Sheer survival doesn’t drive me as it did my ancestors.

But creative pursuits might. Often I read of the benefits of time with Mother Nature - appreciating blue skies and sunshine, gazing at moon glow and starlight, walking under canopies of trees, enjoying time on creeks, rivers and lakes.

We’d have to work hard NOT to benefit from the great outdoors in Ripley County. It has an area of 632 square miles - or about 404,480 acres. Mark Twain National Forest takes up 97,437 of those acres (152 square miles). If we want to recreate, reflect and recharge, we don’t have to go far. We might simply need to step out the back door or sit on the porch to be in the midst of the incubating powers of flora and fauna, though we might have to seek out MTNF areas to savor it tranquilly.

Experiencing natural environments can boost our brains, increase creativity and productivity and reduce stress and anxiety. It’s also good for us physically. What’s not to like? I say let’s go outside more often to play AND work!