APtravelnews-April 24th, Goose Holler’ Farm, TN.-My garden is a source of more than just veggies, garlic and onions, its my workout gym too! My back is strong, my arms are flexible and almost as powerful as when I was a younger man. When I breath, I feel the sweetness of the earth having been amended for years with all manner of natural animal leftovers. When I plant, I can look forward and down the road to all manner of treasured  heirloom tomatoes,  cukes and an assortment of my favorite veggies.  My tenants, friends and whoever asks me, get great  garlic, onions, and “maters” as they call them in Tennessee. My grandpa David (my sons namesake) told me many years ago be a “landsman” and he meant it in two ways. But first he meant it to be a recommendation that if you have land and work it, it will repay you with sustenance. The other way, he meant it was that with land, you are grounded and are seen as having a stake in the community and the respect that this deserves. Coming from a place where my grandfather had no right to own real estate due to his religion, this was a big deal to him and America was the delight of his life. He just couldn’t believe the freedom he had to be a backyard gardener, an owner of a business, and no fear that a Russian or Polish Pogram would come down on his and his family and friends heads, destroying all their lives and quiet peace and enjoyment of their lives (remember Fiddler on The Roof) and it happened to him in Czarist Russia. He even had to change his name or be killed. Unfortunately, today the Muslim Jihadists are taking over from those past disasters and everyone should know and remember what the Ottoman Turks did to the 1.5 million Armenians! So every time I put in my garden, I think of my grandfather, gone since 1959 and wipe a small tear away before a smile of remembrance comes over my face and I say Thank you Papa for the short lifetime we had together!