Rutherford County is nestled comfortably into the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains. There are a lot of trees here and and not much of anything else. The western part of the county actually gets to boast as being part of the Appalachian chain. (That's a good thing?) From the majesty of Chimney Rock (Freud would have loved it!) one can view the splendor of Lake Lure, the lake built by hard-earned tax money which is now the private playground for the rich from Florida and the uncouth from up North. You may remember these places if you like movies. "The Last of the Mohicans" was filmed in Chimney Rock and "Firestarter" and "Dirty Dancing" were filmed in Lake Lure. Enough said about the west because it is a long distance phone call from here.

One of the main things you need to know about Rutherford County is that it has its own lingo. You might not necessarily want to stop and ask directions while passing through. You would find you are not in Rutherford County anymore but in a place know as Rulfton County in honor of our county seat, Rulfton (Rutherfordton). The largest town in Rulfton County is Forest City, pronounced Far City, which by way of its name has become a major conundrum. Someone once asked me, "If it is a town, then why do they call it Forest City?" I replied with the same words of wisdom that Dr. Chandra gave Hal 9000 in the movie "2010", "I don't know".

That also reminds me of something else a good friend of my said about Rulfton County. He said, "There are way too many broads in Rutherford County". (Thanks, Hal!) To this aspect I must agree. We have the Broad River, from which we get our daily supply of electricity and its two major tributaries, the First Broad and the Second Broad. Looks like our forefathers were a well-educated lot! So I must "voluntarily" agree with my friend that there are WAY too many Broads in Rulfton County.

So if you like beer, mud, bandanas, chewing tobacco, denim, and chains come on and visit Rulfton County, you will have a ball. But in the meantime would someone please get me the hell out of here!! (I hear middle Tennessee is fantastic!)

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