Soon I jump off at highway 431 which takes me through Whites Creek. It's claim to fame is this little building which has an interesting past -

In this building, then a combination saloon and grocery, W.W. Earthman, magistrate and ex-constable of Davidson County, on March 25, 1881, arrested Bill Ryan, alias Tom Hill, ruthless and indiscreet member of the gang, members of which were living in the Edgefield neighborhood. Frank and Jesse James and their families left the Nashville area the next day.

Our first stop after various twists and turns is the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site in Fairview, Kentucky. The monument is the tallest unreinforced concrete structure in the world at 351 feet and the fifth tallest monument in the United States. For comparison, the Washington Monument is 555 feet. It was started in 1907 and finished in 1924. Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America for the 5 years of its existence. He served as US secretary of war and then as senator until his home state, Mississippi, seceded from the union on January 9, 1861. Davis stayed in Washington until he received official notification on January 21. Calling it "the saddest day of his life", he delivered a farewell address, resigned from the Senate, and returned to Mississippi. On February 9, 1861 Davis was unanimously elected to the provisional presidency of the Confederacy by a constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama including delegates from the six states that had seceded. After the war on May 22, 1865, Davis was imprisoned in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Finally after 2 years of imprisonment, he was released and the federal government finally dropped all charges against him. Davis like many men such as Robert E. Lee on the Confederate side, followed the lead of their states not wanting to bear arms against their fellow state citizens. They themselves were not for secession but were placed into positions that were very difficult to deal with. History is history and to change or rewrite it to suit the current 'morale microscope' is intellectually dishonest. We cannot know what agony of conscious those men had to deal with because we have never been put in that position. As I learned from the Marines that I served with that came back from Vietnam, you don't know what you will do in a situation until the bullets start flying.

Soon we pull into the John Prine Memorial Park. In Muhlenberg County, few places resonate as deeply with music lovers as John Prine Memorial Park, a tribute to one of America’s most cherished singer-songwriters. The park honors John Prine, whose blend of country and folk music immortalized the region in his iconic song, “Paradise.” It is fittingly located on the banks of the Green River at the Rochester Dam. The lyrics to the song go -

PARADISE

Verse 1
When I was a child my family would travel
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
So many times that my memories are worn

Verse 2
Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill

Verse 3
Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man

Verse 4
When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am

Chorus
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the green river where paradise lay?"
"Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away"

It's been another great day of great food, great weather, great roads, great sights and most importantly, great company. Our friendship stretches back close to sixty years and it is a cherished treasure to me. A wise feller said one time -

"An old friend is someone who has seen you make a complete fool of yourself and doesn't consider it to be a permanent job."