Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.
Tell us something about where you live.
I live on what folks call Sourwood Mountain. You can look right hard, but it’s best to know it’s deep in the Smoky Mountains. Somewhere betwixt Gatlinburg and Chattanooga. It’s a beautiful mountain. I can lay on the ridge, stretch my arms upward, and scratch the clouds.
Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name? Names mean ever thing in the mountains, be it a desire for a youngin or a hardship that followed the family. My Momma give me the name Worie. She was a worrier. I reckon she named me what she felt and the name carried a burden along with it, for I’ve done some worryin myself.
Do you have an occupation? What do you like or dislike about your work?
Early on I just worked with Momma to keep the homestead up but I always wanted to be a teacher. Momma taught me readin and cypherin and I’m right good at it. As I become of age, I saw a need – a need to care for the children on the mountain who’s folks died off from “the fever.” Lord have mercy, they was a slew of them. They needed care to keep them from becomin like animals tryin to survive. That become my lot in life.
Who are the special people in your life?
Eli and Bess, they was slaves that broke free and made their way into the mountains. And then there is Justice, my brother. And Pastor Jess. They was all like family to me, even when I didn’t want no family.
What is your heart’s deepest desire?
Lordy, Lordy, that’s a mountain to climb. I don’t desire nothin for myself, just to see these youngins grow up and make good men and women. That would please me. . .it would please Momma too.
What are you most afraid of?
I was and am most afraid of becoming what I take care of. Bein an orphan. Daddy died some years back and Momma passed a few years later. I never wanted to be an orphan, but here I was. An orphan carin for orphans. Funny how life takes a turn.
Do you have a cherished possession?
Momma’s jar filled with notes. They was penned for me and Justice and Calvin. Calvin never got to read them and that broke my heart. But them notes held all the answers that I needed to know and they was precious notes.
What do you expect the future will hold for you?
More youngins to care for. I never married but I reckon them youngins I raised will bring me grandbabies. Not by kin blood, but by the blood of my brow because I took them all in and made them my children. They’re a blessin and a curse.
What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?
Well, I learned I was a bit more selfish than I thought. I tried to turn a deaf ear to the call I was hearin, but I reckon a body don’t argue with the Good Lord lest they plan on losin. I learned things wasn’t all about me and I could still have my dream to teach, just not in the way I figured. Lessons learned and lessons shared.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
Well, I am what I am. Ain’t got no secrets. Calls things the way I see em. But I’m as faithful as the hound layin on the front porch. If you need me, they ain’t no hesitating. I’ll be there.
Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!
The Appalachian Mountain community of Sourwood, Tennessee, has been ravaged by death and disease, leaving many orphans behind. When Worie Dressar’s mother dies suddenly, Worie is inundated with orphaned children who keep showing up at her door. With barely any resources of her own, Worie must figure out how and why her mother was able to care for these little ones. As Worie fights to save her home from a good-for-nothing brother, she will discover the beauty of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness as she cares for all of Momma’s children.
Cindy K. Sproles is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries. An author, storyteller, and popular speaker, Cindy teaches at writers conferences across the country and directs the Asheville Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina. Editor of ChristianDevotions.us and managing editor for Straight Street Books and SonRise Devotionals, Cindy has a BA in business and journalism and lives in the mountains of East Tennessee with her family.
Novel PASTimes 