An unplanned Gatlinburg getaway

Me with my daughter GG

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I’M not quite sure how to describe the city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee other than a town that took my breathe away.  I spent one weekend recently in Gatlinburg with husband Ronnie and daughter GG. It was actually an unplanned getaway.

When Ronnie asked where I wanted to go, I mumbled Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Next thing I knew we already loaded our bags and personal stuff on the car and headed to the town where I said I wanted to go to. 

I could not describe the city like a poet but one thing I'm sure of is that it's  charming and lovely.  If Gatlinburg is a woman then it is exotic. Gatlinburg exemplifies the simple goodness of small town life. 

Gatlinburg is where we gather together and stand in awe of nature’s glory. 

But I leave the job of describing the place to the city's official website.  

It is a really elegant area according to my friend Dolly Wheeler who said  Gatlinburg” is a lovely and fun place to be.” 

Dolly and her husband kept visiting Gatlinburg  all these years and were still amazed by its natural beauty. 

From Cornelius,North Carolina it was a three and a half-hour trip to Gatlinburg. It was not a boring trip because it was a sightseeing treat passing through so many places on the way to our destination.

Not to count the food we ate every time we made a pitstop to use the bathroom. My favorite of course was peanuts and chitcharon (fried pork rinds).

One can really notice the green trees that were planted along the roads and beyond;  from part of  North Carolina up to part of Asheville, NC where we have to bypass going to Tennessee. 

I also noticed the rocks along the way which by the way don't pose any danger to motorists because the side of the mountain is covered with a net to catch the rocks should they fall. 

We passed by a town which Ronnie called Black Mountain. 

I wondered why it's called Black Mountain when the ranges I saw were all green. 

It turned out that the town is called Black Mountain which is part of Asheville, NC. 

The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountain Depot and is located at the southern end of the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Southern Appalachians.

It was raining when we arrived at downtown Gatlinburg and we settled in a hotel facing the Smokey Mountain. We lost no time going out for a walk after a few minutes of rest. If I may add Gatlinburg is like Baguio City or Bukidnon province.

It's a town that houses the guests headed to Smokey Mountain or were about to visit the next town of Pigeon Forge.

At the time we visited, it was a crowded afternoon with visitors and guests walking and stopping along gift shops or listening to music by street performers. The weather was very cooperative since it wasn't too warm or cold. 

The buildings were sized just right and painted with lively colors and some are old or have a semblance of antiquity. 

Gift shops were also abundant and affordable. 

There were also old time pictures in which people would wear costumes of the 18th century and have their picture taken.

The food is great. We ate the best hotdogs at the Five Guys restaurant along the road. This restaurant offers free peanuts. They placed the peanuts in sacks and it is up to the customer to get as much as he or she wants. 

Mind you it was so good and the salt was just perfect.  We ended the first night early and spent time in the hotel, looking at the mountain.

True enough, the following day I knew why it was called Smokey Moutain because one can see the white smoke from the mountain spreading throughout the range and as far as your eyes can see.

We had breakfast at the hotel which offered a splendid view of the mountain. I had this recent fascination about mountains, it almost felt like they were talking to me. 

After breakfast, we braved the lcool summer wind and started our way to Cherokee, the details of which I promise to tell you in my next post. 

Taken from www.gatlinburg.com

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Random thoughts on my love of books and reading

Me at the main Charlotte Mecklenburg Library at North Tryon in Charlotte, North Carolina

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I’ve been reading all kinds of books as far as I can remember in my life.

I always carry a book anywhere I go. Whether it's to eat out, an appointment with the doctor and yes, even to the bathroom. I don't mind about the book's weight even if it's heavier than a hair brush or a bottle of cologne.

I was asked once if it bothers me to carry a book to which I answered “no, not at all.”  In the blogs I've written I mentioned about how my family's poverty drove me to reading books. 

It was the only luxury my mother or ”nanay” can afford to give me when I was little. I've loved reading ever since I learned how to do it and it's become a passion, a favorite hobby.

A little throwback is in order I think. I was the eldest in a family of seven. Nanay and Tatay (father) worked at Del Monte Corp. and shared the same work schedule  and so whenever we were left to the care of Nay Doring (my grandfather's wife) I would spend the night reading.

I remember burning the candles reading and I persisted until our home got electricity.  When I put my younger sisters or brother in a hammock for a nap in the afternoon or night time I read a book while swinging them to sleep. 

It isn't easy reading a book while swinging the hammock with my foot. Also I was envious at first hearing the noise of boys and girls at play in the backyard. I do remember shedding a tear or two.

Back then, I started reading magazines like Bisaya and Liwayway and I read them not just for the comics but the short stories of fantasy writer Mars Ravelo.

I recall the Philippine Free Press and the Graphic that my mother would bring home every week because she subscribed to Ms. Poping Villegas (I remember that the Villegas house with its grill fence fronted the old market then).

The envy eventually vanished when I became engrossed with reading the adventures of Oliver Twist and Don Quixote and his sidekick or David Copperfield characters  and many more. I became part of their adventures. I played only when I had the time to do so. 

No matter how loud my neighbors Onyot Rollenas or Nong Bobot Casino or my own brother Ramon or my good friend Roy Paduganan played, I didn't care anymore. 

Except if Cherie Pacheco would plan for a swim at the river and I saw the ripe fruit from the camachile tree. 

I guess I inherited my love of reading from my parents who read magazines frequently. Mother read stories on housekeeping while father focused on politics. I've acquired a taste for reading both topics.

My five-year-old ward Zayne Mojica reading a coloring book

I positively devoured books on history, and literature and my love for these two subjects hasn't waned with time. 

Every now and then I try to jot down my thoughts and I wanted to share some of them with you today.

I would love to hear reading tips from you. Unfortunately, I haven't passed my passion for reading to my children. 

Janice tried to read books but after finishing three pages she would stop.

But it's amazing how she memorized lines from the “Tale of Two Cities” written by Charles Dickens a few years back. She could have read them when I wasn't around.

The other day here at Charlotte, North Carolina my youngest daughter GG accompanied me to the North County Regional Library and I was surprised to see her choice of books to read.

Her reading list included “The Education of a Little Tree” by Forrest Carter, “The Grapes of Wrath” by Joseph Conrad and the “Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway.

Wow, not only am I surprised, I am impressed. I started talking to her about my favorite portions in “The Education of a Little Tree”, but she stopped me by saying she was too absorbed reading the book.

Surprises indeed. Well, I couldn't blame her for her enthusiasm, seeing a young version of myself as she read the book. Maybe I did succeed in passing my love of reading to my children.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Sex and procreation for some Filipino-American women

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

WHAT do you expect when you see girls and women meet and engage in deep conversation? What do you think are they talking about especially if you know they’re married?

It would be safe to say they’re talking about family most of the time especially about their husbands and their marriages.

I would like to share with you the stories of four women but out of respect for their privacy I will withhold their names and other details that may identify them including places. 

My story is not of course about feminism, porn or any other topic but the enigma and the dilemma of women’s emotions and wants which until now are suppressed because of how society views it. 

For now, let’s call them W1, W2, W3 and W4. During a group conversation, I started with a soft question directed at W1: How many kids do you have? 

Natural contraception

W1 said she has two and she immediately muttered that her husband wants another child.  She told us she doesn’t want a child anymore since it is hard to hire a nanny in the US and she would end up hiring another nanny to care for her children. 

Source: WN.com

“Good if we are still in the Philippines,” she said to which W2, W3 and W4 agreed. W1 then began mentioning that her husband still wants sex and so she uses contraception. 

When I asked what kind of contraception she uses, she said she uses natural contraception. 

I clarified, “does that mean you aren’t into safe sex?” W1 said  “No..I put the two kids in the middle of the bed.” “

Are you kidding me? Would that work?,” I asked to which she replied yes, that’s what she is doing right now. 

Lock the door

Responding to W1’s story, W2—without anyone asking her—shared that she locks herself up in the toilet whenever she showers or bathes.

I asked why, are you not secured in your house? Are you cold? “Oh, he likes to see me taking showers and he wants another kid too. So the doors are locked,” W2 said.

Is that okay with him, I ask. “It doesn’t matter because I take a shower or bath when he’s at work,” W2 said. What if he is around, I ask. She answered “then I have to lock the door and secure it,” she replied. 

Source: foxnews.com

I admit that I was surprised by that one. Not to be outdone, W3 shared that she is a fulltime mother and at the end of the day, she is just exhausted from working at home. All she wanted to do is watch TV and sleep.

W3 admitted that when her husband wants to make love, she would pass. W3 also said she has been faking her orgasms, which caught me by surprise since I know her to some extent.

Liberal world

W4 was the most satisfied of the four women, I think because she was comfortable with her husband and talked about what they do for foreplay. We then talked these things over. 

I realize that even in an increasingly liberal world, there are still people or women who wouldn’t discuss openly about sex in or outside marriage especially Filipino women who are raised as conservative Catholics.

Because of their religious upbringing, Filipino women believe in a shared responsibility between them and their husbands and they want to talk about how many children they want to have.

The problem comes when either husband or wife wants another child and the other doesn’t for a host of reasons like in W1’s case. By using her kids as a shield or “natural conception”, she’s denying her husband and maybe herself as well.

Source: www.ucg.org

W2 clearly doesn’t want another kid and as to how long she can keep the bathroom door locked I don’t know. 

As to W3, I find it most difficult and surprising because I don’t know how she was unable to achieve orgasm despite having children. 

So I guess it isn’t correct for me and others to assume that a woman achieves full womanhood because she has children, based on the accounts of the three women. I can only congratulate W4 because she appears to be contented.

I only advised W3 to talk to her husband and doctor. She is doing a disservice to herself if she would continue faking orgasms or simply agreeing to sex only to please the husband.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)