a perfect love poem

by Linda Duck

If I ever had to be anyone else,

I'd be you

and you could be me.

Then I'd know how you feel when you tie your shoes

Or when someone jumps out and scares you.

And you would know how much

I love you.

"I learned then that, ideally, there must be a spirit of live-and-let-live between the two interests [developers and conservations] if our mountains, our state, our nation and our world are to thrive."
-- Hugh Morton, deceased owner of Grandfather Mountain and leader in the preservation movement who spearheaded legislation to protect the peaks

"The Blue Ridge Parkway and Biltmore Estate share the number-one spot on a list of top attractions in North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway doesn't offer any rides or shopping or theatrical entertainment. It's just a road with beautiful vistas and great trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding."
-- Bill Cecil, great grandson of George Vanderbilt and CEO/president of The Biltmore Company including Biltmore Estate

"Many have come before us in the land of the Blue Mist. Many have enjoyed the bounty of these Great Blue Hills of God. Many will come to the Blue Ridge in search of contentment, renewal and a new beginning. It is our responsibility to make sure we lay the foundation for the sustainability of its soul."
-- Betty Huskins, senior vice president for external affairs of Advantage West North Carolina

"Some [people] may remember when CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite named Chattanooga the most polluted city in America. Now, it's the most transformed, from shabby and polluted to clean and green. We have spent the last 40 years changing our economy, scrubbing our environment and installing a new heart and soul in a city already blessed with one of the best God-given settings in the world."
-- Ron Littlefield, mayor of Chattanooga TN

"Scientific studies prove people in nature are actually more tranquil as the elevation increases, hence, beautiful mountain settings invoke a feeling of peacefulness. That tranquility grows more profound if the mountains are near bodies of water and even more so where there are forests."
-- Jim Anthony, developer of The Cliffs in NC and SC