by Ralphine Major | Aug 20, 2018 | Columnist, Major
By Ralphine Major “Yes,” Don Hughes answered, confirming that he was the one who stopped to help Barbara and Mike Cruze on the interstate. Larry Stinnett was with him. As the two men ran to the pickup truck to begin praying over Mike, their wives (Ginny Stinnett and...
by Ralphine Major | Aug 13, 2018 | Columnist, Major
By Ralphine Major Mike Cruze was in The University of Tennessee Medical Center 23 days. For 21 of those days, the Master Gardener was unconscious and on a ventilator. Doctors told Barbara that Mike should be dead. He had suffered two types of aortic dissection (a tear...
by Ralphine Major | Aug 6, 2018 | Columnist, Major
By Ralphine Major “When I spotted the wreck on the interstate, I hit my brakes and backed up as close as possible to the truck—still about 30 yards away. Larry and I both jumped out and ran to the wreck. The truck was tilted on its side with the driver’s side...
by Ralphine Major | Jul 30, 2018 | Columnist, Major
By Ralphine Major It was the evening of October 11, 2011. Fountain City residents Mike and Barbara Cruze were traveling on Interstate 640. Their destination—a cabin in the mountains. Focus readers may be familiar with Mike Cruze, Master Gardener, from his...
by Ralphine Major | Jul 23, 2018 | Columnist, Major
By Ralphine Major ralphine3@yahoo.com It was a popular song of the fifties—“The Lollipop Tree.” Its melody and simple lyrics caught the attention of this writer. I was around two years old. “Lollipop” seemed the perfect name for the pup given to us by...
