This Christmas season, it is easy to be distracted and somewhat depressed with all the news in our country and indeed, in many parts of the world.

But there have been other times as the famous song, "The White Cliffs of Dover" remind us of the times of World War II.

The song, " A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" as the memorable line, the whole darn world seemed upside down".

This is the way it feels to me now. Upside down."

It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last.

So, pick a color - paint the story of your life and give it a title.

I picked the color blue and for a title "The Color of Hope. This is my take!

Forrest Gump said his mother told him that "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get."

That pretty much sums up my latest trip to Chetola for a seminar for lawyers and paralegals this past weekend. Hearing stories of surviving three bouts of cancer and no one thinking one lawyer would even be here to dealing with hosting and paying for a wedding to take place next Saturday, to confronting three large bears to worrying about one's career, this time we had it all.

And to top it off, Chetola did not have a record of my reservation on one of their busiest times of the year. But everyone remained calm and through the day and a room move or two, it worked out with Chetola acting at their best.

But at first, it was not guaranteed.

This weekend and this podcast is about life, and how these people deal with it. It isn't always perfect, but it is full of grit and reslience.

Built in 1915 to support a railroad line from Abington, Virgina, to the North Carolina mountains, the hotel thrived for over a half century as the hub of West Jefferson, located in Ashe County in the northwest part of the state.

In 1977, due to the closing of the railroad and bus lines, the hotel was forced to close its doors for about 50 years.

Bought in 2019, Mark Beck and his family began a 5-year journey to restore the hotel to its former prominence and grandeur.

Opening its doors to the future in July of this year, this is the story of one family's persistence and the resilience of an old hotel. Mark and his daughter Lily have given a new meaning to the words "grit" and "resilience".

Complete with pictures, this is their story of the restoration of a landmark.