This is an especially sentimental piece of Mark's. His deep love of history inspired him to embark on a journey of going back in time. During this phase of his life, he built his home from the ground up in the Appalachian Mountains with his wife and small children. A mountain spring provided their water, they had a compositing toilet, and their closest neighbors lived in a log cabin built in 1801 (of which only had an outhouse, running water provided by a spring into and out of the kitchen sink, and without simple luxuries such as a water heater). As his wife describes, "it was an interesting couple of years." Blacksmith serves not only as a reminder of years past but also inspires us to realize what we forge can be utilitarian, purposeful and the catalyst of integrity and tradition.
