Today brings an exciting first to The Ark of Mark.  The Special Offer!  I have a Special Offer for readers interested in vacationing in the Smoky Mountains.  But first I need to tell you a little about Bob.

Bob and I went to high school together.  He was a freshman when I was a senior, and we were both on the cross country team.  Bob did not fully understand that because I was the top returning runner on the team, I was not supposed to have trouble shaking him during hard workouts.  He just wore me out.  It seemed like every time I turned around, there he was, right on my heels.  Eventually I got over the indignity of it all and became a better runner for it.  He was just a tenacious kid.

We ended up becoming great friends, despite our age difference (which was big only in the context of high school).  After I graduated we still trained together a lot during summers and even ran together for a year in college.  To this day we still greet each other by saying “Howdy Partmer” because somebody had spray painted this on a country road near his house where we used to run.  (Notice that I said “partmer” and not “partner”).  We got no end of amusement from “Howdy Partmer.”  To this day I wonder what would possess somebody to stop and paint this on a country road, and whether the spelling was deliberate.  I still can’t decide if it’s funnier if “partmer” was intentional or accidental.

(Any readers familiar with Philpot, KY culture circa 1989 feel free to chime in if you have an explanation for this).

Bob and I once went for a run and underestimated the temperature, so we stopped and draped our T-shirts over a farm fence.  After the run we returned for the shirts and found them missing.  We inquired at the house and learned the farmer’s wife had taken them off the fence.  She brought them out to us washed, dried, and folded.  (I realize this sounds like the start of a joke about a farmer’s wife, but that’s the end of the story).  I don’t know if she was just being helpful or if she thought she’d scored two free shirts and was surprised we came back for them.

So Bob the tenacious kid grew up.  He’s the manager of a property management company that rents log cabins and chalets, based in the Smoky Mountains.  Our family has stayed in several cabins in between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and we always have a great experience.  Bob has offered Ark readers a 20% discount.  All you have to do is use the promotional code “ARK” when making a reservation and they’ll hook you up.  Here’s a link with more details:

http://patriotgetaways.com/

I’ll be down there myself in late July scouting out one of God’s most beautiful creations.  Of course I’m talking about a funnel cake in downtown Gatlinburg.  The Smoky Mountains also represent some of His better handiwork.