Upon arriving back at the Jessamine Journal office on Monday morning, I had not had time yet to inspect the front of my white car after my 1,700 mile trip over the past weekend.

When Joe looked out the front door and informed me that I had hit every bug in Nebraska, I joined him in his gaze at my ride and instantly knew what he was talking about.

I don’t know how many species of flying insects have orangish-yellow colored innards, but if it is only one, I fear I may be single-handedly responsible for their extinction. 

The front end of my car looks like an abstract art project. If there was an art gallery walk this weekend, I would hold off on washing it and park out front as an exhibit. 

Despite the filthy car and the shortage of sleep over the course of my quick trip back to my old stomping ground, I enjoyed myself. The weather was nice, the food smelled great and the musical jams with some longtime friends—as well as a few new acquaintances—made the ridiculous thunderstorm rains that I battled en route through Indiana on Thursday evening worth the aggravation.

A good chunk of the fun was helping a few newcomers to the musical performance scene navigate through the vines of nerves and venture forth onto a stage for the first time to perform a few tunes for the BBQ-seeking masses.

I am looking forward to the All-American Burger Bash, where I will again be involved in ushering all of the participants onto the stage for the talent show.

I will unveil all of the details for the event next week, so everyone can look forward to finding out how to enter and show off their most prize-winning skill.

I know for a fact that Jessamine County was blessed with talent galore, so I want to see a towering stack of entries for the talent show’s first year!

Speaking of the All-American Burger Bash, I know Ronda May down the street at the Chamber of Commerce has been working hard getting all of the ducks in a row for the Labor Day weekend event. She will be stopping by the Journal office in the upcoming weeks to chat about the inaugural Bash, and all of the details, entry information, and schedule of events will be in a forthcoming issue.

On a final note for the week—and speaking of forthcoming issues—the Summer 2017 issue of Jessamine Life is being finalized this week to hit mailboxes soon!

The second issue of the magazine will feature stories on Nicholasville natives Walker Montgomery and TK McKamy, a look at the history of The First Vineyard, a look back at last month’s Jessamine County Fair, a selection of Don Perkins’ photography of some of our most popular—and visually stunning—hiking and kayaking destinations and much more. 

Remember, the magazine is a free offering from the folks here at the Jessamine Journal to our readers, friends and neighbors celebrating the standout people and places that make this county and the communities therein so special.   

With a price tag like that, don’t be shy about stopping by the office and picking up a copy, or giving us a call at 885-5381 to be added to the mailing list!