The delight my family felt at seeing Ben Ownby returned to his parents was almost indescribable – a feeling that we know we share with many.

And to have the "bonus" of Shawn Hornbeck's return as well – it's almost too much, in the most wonderful way imaginable.

It can be cold and wet in December in the scenic valleys of Tennessee, but it is a beautiful setting nonetheless. Not much has changed here in a generation. It's not crowded. The old neighborhoods seem to be unchanging, a pleasant, quiet, small town, unhurried, unbothered in a time when most folks are bustling about.

I suppose it is a sign of growing older when one gets into the habit of reading the obituaries in the newspaper. Especially if you have been in one place for a very long time, you find the names of friends, business associates, and people with whom you have come into contact written up on the obituary pages. It is a sobering reminder of our mortality as human beings.