Yesterday I asked folks to leave a comment if they had a question for me. This is what Jeanne asked:
I would like to read/or be told again the story of you choosing the name for your blog. Could you direct me to that or tell us again?
Way back in 2007 when I first started dreaming about having a blog I knew I needed a catchy name. A name that folks would remember, but also a name that had meaning.
One of Miss Cindy’s good friends was named Larry. He was a man who always seemed to know something about whatever topic of conversation came up. I sent Larry an email telling him I was having a hard time finding a meaningful, interesting, attention grabbing name for my new endeavor of celebrating and preserving Appalachia.
Larry sent me a long list of possible names. I still have that list somewhere. Down near the bottom of the page was the name Blind Pig & the Acorn. I immediately liked the name, but wondered what in the world did it mean?
I asked The Deer Hunter if he knew what Blind Pig and the Acorn meant? He said “Where’ve you been all your life? It means even a a blind pig can find an acorn every once in a while.
I asked my go to source for all things Appalachia if he knew about the saying. Pap said “No I never heard that saying before, but its the same thing as saying even a broke clock is right twice a day.
As I pondered on the meaning behind the name Larry sent I knew it was perfect for my endeavor. I didn’t know if I could accomplish my ambitious goal of celebrating and preserving Appalachia, but sincerely hoped liked the blind pig I’d find the acorn.
Thank you for your question Jeanne. I hope you and everyone else enjoyed hearing how I chose the name for the blog.
Tipper
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Tipper, I’m glad you shared this. I’ve wondered where you came up with the title. It’s a good one. I count on hearing something about you or your family almost every day. Some days get so busy that I don’t get time to visit your site but I think about ya’all every day. I Love you and your family!
Hi, I really enjoy your blog as it reminds me of my youth growing up in Viper KY. Every time I read your blog it reminds me of something my Dad would say when happy I am grinning like a mule eating saw briars! love your site
Yes, I have heard the same two expressions. I don’t remember when I first heard about “the blind pig”, but I understood what it meant.
Keep writing!
We also had the shortened version growing up â ever blind hog…â Tipper that is how I found your side all those years ago! Folks weâre making fun of my saying. I googled the phrase to show them that everyone from my neck of the words knew what it meant!
The definition came up as did your site!! Glad it did.
Hi Tipper –
Your site name is one of the BEST attention grabbing, curiosity creating, and meaningful names that I have ever come across. The artwork is awesome as well. I came upon your site after having ‘googled’ the name of one my family members name “Stonecypher”. I wrote an email to you and you respectfully replied back.
My dad grew up in the foothills of the Carolinas. Since I can first remember, he always used the phrase; “Even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then.” He would say this after he felt ‘lucky’ when something turned out good or better than he expected. I use this phrase all the time, especially when playing racquetball and I hit a winning shot that was totally accidental. I am so thankful someone asked this question.
Hum…interesting. I thought it was a catchy name when I first saw it years ago. I wondered about it’s meaning first thing. A good comparison your Pap, and Quinn, made with the ‘clock’! I think you just came up with the heading design yourself. I thought it was neat, also. I think you do great at keeping the long list of subjects Appalachia fresh.
Here’s a question for you: How do you accomplish all you do?- daily blog entries, tweets, instagram, you-tube posts, work, garden and home, create videos, care for family (except hunter’s buttons đ ) try out recipes,research everything Appalachia,create angels and other crafts, preserve food (can, dry, etc.), help Granny, keep up with 2 daughters, keep the Hunter happy,encourage brothers, niece, and nephews, practice, . . . . what does your daily and weekly (and monthly?) schedule look like? do you ever sleep?
I was wondering the very same thing about Tipper!
Tipper,
I was sent your blog by my Business Agent over at Tri-County College, can’t remember her first name but she was a Crawford gal, real smart, like you. She was instrumental in getting me prepared to quote jobs for the Defense Dept. in Illinois. That was over 10 years ago and I’ve been reading and loving the Blind Pig and the Acorn, ever since. …Ken
Tipper,
I hate to be the “snuffer” in this beautiful burning candle of thought…however, I have a different take on the old mountain saying, ‘even a Blind Pig can find an acorn once in a while”. Why shore a blind pig can find an acorn, why not, they is smart, they is loved, they is clean and they can sniff out success!
Has every one forgotten how highly intelligent pigs are, ranking among the top five or ten in smarts sometimes above our beloved dog, etc. ? Their memory is right on top as well! Their “sniffer”, “snout”, “rotor-rooter” rutting device on the front of their face is their gift from above! They don’t need eyesight or hearing like a dog to find a acorn. No one pointing them in the direction and yelling, “The acorns are over there Max or “Go git’um’ boy!”…Pigs can smell them from a great distance…In fact they don’t even need to hear the acorns falling from the trees or see them to know where they are located. I dare say if one was buried and piggy went to market and very hungry he could “rut out” a acorn three feet deep, like they sniff out the truffle delicacy.
I just wish I had me some of the shrubs growing…you know the ones that have those “Truffles” growing under them…Those moldy looking’ things that folks up North pay big bucks for, like our Morel mushrooms, Ginseng, ferns, moss Galax etc…Why I would love to have me a hoard of hogs to root out a growing field of Truffles. I’d be in the money for doggone shore…errr pig gone shore!
I say if one is comparing Tipper to a Blind Pig, why I don’t think so…She has some of the upmost smarts when sniffing’ out the acorn! Making the blog work and using all are abilities. She has found her acorn without as much as a “squeal, oink or snort”….I love this blog!
Thanks Tipper for all your “rutting out” and sharing the wonderful stories, recipes, saying’s, clichĂ©s, etc. of our Appalachian heritage!
Thanks Tipper for answering my question. I too can not remember just how I found the Blind Pig. Surfing the net with a question, I’m sure. I ask Google a lot of questions. From childhood on, I am the questioner in the family. Why, What, Where, How, When….., etc. I’m a Blind Pig always looking for the Acorns.
I love your blog and you have certainly delivered to us all many Acorns of knowledge that you have found in your wonderful Appalachia. You are like a sponge that soaks up knowledge that is around you everyday. Little things that settle into your mind and then gather together when needed. Appalachia is unique, but every state has it’s own Appalachia, as our ancestors have taken some of it with them when they moved North and West.
My very best to you and your family. You all have become so important to us….you have become part of our families and we are some of your Acorns.
Yep, heard the phrase ever since I can remember. Usually a self deprecating remark meaning “I may be stupid, but I do stumble on the truth sometimes!”
I’m shocked! I always thought it was a reference to moon shining/prohibition, though I wasn’t sure where the acorn tied in. Did you ever ask Larry about the significance of his suggestion?
I have followed Blind Pig and the Acorn for over 5 years and can’t remember how I found it but, I am so happy I did! I love reading your stories and watching your videos. I love the vocabulary test and your good ole’ country recipes. I loved getting to meet you when we drove over for our daughters graduation. Deer Hunter probably thought I was a crazy woman when I recognized him from the blog and asked if he was Tipper’s husband and he just happened be on the phone to you. You were as sweet as I thought you would be. I love your blog and reading about the customs and traditions of the mountains of North Carolina were my Dad (he is 94) was born and raised.
No matter what you call it, it sounds like home to me!
I can’t remember how I ran across Blind Pig & the Acorn either, but I am so thankful I did! I know, however, that it was the wonderful poetic name that attracted me. It is the very best, Tipper! And I have never once been disappointed!
I do not recall how I found BP&A. I guess I was looking for something, maybe a recipe, that brought me here. Anyway, from finding the first acorn I come to find out I had found a tree that was loaded with ’em. So I’ve been here ever since.
Funny how things work. I asked someone once, ‘Which do you think the Lord has being doing the most, making you or using you in the making of others?’ By that I mean I hope you have found us to be ‘acorns’ as well and get as much as you give.
Btw, hooray for the warm spell.
Even though we are not âfrom these partsâ, I am grateful and blessed to be a blind pig. We found the acorn while motorcycling on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Coupled with our love of bluegrass music, shape note singing, and BBQ, the quiet side of the Smokies has been home for ten years.
Tip, I remember those days when you had the idea of the blog. You were developing ideas and ask all of us to give you suggestions for a name. Larry certainly did know something about everything and he loved the mountains being born in Tennessee. His list of ideas were all pretty good as I recall, Larry had a quick mind.
Now look, ten years later, look what the Blind Pig has grown into. It is a remarkable, interesting, and informative gathering of like minded people who all love Appalachia!
Good job, Tipper!!
Love the saying. That’s what got my attention in the first place.
That reminds me of another pig saying, they got as much use for that as a hog does a watch.
The “clock” saying is exactly what I use to explain the “pig” saying when someone asks.
I actually love the name
I tried to remember exactly how I ran across the Blind Pig and the Acorn, I do know the name is what caught my attention, the phrase was familiar to me growing up and I was looking for something that I could relate to because of all the terrible days and nights our Daughter was going thru, I just needed something to take my mind off her troubles and ours for a short time of the day and reading was one of them. Man, I’m so grateful that I stopped by because it helped so much. Her health is not perfect but so much better now than it’s been in at least 10 yrs. I guess I was like that pig looking and found exactly what I needed.