Kathe Tanner

For months, we had chuckled and clucked occasionally about the latest, oh-so-chic, mismatched furniture fad — a long dining table book-ended by two “head” chairs and flanked by two or three matching smaller chairs on one side and a long bench on the other. Interesting.

We were experiencing the first big storm in our Top-of-the-World home on a rain-drenched, wind-tossed Tuesday, Oct. 13.

As we watched the first episode of director Ken Burns’ new film, “National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” I was humbled by a deep sense of gratitude.