While hurricanes pelt the coasts and other states in early September, our mountain hometown remains hot, dry, and somewhat calm.

You know of a lot of names and faces but most of the time you don't really know these folks, unless you have sat down at supper and chatted with them as I did recently with the Coles. I've known the name Walt Cole through the Plain Talk's coverage of City Hall, but I couldn't tell you much about him. Recently he strolled into the office on his day off and had something that attracted my attention. Several of our office workers were buzzing around him like bees on flowers and I saw why. He had a box full of homemade cupcakes.  We mostly see the usual assortment of donuts and cookies and at times a scrumptious cobbler brought in from Duay O'Neil's kitchen. But these cupcakes were like no others I've tasted. So let me tell you more about the Coles and the cupcake venture.

Some of you knew the late Walter Cole Sr., who died in 1984. He worked for Newport Scrap Iron and Metal at the time and is from Pennsylvania. The real local connection is Walter's widow, the former Pamela Allen. They were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and Walt was about three months old when the family moved to Newport about 1973. It was the same year I left teaching at Cosby and joined Arthur Petrey at the Plain Talk. There are some other siblings; Walt's sisters: Laura Weeks, who is an emergency room nurse with Mercy Health Care Partners, and Megan Cole, the youngest, attending a hair stylist school in Cleveland. Some of you young folks graduated with Walt from Cocke County High School in 1991, and he went on to the Army for a stint. He spent four years in three units, including Audie Murphy's 1/15th Infantry 3rd Marine Division at Sweinfurt, Germany, Patton's famous Second Armored Division (Hell on Wheels Battalion, which deactivated), the 1/4 Infantry 4th Div., Ft. Hood, Texas. You may have also seen Walt as a young man working at the old Sears catalog store off East Broadway.

For the past 10 years, Walt has been with the City of Newport and works in the same office of building codes and inspections as my friend Mark Robinson. Walt is planning director. His real achievement, though, is marrying into the famous Hall's Top clan. I'm talking about Amanda Hall, daughter of Lynn and Linda Sue (Henderson) Hall. In fact, Walt and Amanda were the first to be married at the new Bell Hill Church. The other note worthy achievement for Walt, aside from his cooking, more about this in a minute, are their beautiful daughters, Ayla, 2, and Kaylan, 6. Little blonde Ayla had conked herself in the head the day I dropped by for a barbecue sandwich at the Sunset Circle home. There are five children in the Hall family, carrying on the tradition of big Hall families. These include Kelly Hall of Grassy Fork; Jake Hall, of Germany; Leslie Hall, of Georgia, and Stephanie Scott of New York.

They live in a modern home with lots of room in the kitchen. Both enjoy cooking, probably thanks to John Allen's wife, Dorothy, who inspired Walt and got him cooking. Although he is a gourmet cook, he refers to his creations as "Real food for real people." The barbecue laced with cranberry sauce attested to this. I complimented him on the baked beans but he didn't take credit for the Bush Brothers new Grillin' Beans.

Amanda has no problem staying thin even though she cooks and bakes because she is constantly working on a project, whether sewing some designer children's clothing or operating her home/commercial cleaning business. I learned that her aunt is Myra Mooneyham, a photographer whom I admire.

Amanda grew up off Grassy Fork and managed to learn a few things from then teacher Alfred Hogan at Hartford School. She graduated from Cosby High School in 1991. But it wasn't until about 1996 that Walt and Amanda met after he had completed his military obligations. A mutual friend, Mitchell Ramsey, introduced the couple. They got married on May 30, 1998. She admits that cooking was on her short list of things to do. Walt got interested in cooking and likes to cook for the grandparents, who live nearby off Epley Road.

So how did Amanda come up with the idea to make gourmet cupcakes and then start a business? It was Kaylan's birthday June 12 and Amanda decided to do a gumball cake presentation that required a bunch of little cakes too. The kids thought this was a big hit. The Oreo blast, lemon snickity, pumpkin path, orange dream flavors gradually made their way from her kitchen to Walt's circle of friends at City Hall, local lawyers, and eventually to my mouth. Amanda said she had also done a birthday cake for Vickie Mason's mother, Nancy Turner, a chocolate Oreo with present and bow on top of a sheet cake-A wonderful 75th surprise. What sets Amanda's cupcakes apart is their surprise fillings. She loves sweets so it wasn't a big step to figure out the need for delicious fillings, like my favorite, banana pudding. She uses Walt's secret banana filling recipe.

I think she has a good concept with her Cupcake of the Month plan. Customers, and I hope to be one, can sign up for a fee to buy at least a dozen per month and get two flavors, of her choice. With cooler mornings, Sept. is an ideal month to kick off this business. The true secret of Amanda's successful cupcakes is Ayla. She tastes them all and knows her cupcakes well, and her face shows it. I also found out you can check the Internet at pieceacake.vpwebb.com to learn more about this sweet business. As for me, I'm getting ready to order a batch.

In plain talk, the difficulties and humdrum of life are easily overcome with a big fat chocolate covered Boston cr�me cupcake. How sweet it is.