By Henry Piarrot
“They say the seeds of what we will do are in all of us, but it always seemed to me that in those who make jokes in life the seeds are covered with better soil and with a higher grade of manure.” – Ernest Hemmingway
Amy Michelle Abell was born in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday May 10, 1972 at 4:36pm EST. She is the youngest of her parents’ three children, but right up until the moment she arrived, was expected to be a boy. Although Mike and Judy Abell already had a son, this boy was to be his Father’s Junior.
Then, just as she gave birth, Judy fainted and was out for some time. While she was unconscious, her surprised husband held their second daughter and promptly named her “Aimless Mike.” This was not a nickname, as Aimless Mike Abell was actually placed on her birth certificate. Needless to say, that only lasted until Judy recovered and corrected her husband’s prank. Amy claims to still have her original birth certificate where her name is documented Aimless Mike Abell. Consequently, her siblings still affectionately call her “Aimless” or “Little Mike.”
As you can imagine, young Amy was required to grow up with a sense of humor. Before graduating from South Oldham High School in 1990, the gregarious teenager participated in every possible theatrical school production, was a cheerleader and even played flute in the band. She also performed with the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
Amy had grown into a beautiful and outgoing young woman who found no greater joy than to make others smile. When she was twenty five years old, she followed her love of the ocean to Florida, taking a bartending job at Angler’s Beachside Grill on Okaloosa Island located between Pensacola and Panama Beaches. There she also continued to perform in Community Theaters until she would leave for East Tennessee after seven years on the Gulf Coast.
Two days after arriving in Florida, Amy met Coe Kennedy and the couple have been together ever since. By 2004, Coe was working for the Bass Pro Shop near where they lived. That was the year Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne all hit Florida in the same season. Their home nearly destroyed and fighting the insurance company over a settlement, Coe transferred with Bass Pro so he and Amy could come to Tennessee and escape the deadly summer storms.
After ten long months in Memphis while the Bass Pro Shop at Exit 407 in Sevierville was being built, Amy and Coe arrived in Sevier County during August 2005. Ironically, they were moving into their new Tennessee home the day before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast.
Thru it all Amy maintained a positive attitude and her instinctive desire to bring a smile to everyone she meets. I hired her in May of 2009 to be a desk clerk at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott located by Smokies Ballpark and she instantly became the final piece to what would become a multi award winning hotel staff in Sevier County.
Amy left Sevier County about a year ago and is with her family again in Louisville. She is back in the cradle of Mint Julips, The Kentucky Derby and Louisville Cardinal Basketball.
Amy smiles in many languages and shares her heart with everyone she meets. Her genuine happiness is what makes people glad she entered their day. Woody Allen once said, “I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” I don’t like it when milk comes out of my nose either, but the infamous Aimless Mike can definitely make that happen to you.
Henry Piarrot is a hotel manager and Sevier County resident. Please send all story recommendations to hpiarrot@yahoo.com
