Confused about West Va. (Bridgeport, Poca: buy, camping, living)

[wahoosfan215]

ah yes the Cherry River Navy, that is cool

[villiegirl]

So PASSTHRU keep on drivn'. WE love our quaintness here in W.V. and our children have a good work ethic because of our life style . WE also don't need stuff shirts coming in to bark orders and try to change us to what they think is normal. Don't come crying to us "outsider" when the economy crumbles and there is no milk for your cookies or tomatoes for your club sandwich. (you be realistic) The bulldozers you so lovingly type of distroy our beautiful state, and for what $$$$. Yes! and outsiders to bring in there promises of change. We are not afraid of change just skyscrapers. Oh and haven't you heard Fayetteville, WV is " The Coolest Small Town " So get hip.

Oh my wait a sec. You are from Richwood.
I have a hard time believing that a ramp is not one of your 4 food groups. I've got it you were picked on as a child right? That is why you are so quick to pee-pee on your homeland.
No it doesn't count as marking your territory unless it is spelled out in three ft. of snow on top of the scenic highway. Please think twice even thrice before coming home bud. When you are from here then you are not a tourist just a traider. BE true to your roots your an 'EER friend embrace it love it. Like how I love that you acted like you didn't know anything about the cranberry. Hit to close to home for you huh?

[Jacqueline S Homan]

Originally Posted by Passthru

I really do understand where you are coming from. The thing is then there is a large disconnect with the people in these small towns (at least the one I was in, can't speak for them all) and economic growth being sponsored by your state govt. I say that, because as an "outsider", (I put that in quotes b/c at the end of it all we are all still Americans, Appalachia is not a different country, even though some may like to think that...) as an "outsider" we are being marketed to through different mediums. And WV is truly a gorgeous state, so you are enticed to visit. I hate, hate to say it but we are in a larger culture were the kind of environment you describe, milking cows, planting, canning, ect. are quaint ideas. Again from an outside perspective, if the folk of WV don't embrace some economic reform it will only get more depressed for them and their children. Moreover, wouldn't it be better for these folks to embrace the help and assist in shaping it, guiding it, and overall be the stewards and owners, so that way they have a direct and guiding hand in what happens to their communities, and most important culture. I think being of the mind set that we don't want change or we will change at our own pace is unrealistic, because the machine will bulldoze unless stoped intelligibly...

Maybe I am misinterpreting your post, in which case we have a failure to communicate. That said, I find your post to be arrogant and condescending - and that's putting it mildly. I too, am an "outsider", being a native Philadelphian. But I found the love of my life in WV and cannot wait to relocate there and make my home there with him, in the "holler" his family lived in for years.

Milking your own cow or goat and raising your own food, and canning your own produce is an intelligent idea - not a "quaint" one. Apparently you've never read about the very real dangers of consuming dairy and meat products infused with recombinant bovine growth hormones (rBGH) which is directly linked with the exponential increase in ovarian tumors/cysts/reprodictive organ cancers in women and girls. So the next time you steam some milk for your latte, think about what you're consuming courtesy of "Big Ag" conglomerates like Monsanto (whose notorious contribution to society was Agent Orange).

Planting heirloom seeds and harvesting your own organic produce that can be canned ensures that you and your family don't eat genetically modified "Frankenfood" laden with chemicals that are known to trigger obesity, diabetes, and negatively alter nutritional value. In case you didn't get the newsflash, homegrown organic foodstuffs aren't making people ill and killing them - unlike produce imported from Mexico and Latin America which has been linked to salmonella outbreaks (among other maladies). Oh, and don't forget about the killer canned crabmeat from China. Read your labels in the supermarket lately?

The "folk of WV" are not errant children who need to be fetishized or patronized. And if you went to WV with that sort of attitude, no wonder you prefer the "larger culture" of vulture capitalism and economic cannibalism that has done America more harm than good. No one needs to embrace economic reform that is tantamount to a zero sum game. There is an Almighty, and His name ain't dollar!

Moreover, it is not up to you, me, or anyone else to tell others how they should live - period.

If more Americans milked their own cows and planted/harvested/canned their own foods and lived independently of the debt peonage system created by wealthy and greedy corporate interests and banksters, the American economy just might not be in the toilet today. And just MAYBE there wouldn't be so many 40+ year old college-degreed workers losing everything and becoming paupers with no chance of ever getting back on their feet (due in no small measure to the age discrimination so prevalent in the job market).

It is those who have sold their souls for the proverbial bowl of lentil soup (poisoned lentil soup is more like it) by becoming wholly dependent on the corpotocracy who will be bulldozed when their investment portfolios, their bank accounts, and their mortgaged-to-the-hilt properties are no longer worth anything because of deflation. Economic reform has a different meaning for you than it does for those whom you've snobishly painted with a very wide brush.

Jacqueline S. Homan,
Author: "Nothing You Can Possess"
"Classism For Dimwits"
"Eyes of a Monster"

[David Kennedy]

So well said! Anymore in the neighborhood like you? So refreshing! You finished me off...with 'lentil soup! Some people are/can be writers and some cannot...Amazon will be checked out today!

have gained a 'new and greater respect for Erie and the City of Ben....

[paige1974]

Wow! Very well put!! I agree 100% Jacqueline.

[Spazkat9696]

Every time I have been to WV I've found everyone to be friendly if not overly friendly. Are you sure you had a positive attitude with the people you encountered?

[backlog]

Originally Posted by snorpus

By the way, the little general store on the north edge of Richwood had ramps for sale today... $3.99/lb.

[backlog]

Ok every one is going to have a lot of fun with this one but I feel like getting eaten alive so why not. Getting ready to relocate to wv. Yes Tucker county area or close to it I magine. Living in Tampa Florida at this time. why you ask check out zip code 33610 on news and storys. Born in Michigan large farm sold when grand dad passed away. Been hunting deer,bear as far back as I can remember.Fly fish a bit too.Work is scarce I know.But have friends in area and have wanted us to try area. willing to put up with us for a while. I might not be from WV but I know the woods and the way of life. Still I know it won't be a piknic. Lived in Raleigh NC for a bit as well.Good with my hands. Farm work is how I was raised city work is how I have been living tired of the rat race and won't miss the money. HVAC/R wish me luck and feel free to poke a bit.

[lordtreize]

Welcome once again to a point I've made... it's not change.. it's envy. I've lived in the state all my life. I love this state and very much ave roots in it. Grew up on a pig farm for pities sake (might be why I don't eat pork). The problem comes from the older generation and their idea of "local pride". They don't want to see another town get something they don't have... and when that happens suddenly the people of that town become "snobs" or "holier-than-thou-arts". Trust me, go anywhere that isn't along the I-79 corridor, or the the Ohio River... and it's everywhere. We just don't work together and that's why we get taken advantage of. It's a horrible self-fulfilling prophesy and unless we realize that this is going on and wake up nothing is going to change and we will once again be taken advantage of and the cycle continues... just like the wonders of coal and logging. Wonder why the entire State doesn't look like Cathedral State Park? Easy, every man for himself and wanting what the other town over the ridge has.

[David Kennedy]

lordtreize: Your comment is so full of crap it doesn't deserve comment...have you considered counseling...just a little?