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Although this is a very good read, I can say I've never had to leave and I don't have any plans on leaving other than short vacations and even then, I can't wait to get back home to West Virginia.
Change a few details (same county, different HS) and that's my story. I'm fortunate to not be very far away, so I can "go home" frequently. And in a couple of years, make the move back.
By the way, be sure to read the comments, they're as moving as the main article.
I posted that when it came out in the Las Vegas forum because about 80% or 90% of us are from someplace else, and that discussion always comes up almost daily when new people move here. Unfortunatly the mod closed the discussion saying it could apply to any western city. He's right of course, but I think the thoughts, and discussions they create, come up more often in the Nevada and West Virginia forums since everyone wants to move to Nevada, and no other state has the loyalty that West Virginia has. I've never heard anyone else ever say, once a (state nickname) always a (state nickname) except Mountaineers. But many of us wanted better job opportunities, or maybe a little more excitement in our lives, so we moved elsewhere.
Homers; I'm happy you found the way to make your talents work in the hometown you love. I hope you'll share how you made that happen with youth feeling compelled to seek greener grass out of fiscal necessity. Long ago men were more generous with themselves for the sake of the greater good. Seems needful these days when Ayn Rand philosphy has seduced too many away from that tradition. I met many native 20 something kids at occupy charleston the past few months. Some of them were troubled homeless kids, but most of them were level headed middle class. One of the common themes among them was the sense of a government, and a community, that is callously indifferent to them. That the world having made a machine of itself would just assume run them over in pursuit of it's self serving goals. That doesn't sound consistent with WV values to me. How about you?
Buzz; It's not awful being an 'outsider' if you know who you truly are. That's why I'm fine living here in WV despite my Long Island roots. Yes, just like a WV'n in California, I do get homesick. For Dear WV it's the clay in his bones, and for me it's the sense of not being able to breathe right without salty New England air. Sure, there's canned chowder everywhere in the states, but it's not the same as homemade when you know the fisherman took his kids out to retrieve them just as I did with my own dad. When the clam bed is where you used to body surf as a kid. There's a continuity among the generations weaving a community in that way. Giving a Kansan a can of corn- same thing. How well he can articulate the difference between that mechanized can and the corn fields, the shucking contests, and the first crop farmers market festival... the difference between a culture that's alive and one relegated to antiquity. Ramp season will be here before you know it but most of Charleston is oblivious to it. I'm not from here but that's incredibly sad to me.
The most difficult challenge since I've planted myself here is voting. Not that the booths are blocked or system is confusing, but conscientiously choosing the right candidate to protect the best interests of a culture that's so very hard to articulate is the handicap at every election cycle. I carry around this sense I'm failing to defend subtle things I can't put my finger on and natives conditioned too hard toward humility won't take upon themselves to highlight. Much of the west side of Charleston wear similar shoes as a transplant. Within a 1 mile radius of my home resides San Fran, Ohio, Kentucky, Philly, Mass., Alabama, NC... not a problem for me because - (Johnny Cash) I've been everywhere, man- along the way of my own career. To me, multicultural is normal, and meat/ taters everyday of my life is not. Not to be insulting, but people who never roam 25 miles from their place of birth their entire lives are downright strange to me. Surely they consider me just as strange, but their reasoning why (presently undisclosed) is the heart of the live culture that defies a can.
Americans are in greater numbers nomads these past few decades. But perhaps we always were predating our ancestors on the boats? Forever pushing frontiers. When we ran out of land, we aimed for the universe. Not all of that is about personal ambitions. This article is more important than mere sentimentality. I believe it needs to be pondered to help determine the correct course for WV. I planted myself here for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons was the lonesome feeling at the loss of my Parkersburg grandmother & great auntie Margret Ruth who had that very same WV clay in their bones. When I drive through these mountains I see her everywhere. When I keep company with the elders in the neighborhood, I hear her too. When I'm among rural natives outside the city limits, I feel the pull of her moral compass staid and true. There she is.
It's not a criminal act for youth to leave this state. In my case, my transplant WV grandmother made me fall in love with WV because nowhere her feet took her could ever shake her character. It does seem criminal to me, however, when the universal sentiment among youth is that nothing but coal/ NG is allowed to grow here, that we would continue on that same path maintaining status quo that runs contrary to the true culture worthy of preservation. This state is far more than a political football lump of coal.
Homers; I'm happy you found the way to make your talents work in the hometown you love. I hope you'll share how you made that happen with youth feeling compelled to seek greener grass out of fiscal necessity. Long ago men were more generous with themselves for the sake of the greater good. Seems needful these days when Ayn Rand philosphy has seduced too many away from that tradition. I met many native 20 something kids at occupy charleston the past few months. Some of them were troubled homeless kids, but most of them were level headed middle class. One of the common themes among them was the sense of a government, and a community, that is callously indifferent to them. That the world having made a machine of itself would just assume run them over in pursuit of it's self serving goals. That doesn't sound consistent with WV values to me. How about you?
Harborlady, I feel the biggest reason I've been able to make it to where I'm at now was being raised in a large family. Mother and Daddy raised 15 of us. That's not a typo, 15 children all with the same parents. Dad worked first as a coal miner and then as a chemical worker and Mother stayed at home raising babies. Both worked their fingers to the bone to keep us in food and clothing and in the process, taught us a good work ethic. Spring, Summer and Fall was spent planting, harvesting and canning food for Winter. We never had a lot of material things but we never went hungry and we never had indoor plumbing until the mid 60's. I can remember when I graduated from high school in 1970, Mom had to borrow $35 to buy my senior ring. We were never on welfare or ever used food stamps.
So you want to know how was I able to stay and prosper in WV. I owe it all to Mom and Dad for teaching me a good work ethic. With only a high school education and a couple odd jobs behind me, I landed a decent job with a take home pay of $75 and married my high school sweetheart. I was kicked out of my rented apartment and had to move back in with my parents for a couple months until our mobile home was set up on a rental lot. I made up my mind then and there that no one would ever put me out again. MY wife and I decided to start saving our money, $25 a month at first, and we would someday build a home of our own. I drove the same vehicle for 11 years. 9 years, many sacrifices, lots of hard work, and 2 beautiful daughters later, we moved into our new home, complete with all new appliances although it had no HVAC or carpet. I did 75% of the work myself. I sold the mobile home, got all that installed and all was paid for. We've never had a mortgage on our home and in case you're wondering, I'm a maintenance mechanic making an average wage.
My girls are married now and both are college educated and both work right here in Putnam County. We have 3 grand kids and I'm planning to retire at 60. I was very blessed with good parents, a loving wife and great kids. Life is good!!!
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