Appalachia Part One: The Common Wealth of Kentucky Heads East.
Mayor Stapleton sat in a portable chair across from Kelly. She started her outline while he pointed overhead at a perfectly-timed bald eagle and said, "when people came here, they were looking for independence. Not necessarily independence from the government, but yes, not necessarily independence from religion, but yes. They just wanted to be independent, period. They wanted to be left alone wanted to do their thing. That gave them a strength that's second to none. At one time, right here on this point on the side of the mountain, there were cornfields so they could feed their crops and feed their families." Farming on the side of a mountain "that takes determination and ingenuity.
The Common Wealth of Kentucky Project is Born.
I woke up on a padded bench inside a metal van, my body stiff. Big Agnes, my sleeping pad, was deflated and crumbled on the floor next to an open bag of tortilla chips and empty plastic wine glasses. The rotary spew of coffee from the Keurig sounded like bliss. Kelly sat my cup on the edge of the narrow Formica counter, unzipped the door as quietly as she could, and stepped out to the gravel parking lot, Casey Jones Distillery. She set her mug on a moonshine barrel, stretched her arms to the clear blue sky, and groaned. Jill was in the back, curled up, still asleep after tripping over the exploded duffle bag on her early morning trip to the toilet. We were three middle-aged women traveling western Kentucky in a sprinter van, and this was day two of our “Common Wealth of Kentucky” tour.
Painting Walls is the New Yoga
No doubt “becoming more mindful” is on many new year’s resolution lists. I love the word, “mindfulness.” When I think it or say it, it makes me feel better, like a better person even, more thoughtful, current, chill, accepting— yes, mindful. I am mindful. Wait. Am I? Are you?
Awkward-Ass Year
We, like everyone else in the world, toasted a goodbye to 2020 this week. Some people said goodbye to an awful year. I said goodbye to an awkward, two-right-footed slippers kind of year.
The Truth About the Herd
Thank God for Tik Tok. You won't find many Gen Xers who agree with me generally, but more specifically, how could we have survived the shutdown without the memes and stories we furiously forwarded to our friends and family? They engendered an ounce of levity during a freakishly "unprecedented time", and they connected us with others effortlessly. That connection was really, really important. That connection is the premise of this blog.
