Happy birthday, West Virginia

I've used this poem before to celebrate the day, but it still seems to fit:

Appalachia
By Muriel Miller Dressler
I am Appalachia. In my veins
Runs fierce mountain pride; the hill-fed streams
Of passion; and, stranger, you don’t know me!
You’ve analyzed my every move–you still
Go away shaking your head. I remain
Enigmatic. How can you find rapport with me–
You, who never stood in the bowels of hell,
Never felt a mountain shake and open its jaws
To partake of human sacrifice?
You, who never stood on a high mountain
Watching the sun unwind its spiral rays:
Who never searched the glens for wild flowers,
Never picked mayapples or black walnuts; never ran
Wildly through the woods in pure delight,
Nor dangled your feet in a lazy creek?
You, who never danced to wild sweet notes,
Outpouring of nimble-fingered fiddlers;
Who never just “sat a spell,” on a porch,
Chewing and whittling; or hearing in pastime
The deep-throated bay of chasing hounds
And hunters shouting with joy, “He’s treed!”
You, who never once carried a coffin
To a family plot high up on a ridge
Because mountain folk know it’s best to lie
Where breezes from the hills whisper, “You’re home”;
You, who never saw from the valley that graves on a hill
Bring easement of pain to those below?
I tell you, stranger, hill folk know
What life is all about; they don’t need pills
To tranquilize the sorrow and joy of living.
I am Appalachia: and, stranger,
Though you’ve studied me, you still don’t know.

A day late and...

El Cabrero has been running around so much lately that I feel like a road kill in waiting. And the running isn't over yet. A lot of this week was spent on programs celebrating the African American contribution to West Virginia history. Ironically, I didn't make it to the state's official 150th birthday celebration yesterday. Or, to put it another way, I celebrated it by talking with around 200 WV kids about how we could make WV a better place. I guess that would count.

In that vein, here's a reflection on WV history by my editor at the Gazette, Dawn Miller, a great advocate as well as a great journalist and here's an article on one of my favorite WV historians, John Alexander Williams.

ONE FOR THE ROAD. Finally, here's a look at who would benefit by an increase in the minimum wage.

Now, it's once more unto the breach...

Happy 148, West Virginia!

Today is West Virginia Day, the anniversary of its formation as a separate state from Virginia in the midst of the Civil War on June 20, 1863.

On this special day, this poem seems to be a good fit:

Appalachia
By Muriel Miller Dressler

I am Appalachia. In my veins
Runs fierce mountain pride; the hill-fed streams
Of passion; and, stranger, you don’t know me!
You’ve analyzed my every move–you still
Go away shaking your head. I remain
Enigmatic. How can you find rapport with me–
You, who never stood in the bowels of hell,
Never felt a mountain shake and open its jaws
To partake of human sacrifice?
You, who never stood on a high mountain
Watching the sun unwind its spiral rays:
Who never searched the glens for wild flowers,
Never picked mayapples or black walnuts; never ran
Wildly through the woods in pure delight,
Nor dangled your feet in a lazy creek?
You, who never danced to wild sweet notes,
Outpouring of nimble-fingered fiddlers;
Who never just “sat a spell,” on a porch,
Chewing and whittling; or hearing in pastime
The deep-throated bay of chasing hounds
And hunters shouting with joy, “He’s treed!”
You, who never once carried a coffin
To a family plot high up on a ridge
Because mountain folk know it’s best to lie
Where breezes from the hills whisper, “You’re home”;
You, who never saw from the valley that graves on a hill
Bring easement of pain to those below?
I tell you, stranger, hill folk know
What life is all about; they don’t need pills
To tranquilize the sorrow and joy of living.
I am Appalachia: and, stranger,
Though you’ve studied me, you still don’t know.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, here's an article on how it happened.

THE CHOPPING BLOCK. Here's an op-ed by yours truly in defense of Medicaid.

YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT IT, NOW WATCH THE VIDEO. Just for fun, here's that Paul Revere history lesson from Sarah Palin.

URGENT SEA MONKEY UPDATE here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Father's Day

According to an old joke, Father's Day is the most confusing day of the year in El Cabrero's beloved state of West Virginia, which incidentally celebrates its birthday the same Sunday.

Be that as it may, I want to acknowledge my late father here. He was something of a philosopher. However, like the Spartans of old, he expressed his wisdom not in lengthy tomes but in brief aphorisms. These were generally of a lewd, anatomical and/or scatological nature. I am tempted to share some, but this is a G rated blog.

You'll just have to use your imagination.

Happy 147th, WV!