Pitfalls of pronunciation

There are certain hallmarks of a true Appalachian accent, at least in El Cabrero's neck of the woods. One of these is the fact that we pronounce certain words alike, even though they are spelled differently. Examples are words like pen and pin and ten and tin, both of which are pronounced like the latter by any self respecting hillbilly.

I thought about that this weekend when I ran around to several stores in search of a winch to tighten a cable. It turns out that the same pronunciation thing applies to the words winch and wench. The possibilities astounded me. I must admit that I was tempted to run into crowded retail establishments and holler out, "For the love of God, where can a man find a decent we/winch in this state?"

I was only restrained by my uncommonly overdeveloped sense of propriety and deportment. Oh yeah, and of my unflagging respect of Appalachian womanhood.

UP AND RUNNING. Here's more on WV's newly established Office of Minority Affairs.

LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS. There was a good old-fashioned union rally in Charleston on behalf of coal miners who may lose retiree health care and pension benefits as a result of Patriot Coal's bankruptcy. I'd say there were 2000 or so people there, maybe more. I took pictures and would write more about it but I'm too tired at the moment. I'll think about that tomorrow. As Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day."

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

A win, a loss, a rant and such

I love a bill signing--especially when it's a good bill that people fought long and hard to pass. Monday was such a day. As pictured above, WV House Speaker Rick Thompson, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, and Senate President Jeff Kessler ceremonially signed a bill creating the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, which is charged to address issues of racial, ethnic and gender equity. It will be directed by Dr. Carolyn Stuart. The room was packed for the signing.

I spent a good chunk of the past two and a half years pushing for this and it was nice to see the day when the office was up and running. I especially liked seeing the above sign right across the hall from the Governor's Office. That was about as tangible as you can get.

A WEST VIRGINIA ORIGINAL. Many people in WV and beyond were shocked by the sudden death of Larry Gibson, a vocal and active opponent of mountaintop removal mining. He was absolutely fearless and relentless in pursuit of what he believed. Here's Ken Ward on his passing.

THE LATEST RANT. Here's an op-ed by yours truly on the state of working West Virginians.

ARPAD UPDATE. I'd like to thank those who sent messages of concern about the travails of our Great Pyrenees Arpad who is suffering from the after effects of a broken leg. The latest is that he is back at the vets for a day or two for observation.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Feeling good is optional

I have always felt that there is a lot to be learned from physical exertion. An example of that occurred to me after I started training for and running (or limping) in races again after knee surgery this summer.

Here is the life lesson I learned: there is absolutely no necessary connection between feeling good and doing OK. By that I mean that one can feel totally miserable and still meet or exceed goals. In one recent 5 mile race, my legs felt like broken dead sticks, my lungs burned and my feet hurt with every step. But I finished a few minutes ahead of my goal (though admittedly way behind most other people).

It would be nice to feel good when you're up against a challenge. It may even have happened to me at some point in the distant past, although I can't recall it. But it's not required. What is required is to keep going.

OPTIMISM, ANYONE? Paul Krugman seems to see sun shining through the economic clouds.

FEEDING THE TROLLS. Here's an op-ed by yours truly on why WV needs an office of minority affairs to address racial disparities.

AN UNFORTUNATE MEME: the welfare queen.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Mama-san

I've read and re-read Beowulf several times in recent months and still can't find the part where Grendel's mother looks like Angelina Jolie, as she did in the 2007 movie version. Say what you want about Ms. Jolie, but she is hardly the "monstrous hell-bride" described in the poem, although the original term is ambiguous in Anglo-Saxon.

In that poem, she doesn't show up until the night after Beowulf's fight with Grendel, in which he tears off the monster's arm and hangs it as a trophy in Heorot, the mead hall.

(I guess people had other ideas about interior decorating in those days.)

After the mortally wounded Grendel runs off to the haunted mere (lake or swamp) where he lives with Mom in an underwater chamber, there is much feasting, drinking, story-telling and gift giving among the humans. It never seems to occur to anyone that Grendel had any family members who might seek revenge. This is kind of ironic, since the feud-oriented raiding culture of the North Sea as depicted in the poem was all about avenging family members. I guess there is a double irony in that the family that seeks revenge here is that of Cain, which originated killing within the family.

Holy double parallelism, Batman!

His mother, unnamed in the poem, broods over this injury and the bad fate of the children of Cain

She had been forced down into fearful waters,
the cold depths, after Cain had killed
his father's son, felled his own
brother with a sword. Branded an outlaw,
marked by having murdered, he moved into the wilds,
shunned company and joy. And from Cain there sprang
misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel,
the banished and accursed....
...But now his smother
had sallied forth on a savage journey,
grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.

It's not uncommon for mothers in the animal kingdom to be fierce where their young is concerned and I guess that's also the case with monsters.

FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS won't create more jobs.

THIS GUY thinks so too.

SUIT UP. Massey Energy just got hit with more lawsuits in the wake of last year's Upper Big Branch mine disaster.

PASS IT. Here's an item about some worthwhile legislation in WV which would create an Office of Minority Affairs. If you live in WV, please consider contacting your senators in support of HB 2161.

ELEPHANTS can co-operate. We, however, seem to have some issues in that department.

NOTE: Due to having to hit the road at an ungodly hour again, this post was scheduled in advance. Well may the world go.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED