"100 Years Of Appalachian Visions, 2nd Edition" Compiled by Bill Best

Once in a while, I stumble into a book which is exactly what I am looking and hoping for at the time and this is one of them.  It is even more interesting that I found this one and bought a copy at roughly the same time I located and bought two others which have been wonderful for both myself and many of the readers of this blog.  The first such book was Cratis Williams' "Tales From Sacred Wind: Coming of Age In Appalachia" which I have written about extensively in this blog and which has been greatly appreciated by a multitude of my readers.

I have also bought, very lightly perused, but not fully read, a wonderful book called "Decoration Day In The Mountains: Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians" by Alan Jabbour & Karen Singer Jabbour.  I will complete reading that one before I write about it.  But based on the reception for what I had to say about the Williams book, many of you will eagerly anticipate knowing more about the "Decoration Day..." book.  But right now, let's talk about another of the wonderful Appalachian books by my friend Bill Best, "100 Years of Appalachian Visions...".  

Bill Best edited, or compiled, this book more than twenty years ago and I had never heard of it until I strayed into it on a used book website and ordered it immediately. In a show of his genuine humility, Bill had never spoken to me about this book until I told him I had located a copy.  I had earlier read and written about more than one of Bill's other books which I have enjoyed greatly.  Bill is a friend of mine although we have not known each other very long at all and that is my loss.  But even though we have not known each other at length, I am proud to say that I wrote the "Afterword" for Bill's next book which will be released in a very limited edition before the month is out.  I will write about it also as soon as it is officially available for purchase.  But, to repeat myself, let's talk about this book, "100 Years Of Appalachian Visions", which is a compilation of short, but wonderful essays by native Appalachians, both famous and relatively unknown, about growing up in Appalachia, primarily in the twentieth century.  The book contains essays by numerous well known, even famous, Appalachian writers along side works by other individuals whose names were not known to me before I read the book.  Among the better known authors in this book are my friends and mentors Don West and Loyal Jones whose works are also accompanied by contributions from other famous Appalachians such as former Georgia Governor Zell Miller, Gurney Norman, James Gifford, Jim Wayne Miller, George Ella Lyon, Sidney Saylor Farr, Ron Eller, Jesse Stuart, Chuck Yeager,  and Wilma Dykeman.  There are a total of more than 55 essays in the book and every one of them is well worth reading.  

These essays are all personal epistles from a wide variety of native Appalachians from all around the region about the experience of growing up in Appalachia.  They are sometimes funny, sometimes painful, and always educational and worthy of your time and effort to read them.  They discuss the feelings many of us have felt when we traveled outside our homeland and found ourselves being "othered", made fun of, belittled, embarrassed, and mistreated because we spoke with that wonderful accent which is rooted in the British Isles of several centuries past or because we dressed a little quaintly, or because our apparent poverty was making an outsider uncomfortable.  These essays are all written by Appalachians who sought education, self-improvement, and a better life and most of these authors realized along the way that it was more valuable to them to become proud Appalachians rather than to change to suit the tastes of those who belittled and shamed them.  As I read this book, I was reminded of the occasion about 1969 when I was sent on a college exchange winter quarter to the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.  During my one month stay on the campus, a local student who lived in Cleveland invited me to come to his family home one weekend for dinner, which had always been supper to me.  I will never forget being introduced to his parents who were apparently fairly well off and lived in a home which was considerably larger than nearly every home I had ever seen in Knott County Kentucky.  We ate in a formal dining room and the parents probed me with dozens of questions just like those most of the authors in Bill's book and most of you native Appalachians have heard at some point in your lives somewhere in the north, northeast, southwest, or northwest when we left the region.  But the part of the entire affair which left a lifelong impression on me was the numerous times the family members would ask me to repeat some common word I had used in the conversation.  As I recall, there were a few occasions in which I was actually asked to spell what I had just said.  It was if they thought I spoke a foreign language and I was humiliated.  Somehow, I got through that meal and the remainder of the evening before I had to catch public transport back to the Oberlin campus which was the first time I was ever on public transport alone and was, of itself, another experience which I will always remember.  I also saw and ate my first bagel on the Oberlin campus during that winter quarter. The cafeteria style student dining areas on the campus were a far cry from Hunger Din at Alice Lloyd College where all students were assigned to a particular table with a faculty member and several other students and served family style much as we would have eaten in our own homes. 

But, just like most of the authors in Bill Best's wonderful collection, I got through the challenges of that trip to Oberlin, swore I would not change my accent, and also swore to learn how not to be embarrassed by being me, a native Appalachian who was seeking to gain education and self-improvement while maintaining an identity I knew was real, made me the person I was, and would carry me through all such challenges I ever met.  I hope all of you read this book, learn from it as I did, and choose to be a proud Appalachian. 

America, We Must Turn This Into Democratic Votes!

For nearly two weeks, we have seen some of the largest and generally most peaceful protests all over America in support of what I consider to be basic human rights for all members of American society including, African Americans, LGBTQI people, immigrants, and all minority groups in general.  We have seen several police officers charged with serious crimes up to and including murder involving blatant abuses of power in incidents which generally involved African America subjects but two officers have been charged with second degree assault in an incident involving their pushing and seriously injuring a 75 year old white man. We have also seen the current TREAONOUS occupant of the White House order potentially lethal force to be used against peaceful demonstrators so that he could use a church for a photo op without permission from  and against the wishes of the bishop who oversees it.  We have also seen TRAITOR Trump call for the use of active duty military against American citizens which, to my knowledge, has not been done since the Battle of Blair Mountain in Logan County West Virginia in 1921.  We have also seen the White House ringed with two miles of heavy duty, high wall fencing and razor wire.  In response to all these incidents, we have also seen nearly every city in America, no matter the size, staging peaceful protests in support of human rights and in response to the increasingly more tyrannical outbursts of TRAITOR Trump when he wasn't hiding in the concrete bunker below the White House.  There have even been demonstrations in tiny towns in some of the most conservative states in America.  All of this is great and has been productive of criminal charges against a few rogue police officers; some cities have seriously changed police policies regarding handling arrests and confrontations with citizens; several police chiefs and police forces have interacted very peacefully and positively with demonstrators;  and many public officials have spoken out against inhumane treatment of citizens by police officers. 

But all of this will have been in vain if the end result is anything less than a massive increase in voter registrations for the Democratic party, and unless those registrations are translated into votes in November 2020 which result in the winning of both the White House and Senate for Democrats.  Every demonstration in America should also be utilized as a point of entry to register as many Democratic voters as possible.  Every demonstration should have a designated group of people who are assisting unregistered citizens to register as Democrats and that group of people should also use the demonstrations to educated those unregistered citizens about the entire electoral process.  Every church and civic organization in America should also be working to register Democratic voters.  Every registered Democrat should we working individually to register as many voters as possible.  We should be holding events directed at teenagers to register them as soon as possible as Democrats and educating them about the electoral process.  We must win the White House, the US Senate, and as many governorships and other offices as possible in the next election and every other  election to follow.  Only if we have political control of both the White House and the state houses from sea to shining sea can we ensure that the progress which has been made in the last two weeks.  As an example, in Kentucky we were able to elect Andy Beshear to the governor's office in 2019 and yet allowed the rest of the statewide ticket with the exception of the lieutenant governor  to be won by Republicans.  That is unforgivable and has saddled Governor Beshear with an attorney general and a secretary of state who have both worked consistently to resist progress, disenfranchise voters, and impede progress in all areas of living in the state.  We cannot allow that to happen to Joe Biden when we elect him.  We cannot allow that to happen in another state house in America.  We must register every voter we can and we must ensure that they vote in all future elections for the entire Democratic ticket.  If we do not, everything that has happened for progress in the past two weeks will have been for naught. 

“Why, this far into the twenty-first century, are we once again talking about Fascism?  One reason, frankly, is Donald Trump.  If we think of Fascism as a wound from the past that had almost healed, putting Trump in the White House was like ripping off the bandage and picking at the scab.”  Madeleine Albright, “Fascism A Warning”, p. 5-6. 

A Cultural Encounter In The Middle Of The Covid Crisis

 

 

On Thursday, June4, 2020, I had an appointment in Lexington and my wife, Candice went with me.  I stopped, as I often do, on the way there to hike for an hour plus in Hood's Branch at Natural Bridge State Park.  Then we headed on to Lexington for my mid-afternoon appointment.  We have been absolutely religious about social distancing and complying with the Covid 19 guidelines and directives from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who is, in my opinion, the best governor in America; but, we had also discussed possibly going to eat lunch at one of our favorite ethnic restaurants because we like the setting, the food, the employees, and the owner. But, now that restrictions are loosening up a bit, and Kentucky has done such a good job of handling the situation under the strong, competent, decisive, and compassionate leadership of Governor Beshear, we had decided we would be willing to eat lunch in this restaurant.  That decision was influenced strongly by the fact that the room is large, open, well ventilated, clean, and run by an owner with common sense and professionalism.  

 

I am not using the name of the restaurant, the particular ethnicity of the food or the owner, or any other identifying data and you will understand that choice better a bit later in this post.  When we arrived, we decided that I would go into the restaurant first, appraise the situation, and make a decision if we would go through with the lunch in light of the fact that Candice has serious health issues and has been in a wheelchair for twenty years.  I got out of the van and as I was walking to the door I realized that the owner was still only serving pickup customers.  The particular food we like to eat in that restaurant is served very hot and Candice particularly likes their soup which is not made to be eaten in a vehicle by a person with mobility and dexterity issues.  As I approached the door, the owner came out to bring food to go to another customer.  I said something or other to effect of "I see you are only serving pickup" to which he replied in his heavily accented speech, "Yes, but I be open tomorrow for dine in.  You can come tomorrow."  I responded, "I live two hours away and I won't be here tomorrow" and started to leave when he recognized me and said, "If you want, I will open for you today.  You can come in."  I agreed to do it and told him I would be right back with my wife.  

 

When I returned from the vehicle pushing Candice in her wheelchair, the owner held the single door he was using open for us to enter and seated us at a table in the dining room which actually had three men ranging in age from probably early twenties to middle seventies who were all of the same ethnicity as the owner and all speaking their native language.  The dining room was all set up for the opening the next day with one row of table eliminated and all the other tables marked in alternating spots to honor social distancing.  There were multiple hand sanitizer stations and all the usual multi-use items and utensils had been removed from the tables.  The owner and one other employee were the only people working so there were five natives of the country in question speaking their native language and Candice and I speaking English.  The owner brought us a stack of paper napkins and served us our usual dishes.  As  he was rushing around covering two, or possibly three different positions, he managed to stop by our table, give us excellent service, and we shared some stories about our previous visits to his business and a story I often tell others about the first person I ever knew from his country.  We had a leisurely lunch which was excellent, had great conversation, and most of the feeling that we were being treated as special customers, regulars, aficionados  of the place.  He gave us the schedule of how he will be open in the future including the days he will be closed and then added, "if you come when I'm not open, knock on the door, I'm usually here and I will feed you if you show up when I'm closed."  

 

After I got home, I told a relative about the incident who agreed with me that it was a special and memorable treatment from a person who probably works more hours in a week than many do in a month; a man who is open, friendly, humorous, and caring; and a fine example of how much this country has and can, in the future, benefit from welcoming immigrants forever just as we always have.  

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Fascism In America, On Full Display

“Why, this far into the twenty-first century, are we once again talking about Fascism?  One reason, frankly, is Donald Trump.  If we think of Fascism as a wound from the past that had almost healed, putting Trump in the White House was like ripping off the bandage and picking at the scab.”  Madeleine Albright, “Fascism A Warning”, p. 5-6. 

The quotation above from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's excellent book, "Fascism A Warning" is is one of several quotes which have been on my official e-mail signature since about December 2018 when I read the book and reviewed it at the link above.  I recommend the book highly and suggest that everyone in America should read it.  Over the last year, and most especially in the last month, we have seen that quotation proven absolutely true.  It is a chilling warning which I knew from reading Albright's book, along with several others which I have written about on this blog.  On a daily basis since the Corona Virus outbreak began in America and the absolute ignorance and lack of any appropriate actions to prevent it by the TRAITOR Donald Trump have become apparent, he has steadily become more abrasive, abusive, tyrannical, and fascistic in his actions and his efforts to suppress constitutionally guaranteed free press, free speech, and the right to peaceful protest.  His criminality, ignorance, and willingness to commit any crime have been steadily increasing in their illegality and outright evil.  This is exactly what Secretary Albright was warning us about in her book.  

America is now at a crossroads in the life and future of the nation.  TRAITOR Trump must be removed from office and, sadly, it appears that he will not be removed before he can do further damage to the country, to the US Constitution, and to the basic freedoms which that Constitution guarantees.  His recent willingness to have peaceful protestors tear gassed in order to proceed down the street for a photo opportunity at a church the usage of which he had not sought or been given permission is an action worthy of many of the heroes of TRAITOR Trump: Adolph Hitler, Vladimir Putin, Benito Mussolini, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and every other tin horn dictator whom this domestic and international terrorist admires.  The Bishop in whose diocese the aforementioned church is located is publicly outraged at his crime and has said so very publicly both in television interviews and in the print media.  Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde had this to say in an article from CNN: 

"I am outraged. The President did not pray when he came to St. John's, nor as you just articulated, did he acknowledge the agony of our country right now," Budde told CNN's Anderson Cooper on "AC360."

"And in particular, that of the people of color in our nation, who wonder if anyone ever -- anyone in public power will ever acknowledge their sacred words. And who are rightfully demanding an end to 400 years of systemic racism and white supremacy in our country. And I just want the world to know, that we in the diocese of Washington, following Jesus and his way of love ... we distance ourselves from the incendiary language of this President. We follow someone who lived a life of nonviolence and sacrificial love." (Paul LeBlanc, CNN, June 2, 2020)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to struggle mightily to prevent himself from saying openly  what he really thinks about TRAITOR Trump and his criminal actions when questioned by a reporter.  He paused for nearly half a minute before answering, and was described as having "... opened his mouth, then shut it — twice. He softly groaned.  Finally, in a scene on Tuesday that has now spread wildly around the internet, Mr. Trudeau said: “We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States.” (Catherine Porter, New York Times, June 3, 2020)  It is significant that Prime Minister Trudeau also leads a country which is our closest neighbor and, until the insanity of TRAITOR Trump, one of our closest allies, and also a key member of the G7 economic coalition whose other most important member, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had just publicly forced TRAITOR Trump to cancel a meeting of the G7 which he had been scheduled to host in the United States.  Chancellor Merkel, who is arguably the most important world leader today, had handled her refusal in a highly diplomatic manner, without publicly blaming TRAITOR Trump's actions and deliberate inactions regarding the Cornona Virus for her refusal to attend the meeting.  It is also unstated in the media just how much consultation took place between Chancellor Merkel and the other leaders of the six foreign member nations.  But you can bet that since none of the other leaders made any public statements about their intentions to attend or not attend they had consulted and Merkel was issuing a statement with which they agreed.  

It is also significant that the Governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, had also just refused to bend to TRAITOR Trump's will and agree to rescind Covid 19 restrictions in the state so a Republican convention could be held with 50,000 attendees jammed into a coliseum in blatant disregard for a virus which has already killed more than 110,000 innocent American victims, most of whose lives could have been saved with strong, decisive, scientifically based interventions from the White  House in January and February 2020 after both the intelligence and scientific communities had warned TRAITOR Trump that the pandemic was coming and could destroy the country.  Governor Cooper had issued a statement that "...the people of North Carolina do not know what the status of COVID-19 will be in August, so planning for a scaled down convention with fewer people, social distancing and face coverings is a necessity.” (Ted Johnson, Deadline, June 2, 2020)  In his statement regarding Governor Cooper's insistence on protecting public health TRAITOR Trump attempted to make it appear that he had decided to withdraw the convention from North Carolina because Cooper had refused to cooperate with him.  But the decision was not his.  Governor Cooper was doing exactly what a real leader does in a crisis and protecting the people of his state, standing up to a rogue lunatic, and acting in the best interests of the entire nation.  

As we progress toward the November 3, 2020 election, and as the Corona Virus continues to kill innocent Americans, the insanity and criminality of TRAITOR Trump will become more and more apparent and dangerous.  We are headed into the the worst, most dangerous days for America since Pearl Harbor.  Those days will become even more dangerous as it becomes more and more apparent that Former Vice President Joe Biden will win the election unless Vladimir Putin and his hackers can pull off another miracle crime just as they did in 2016.  When Joe Biden wins the White House, we will enter 78 days between November 3, 2020, and Inauguration Day on January 20, 2021, in which the nation and the world will exist in rapidly increasing peril as this TRAITOR faces the fact that he will be removed from the scene of thousands of his crimes and will be investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for his TREASON.  

Banner and Photo by Jack D. Terry