Good morning readers! I am sitting here in awe of nature. As you read, I am from a small mountain town in East TN. These mountains are the life blood of anyone who has been born here. There is an echo in the bone coming from the land and my heart. I cannot explain it for those who do not experience it beyond what I have. Be that as it may, spring is upon us. What I love is that the landscape changes so drastically. Just a few weeks ago, we had snow coming down, the land was barren with brown grass, and the trees were naked. Yep...naked! Now, the world has come alive. It is so miraculous and wonderful to see. I believe I have mentioned it before. One of the aspect I love about this area is the sheer amount of inspiration one can gain. So that's what I am going to talk about today.
I recently read a story about a West Virginia town where a small group of citizens held some photographers hostage because they were taking photos. The whole backing of this story seems completely vague. The citizen who started the ruckus seemed to believe that the photographers were taking photos of her children. When shown with the evidence that the photographer didn't take the photos, she continued to rant about stereotypes of documentaries and photographs to that area. Instead of bringing any positive thought toward our area, her actions and the action of the community paint us with the exact brush we hate - hateful, bigoted hicks who cannot see passed our own noses.
I live in a small Appalachia town just like these individuals. I see tons of tourists come and go. I have seen them stop and steal fruit off of trees and other such incidents. I have seen them stop in the middle of the road with no thought to traffic and take pictures. It is rude. It is uncalled for. But, I could never stand by the actions of those citizens of West Virginia. As a citizen and as an Appalachian American, I would never fault someone for being interested in our town, our nature, our home, or our people. It's part of who we are. We should be happy to share it.
I know. You are probably wondering what this has to do with poetry and why I went from talking about nature to West Virginia. Well...I can tell you. It has to do with sharing our "home" with someone who isn't from here. Home to me is the nature surrounding me. It is the people I share a community with. It is the family I spend holidays around. It is the history, the culture, and the lifestyle of each and every citizen in my area. Nature is just one part of that.
In the past few months, I have found that I have been inspired by not only nature but the people in which I grew up around and the history that paints the communities of Appalachia in such a horrible light. Yes, there is high amounts of poverty. Yes, there are high amounts of drug use. Yes, there are some people who barely have shoes to wear or food to put in their mouth. There are even people who exploit for gain. So when I am faced with a story like the one mentioned above, I am reminded of the broad brush we get painted with.
What is so strange is that when you take the word Appalachia out of the equation, you will see that those things happen in every place on earth. It can be happening in your own community. So when I look around my community and the Appalachia's, I am reminded of my history and my community. I see the negative things in life and hope for betterment of all. Just like you, and everyone else.
I recently read a story about a West Virginia town where a small group of citizens held some photographers hostage because they were taking photos. The whole backing of this story seems completely vague. The citizen who started the ruckus seemed to believe that the photographers were taking photos of her children. When shown with the evidence that the photographer didn't take the photos, she continued to rant about stereotypes of documentaries and photographs to that area. Instead of bringing any positive thought toward our area, her actions and the action of the community paint us with the exact brush we hate - hateful, bigoted hicks who cannot see passed our own noses.
I live in a small Appalachia town just like these individuals. I see tons of tourists come and go. I have seen them stop and steal fruit off of trees and other such incidents. I have seen them stop in the middle of the road with no thought to traffic and take pictures. It is rude. It is uncalled for. But, I could never stand by the actions of those citizens of West Virginia. As a citizen and as an Appalachian American, I would never fault someone for being interested in our town, our nature, our home, or our people. It's part of who we are. We should be happy to share it.
I know. You are probably wondering what this has to do with poetry and why I went from talking about nature to West Virginia. Well...I can tell you. It has to do with sharing our "home" with someone who isn't from here. Home to me is the nature surrounding me. It is the people I share a community with. It is the family I spend holidays around. It is the history, the culture, and the lifestyle of each and every citizen in my area. Nature is just one part of that.
In the past few months, I have found that I have been inspired by not only nature but the people in which I grew up around and the history that paints the communities of Appalachia in such a horrible light. Yes, there is high amounts of poverty. Yes, there are high amounts of drug use. Yes, there are some people who barely have shoes to wear or food to put in their mouth. There are even people who exploit for gain. So when I am faced with a story like the one mentioned above, I am reminded of the broad brush we get painted with.
What is so strange is that when you take the word Appalachia out of the equation, you will see that those things happen in every place on earth. It can be happening in your own community. So when I look around my community and the Appalachia's, I am reminded of my history and my community. I see the negative things in life and hope for betterment of all. Just like you, and everyone else.
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