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Re: What is Appalachian Language Anyways? (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
Write a review Sandra and while you're at it.......get a life!
ddustyrose
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Jun 09 '08
3:35 pm PDT
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What is Appalachian Language Anyways? (Reply to this comment)
by sandra_quinn
ddustyrose incorrectly attributed a couple of paragraphs from my copyrighted essay "What Is Appalachian Language Anyways?" to a coal baron who died in 1896. My essay can be read in its entirety from this link from where I first
published my writings on my Athens county Ohio History and Genealogy website:
210062519/www.rootsweb.com/~ohathens/Appalachianlanguage.htm
And now this error of Mr. Buchtel authoring my written work is now being perpetuated over and over on the internet on blogs about Appalachia.
As an educator I wrote those paragraphs concerning my Appalachian Language Experience as an adult that has faced many prejudices within the job market because of my Appalachian Language assimilation.
I am very proud of my heritage and language and am trying to educate the younger generations growing up in my home area about their history and why they may be facing prejudice against their language difference.
Appalachian Language and Culture is not taught to pupils in school and except for a brief lesson on the industrial age are not taught about the history of the community in which they were raised.
The coal mines no longer exist in the area, nor are there any positive signs that they existed yet children are growing up within a culture of language assimilation which directly resulted from the migrations of many men from many European countries to a small isolated area, which the resulting languagemay in turn cause difficulty for the child when trying to get work as an adult because of prejudice.
I wrote the paragraphs concerning the words commonly used in SE Ohio today such as woish, mater, tater, which appear in ddustyrose's blog statement which she attributes to John R. Buchtel, which I wrote purposefully, with great feeling and attitude about how I feel about my language assimilation. Those paragraphs were obviously written by me and not the writings of an 18th century coal baron.
I did not give anyone permission to use my copyrighted writings in ddustyrose's blog and if anyone is interested more in reading my works they should go to the link listed above and feel free to contact me.
Sandra Quinn
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Jun 08 '08
4:48 am PDT
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Re: Very... (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
You're welcome Lisa!
Thanks for the r/r/c. :)
Dusty
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Feb 03 '06
4:27 pm PST
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Very... (Reply to this comment)
by Lisa_J
Very nicely presented. Thanks for taking the time to share.
Lisa
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Feb 02 '06
11:49 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by oldcomixfan
That cheap sugar-drenched swill fills the belly and even though I don't need to, I recently switched to Sam's Choice when buying Cola. I am not above my raising. Sam's Cola's are fine by me.
It's just about the most dangerous beverage out there. The name of the game is to kill off the people before they reach retirement age. The ingredients lists on all that stuff is downright scary. "Sam's Choice colas are fine by me." Soylent colas are made out of...PHENYLALANINE!
Some parts of the Ozarks may be fine economically. Try going the backroads and have a look-see there
Done and done. All I saw were chicken houses full of thousands of chickens. The poultry industry has totally replaced mining. We also have large deposits of natural gas plus a busy timber industry. I take it Tennessee and the rest do not except for mines?
Pass some of this alone to other people in need
Most of it is state funded. Some is federal, I believe. Bugging the politicians with petitions sounds like a good idea. I would suggest providing funds for relocation to where the jobs are easier to get to. But if people become rooted due to sentimentality, what do you do?
Hillbilly girls. HILLBILLY GIRLS! Thanks
Yet you're proud of it. It's the hills. They sing like billy goats. And they're female. It's a very ergonomical word.
and we DO NOT get FREE health care in our state (well, you do if you're in prison
Oh, that is so messed up. What kind of hidden message is that for the under-privileged? Wow. All those tax dollars being generated by Big Tobacco IN A STATE THAT IS ONE OF THE PRIME PRODUCERS. I thought all those tax dollars was for going towards health care of the masses. Hmph.
You're right, pride does not pay the bills! So, you can make a "donation" to earn money so a "user" will come up clean yet disparage someone who has live on "cheap sugar-drenched swill along with the cases of Sam's Choice colas?" Come on.....give me a break
My nobler rationality at the time was circumventing a process that is technically unconstitutional. Yes, I am an evil Capitalist. Wanna buy some guns?
There aren't that many fat Appalachian's--unless their belly is distended due to lack of food. Yes, there are some overweight paople living in these "pockets." No, it's not good for them. They are just "fortunate" enough to have lard in their home to cook with. The majority can't afford "health" food.
Lard in their homes to cook what? Lard pies? The only real health food is the stuff they could be growing out of that soil they are so attached to. Is it hard to grow food there for some reason I don't know about? Poor soil? Not enough rain?
And how do you stop them from arriving with no protection available?
You don't. Hence the problem of starving children. The men are just as much to blame. It's their choice to perpetuate the cycle before figuring out a solution. Some people abstain from having children until they're confident they can support them adequately.
Also, for most women, there's a strong instinct to bear children, to be a mother. Who are we to say she can't?
No one is to say they can't. But if giving birth means starvation, then it's time for reason to overcome instinct until the time is right.
What right do we have to play God?
Hmmmmm. Building a quantum computer or dabbling with stem cells is "playing God", but giving birth that guarantees misery isn't?
I'm sorry my review on poverty in Appalachia upset you so much--
I'm the one who did all the upsetting.
it was not my intent to irritate anyone with it.
Maybe you should irritate some key people in office with it. Irritation can also be a good thing, kind of like being a Hillbilly. Eh?.
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Jan 20 '06
8:29 pm PST
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Link To Forum (Reply to this comment)
by AinsleyJo
I've just put up a message forum at Writing.com. Here's the link to it:
http://www2.Writing.Com/main/forums/item_id/1060245?rfrid=ainsleyjo
Not sure how long it will take to get noticed, but I have the feeling that, once it starts up, it will take off.
Write On!
AJ :-)
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Jan 20 '06
1:37 am PST
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Re: Wow again (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
I agree...more people need to be made aware of how destitute some of the Appalachian regions are.
I don't think most who know exactly just how destitute the region is. It really is so very sad how bad it is there.
Well I know you mentioned in your write up:
1) Dilapidated housing = I mean this means literal shacks with cardboard and newspaper stuffing the walls.
In some cases, yes, this is exactly the housing conditions some people do live in. In the farthest rural areas, there are still old log cabins with no central heating and no running water. Read up on Dolly Parton and the poverty she came from...or Loretta Lynn...there are many others and those that didn't make it out of poverty are still living in it.
It really is just really bad.
I agree and once you start looking into the Appalachian poverty, you're appalled that something hasn't been done, something more, to give the people who want a chance (a helping hand), a way out. For various reasons, they quit school...and here I want to say don't jump to the conclusion they ALL quit because they hated school or were too lazy to go...some of these kids lived with grandparents who were elderly and someone had to get a job even if it was in the fields (cutting tobacco or bailing hay or just whatever they could get) in order to bring home "a little" money.
Also, a lot of kids quit in order to get a job in the coal mines (the early years--which meant they lost out on an education) because their father was sick with black lung and unable to work. That kid goes in the mine, the very mine that was killing his father, in order to help support his family, and since that's all he knows, he stays there until the day comes when he's too sick to work...so who goes in the mine after him? His kids of course (boys). It's a cycle. Today, things are changing in the mines but it's still a dangerous job but it's the only job available to these mountain people--people who cannot leave the mountain--some people become part of their valleys and hills and to transplant them is impossible.
I'm all for helping other countries, but when I see our "own" being left behind, kicked aside, living in poverty (the poor WANT to work, they want to pay their own way, have decent housing, an education--they have the same desire to succeed as everyone else does), I find it shameful our government thinks more of other countries kids than they do their own. Our kids are our future.
This issue bothers me too. When we can find resources to help other countries and this “dirt†right here in America is brushed under the rug. Many people don’t even know it exist.
Or they prefer to turn a blind eye. Out of sight, out of mind. There's so many other things going on in the world--these stories take priority--and they are big stories, but we need to also keep an eye on our own HERE AT HOME.
To go over some of your other comment:
How terrible, but then how marvelous that he was still able to farm the land at his age. To be a farmer is hard work and one that was necessary (in years past) if food was to be put on the table. People had to raise their own meat and vegetables--and if anyone thinks taking care of a garden and canning their produce was easy, they've never tried it.
For my Great Granddaddy it was a means for survival. He was a very resourceful man who started out in a one room home he built in WV in just straight out poverty.
He had to be in order to survive. He had grit and backbone--and probably great respect for hard work.
My Grandma says it was very difficult to survive as a little girl.
Yeah, I'm sure it was. She's the one you need to talk to--get her story and write it down. Take her memories and put them on paper--hand them down to future generations.
He had family in Indiana so he moved his smallish -probably 4 or 5 kids at that time- family to Rensselaer, Indiana where he made a home and raised his 13 children slowly built up a large farming "business" which later included hogs.
It was a very thriving business well into the 1980's until one of his sons ran it into the ground after his death. Sad but such is life.
Raising hogs is a smelly business. :) We've raised a few ourselves (my grandparents had to do it, my parents did it in the early years..50's and 60's). My husband and I tried it a couple of summers--it wasn't easy to load the pigs to take them to slaughter but the meat was certainly welcome in the winter months.
[Flash back: I have childhood memories of climbing in the hog pin to see the baby piggies and being nearly killed by Momma pig and barely making it out of the pin alive with my Brother! Boy was that fun!]
Don't mess with Mama pig! She's ruthless. :) Reminds me of this person my parents knew. Everyone knows everyone in a small community. You may not be friends, but you know who they are. Anyway, it would seem she got a little ticked at her husband so she did away with him. The question was...what to do with his body? That was easy enough to solve...just throw him in the pig pen and let the pigs have him. She did and they did. Yeah, she went to prison.
This is probably a stupid question, but what "native tongue" are you referring to when you said he would sing to you?
My GrandDad was part Native American I'm told my personal ancestors are Sioux (Lakota) and that my Great Great Grandparents where Native American and Scottish from my Grandma's side and my Paternal Grandfathers parents immigrated here from Scotland. I suppose since my Surname is Scottish I've always just claimed that as my heritage yanno? But I do have some Native American in me.
My Great Granddads sister lived in Nebraska at a reservation for Sioux. I have some cool pictures of her with Granddad she looks more "Indian" and kept, like, a feather in her hair and braids and stuff. She was cool.
Anyway Granddaddy sang to me in Native Sioux...not that I understood him.
I just remember asking him what he was singing about once and he said "About the trees" that's all I remember really I was only 6 he could'a been speaking latin for all I know :)
A lot of people from Scotland settled in east TN which is where we retained a lot of our "old" sayings. I have (or had) a Scottish friend and it was through her I found out where so many of our words and phrases came from.
How absolutely cool that you have pictures of your Native American ancestors who were Indians and she wore a feather in her hair! Those are real treasures and you're very lucky. I have a couple of pictures of my grandmother who was Cherokee Indian. Her name was Little Bird but she was adopted by a white family and they changed her name to Lucy Belle. You can see the Indian in her when looking at these pictures.
Ok I think this is the longest comment I have ever EVVVER written.
I hear ya on that...I've had more comments on this piece than any other (I may have offended one member). It's been very nice to exchange and share our thoughts and part of our own personal history.
Take care.
Hugs,
Dusty
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Jan 19 '06
8:00 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: I like all of those homespun shows--including HeeHaw! (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
You've done an excellent job of giving yet another voice to this problem.
America needs a lot of voices to speak up for these people. As time goes by, despair is just a part of their lives as they see no future for themselves and very little for their children.
If you'll remember some of your Civil War history in school, you'll remember the many years of reconstruction the southern states went through. Men came back from the war with missing limbs and no way of earning a living--families to take care of and their children were victims of something they didn't understand. Taxation skyrocketed, violence erupted, and the aid to rebuild was ever so slow in coming.
Of course, new laws had to be written but they weren't always successful. How many years does it take to recover from such a war? If memory serves me right, this war ended in 1864--it wasn't until the 1900's before a gradual change started.
Add the fall of Wall Street to put the economy back down in the ditches.
Another devastation to the whole country especially the poor...well, they were use to poverty, some weren't.
Many parts of America were able to rebuild and it was onward and upward. A large portion of American still hadn't recovered from the past. The younger generation of this era were offered a way out through government funded programs and those that could, grabbed those offers and moved out of poverty.
Some couldn't do it. Some were afraid. Some were too weary in spirit. Some were just plain old left behind. Unknown reasons. Whatever--if they had a piece of land that was debt free, they had a roof over their head and they could at least try and produce enough food off their land--if the soil was good--to keep total starvation at bay. Some had to sell their produce though in order to pay their taxes in order to keep their land.
There were also the bums who did nothing but these are not the people I'm talking about--
Mark, his family, and several of his friends have become victims of this kind of bull, so I am *SO* aware of this sad case of affairs.
The hardest thing in the world is to open a closed mind.
We ought to have a Tennessee W/O so that different people who are familiar with this problem can give their thoughts on it.
A WO would be great but not just on TN as we're not the hardest hit of the Appalachian's. Yes, our state does have some poverty pockets which needs help badly but some of the worst cases are in other states. One of our big issues right now is health care--our state eliminated TennCare--so we have people uninsured, SICK, and no way of getting help. As I mentioned earlier "they're dead men walking."
We can't take care of OUR sick citizens, but we can provide aid for other countries.
I'm getting an idea re: something I can do at another place where I write where they have message forums.
Get one of those message forums going, and the politicians might start squirming a little (or a lot)!
Well now, the politician's may squirm but when aid IS sent (in whatever form), most of it winds up in their pocket.
Will make a link to this piece over there! Keep me posted on how it goes. :)
Hugs,
Dusty
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Jan 19 '06
7:13 pm PST
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Wow again (Reply to this comment)
by misc_el
Hi Dusty,
You wrote:
I agree...more people need to be made aware of how destitute some of the Appalachian regions are.
I don't think most who know exactly just how destitute the region is. It really is so very sad how bad it is there.
Well I know you mentioned in your write up:
1) Dilapidated housing = I mean this means literal shacks with cardboard and newspaper stuffing the walls.
It really is just really bad.
I'm all for helping other countries, but when I see our "own" being left behind, kicked aside, living in poverty (the poor WANT to work, they want to pay their own way, have decent housing, an education--they have the same desire to succeed as everyone else does), I find it shameful our government thinks more of other countries kids than they do their own. Our kids are our future.
This issue bothers me too. When we can find resources to help other countries and this “dirt” right here in America is brushed under the rug. Many people don’t even know it exist.
To go over some of your other comment:
How terrible, but then how marvelous that he was still able to farm the land at his age. To be a farmer is hard work and one that was necessary (in years past) if food was to be put on the table. People had to raise their own meat and vegetables--and if anyone thinks taking care of a garden and canning their produce was easy, they've never tried it.
For my Great Granddaddy it was a means for survival. He was a very resourceful man who started out in a one room home he built in WV in just straight out poverty.
My Grandma says it was very difficult to survive as a little girl.
He had family in Indiana so he moved his smallish -probably 4 or 5 kids at that time- family to Rensselaer, Indiana where he made a home and raised his 13 children slowly built up a large farming "business" which later included hogs.
It was a very thriving business well into the 1980's until one of his sons ran it into the ground after his death. Sad but such is life.
[Flash back: I have childhood memories of climbing in the hog pin to see the baby piggies and being nearly killed by Momma pig and barely making it out of the pin alive with my Brother! Boy was that fun!]
This is probably a stupid question, but what "native tongue" are you referring to when you said he would sing to you?
My GrandDad was part Native American I'm told my personal ancestors are Sioux (Lakota) and that my Great Great Grandparents where Native American and Scottish from my Grandma's side and my Paternal Grandfathers parents immigrated here from Scotland. I suppose since my Surname is Scottish I've always just claimed that as my heritage yanno? But I do have some Native American in me.
My Great Granddads sister lived in Nebraska at a reservation for Sioux. I have some cool pictures of her with Granddad she looks more "Indian" and kept, like, a feather in her hair and braids and stuff. She was cool.
Anyway Granddaddy sang to me in Native Sioux...not that I understood him.
I just remember asking him what he was singing about once and he said "About the trees" that's all I remember really I was only 6 he could'a been speaking latin for all I know :)
Ok I think this is the longest comment I have ever EVVVER written.
XOXO
Elaine
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Jan 19 '06
3:56 pm PST
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Re: Re: I like all of those homespun shows--including HeeHaw! (Reply to this comment)
by AinsleyJo
You've done an excellent job of giving yet another voice to this problem.
Mark, his family, and several of his friends have become victims of this kind of bull, so I am *SO* aware of this sad case of affairs.
We ought to have a Tennessee W/O so that different people who are familiar with this problem can give their thoughts on it.
I'm getting an idea re: something I can do at another place where I write where they have message forums.
Get one of those message forums going, and the politicians might start squirming a little (or a lot)!
Will make a link to this piece over there!
Write On!
AJ :-)
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Jan 19 '06
11:27 am PST
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Re: I like all of those homespun shows--including HeeHaw! (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
Some of the nicest people I know are po-folks from Tennessee. I know a few of these "po" folks too and they honor me by being good friends. Rocky Top
You'll always be
Home Sweet Home to Me
Good old Rocky Top
Rocky Top Tennessee *grin*
To me, it seems that the main problems down that way have to do with the so-called privileged people who are the "ins" at this time when it comes to holding office.
You're right and the "ins" love it that way.
Their political decisions have really messed up living in the Volunteer State--even more so now than it's ever been.
They eliminated TennCare so we have a lot of "dead men walking." It was totally mismanaged, people took advantage of it, abused it, and the state could no longer afford to keep it.
Don't even get me started...LOL, I hear you.
Thanks for writing this. It's a clue for the clueless, if they want to take it and work with it! The clueless can't see beyond their own noses. Nothing will ever be done for the Appalachian "needy" people. What does come their way is begrudgingly trickled down and only puts a small bandaid on a big sore. I think you understood what I was trying to say. Thanks AJ!
Write On!
AJ :-)
Here it is going on 2AM and I wanted to be in bed earlier......I'm gonna be in dire need of an early night tomorrow night!
Hugs,
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
11:43 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
On a serious note, the rotten teeth isn't necessarily from chewing tobacco. Dental hygiene is not top priority when struggling to feed and clothe your children--no dental insurance to help either. Did you know inmates in a prison receive better dental care than a child of poverty? Someone who has committed a crime receives health care over an innocent child.
Oh come on. A toothbrush and paste at their cheapest is under a buck at Wallyworld and should last at least a month. You gotta get that buck in order to buy it and it's not going to fly in the front door. My intent in writing about the poverty in Appalachia pertained to certain "pockets" within this region. You obviously have never came to these areas and saw the meaning of true poverty. There are decent, GOOD people who cannot help themselves--the people who suffer the most are the young and the old. The young should not be penalized for being born. The old should not be penalized because they cannot afford decent health care, healthy food, and a decent roof over their head. They neither ask for nor WANT charity. The old suck their gut in and "make do." Sure its not just simple laziness and/or what food they do get is cheap sugar-drenched swill along with the cases of Sam's Choice colas? Yes, there are some lazy people out there who do "work" the system. These are the rotten apples that every state has...not just the Appalachian south. That cheap sugar-drenched swill fills the belly and even though I don't need to, I recently switched to Sam's Choice when buying Cola. I am not above my raising. Sam's Cola's are fine by me. Good grief. Someone who went to W. Va. to investigate a job prospect once told me the Ozarks was a step up and much richer compared to Appalachia. Some parts of the Ozarks may be fine economically. Try going the backroads and have a look-see there. Over here, poverty along with a horde of children guarantees checks in the mail of all kinds and qualification for WIC and job-training programs in addition to major tax breaks plus medical and dental services. Pass some of this alone to other people in need. Sheesh, there's no less than three or four dental offices within ten miles of here. In a strange way, it almost pays to be poor and sexually irresponsible/ignorant. It's pathetic when hillbilly girls Hillbilly girls. HILLBILLY GIRLS! Thanks. figure dropping out from school is cool for to make it easier to do drugs {so much extra time to chase after pot and meth dealers!} and have a kid so they can get those checks and hopefully child support for the next 18 years from the idiot{s} who fell for the plot{s}. Yeah, these are the ones who do work the system and need to be stopped--the question is "how?" Usually, though, the idiots bug out across the state line to Oklahoma to build chicken houses for corrupt and devious bosses and in order to avoid jail. The state authorities have been cracking down on such ploys with cooperation from surrounding states as of the last few years. It was that bad. There are also entire housing sub-divisions set aside for deadbeats. with rent around 0 to 30 dollars a month, These people live in a more urban area (I'm guessing--you didn't say). It sounds like the state you live in has social-economic problems that need addressing--just as the poor Appalachian's do. The poor have to work so hard making a living they don't have time to get rich. There aren't, to my knowledge, high paying jobs in the "pockets" I was referring to. If you're lucky to have a job, you make minimum wage. As for insurance....what insurance? There isn't any and we DO NOT get FREE health care in our state (well, you do if you're in prison) that are quite nice, actually, and make excellent meth labs. Unfortunately, it's not a very safe place for those who genuinely qualify for help. The genuinely needy are the people I'm talking about. We all know about the meth labs, the drugs, the laziness, the person who works the system to their advantage. I only wanted to bring the plight of how there is too much poverty in the Appalachia's. Check out the link I left at the end of this review. Read it. To judge something you're not familiar with is doing an injustice to people, families, you don't understand.
But let me tell you, if those social programs or plethora of McJobs involve regular urinalysis, then forget it. They love their meth that much. Did you know there's a hidden sub-industry for providing clean urine to stoners and tweakers at up to 50 bucks a pop? I've heard something about this but don't know enough about it to make a comment Believer it or not, my whiz has made me more than a few bucks back in the day, and is as pure as the driven yellow snow. For me, the glass is always half full. And pride does not pay the bills, unfortunately. You're right, pride does not pay the bills! So, you can make a "donation" to earn money so a "user" will come up clean yet disparage someone who has live on "cheap sugar-drenched swill along with the cases of Sam's Choice colas?" Come on.....give me a break.
Let me end with a question based on a comment repeated often by Bill Maher:
Why does America have the fattest poor people in the world? There aren't that many fat Appalachian's--unless their belly is distended due to lack of food. Yes, there are some overweight paople living in these "pockets." No, it's not good for them. They are just "fortunate" enough to have lard in their home to cook with. The majority can't afford "health" food.
The Appalachian's have progressed but not enough..there are still deep pockets of poverty needing aid. The men are proud, or stupid, depending on how you look at it...it's the women who file for food stamps to feed her children
No one forced her to have children. And how do you stop them from arriving with no protection available? Also, for most women, there's a strong instinct to bear children, to be a mother. Who are we to say she can't? What right do we have to play God? It's not like the guvment hands out medals to those who help repopulate the Reich for more cannon fodder. Oh wait, maybe they do? Remember, "Aim High", "Be an Army of one", "The few, the proud", and "It's not just a crappy job down in the bilge, it's an adventure!". Thank God for dishonest recruiters and deep geographical poverty pockets. Eh?
Hey, I like your term "snowbillies!" Was that used in the movie Fargo? It's been ages since I saw it--and frankly, once was more than enough. If memory serves me correct (it's been known to fail me more often than I'd like), it wasn't a movie I enjoyed
I laughed my head off. And don't forget the hilarious hicks of the upper Nor'east, too, a la The Bob Newhart Show. Frikken brilliant. What a p***** (my content filters would not let me post this so I changed the word around). I really wouldn't know.
I'm sorry my review on poverty in Appalachia upset you so much--it was not my intent to irritate anyone with it.
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
11:24 pm PST
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Re: That was a really interesting and enlightening read (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
A friend of mine is part Cherokee and was born in TN. I think Tenn is gonna change in the near future. People farther south are looking for new places to live and when I ask someone where they plan to go from Florida, Tenn is always mentioned as an option. Maybe with the influx of transplants things will change for the better as far as the economy goes.
A lot of people settle in TN. Sometimes you'll ask them why and usually the #1 answer is, "to get back to the basic's." We do have new factories being built (Saturn in Spring Hill was a huge boost). TN is not as hard hit as far as Appalachia goes (we still have our pockets though)...some of the other southern states are in worse shape. We need politician's who "care" about the people and not with just lining their pockets. We vote them in though (the choice of candidates are limited)....with a lot of hope to have that hope dashed. Typical, huh?
Hugs,
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
9:54 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by oldcomixfan
On a serious note, the rotten teeth isn't necessarily from chewing tobacco. Dental hygiene is not top priority when struggling to feed and clothe your children--no dental insurance to help either. Did you know inmates in a prison receive better dental care than a child of poverty? Someone who has committed a crime receives health care over an innocent child.
Oh come on. A toothbrush and paste at their cheapest is under a buck at Wallyworld and should last at least a month. Sure its not just simple laziness and/or what food they do get is cheap sugar-drenched swill along with the cases of Sam's Choice colas? Good grief. Someone who went to W. Va. to investigate a job prospect once told me the Ozarks was a step up and much richer compared to Appalachia. Over here, poverty along with a horde of children guarantees checks in the mail of all kinds and qualification for WIC and job-training programs in addition to major tax breaks plus medical and dental services. Sheesh, there's no less than three or four dental offices within ten miles of here. In a strange way, it almost pays to be poor and sexually irresponsible/ignorant. It's pathetic when hillbilly girls figure dropping out from school is cool for to make it easier to do drugs {so much extra time to chase after pot and meth dealers!} and have a kid so they can get those checks and hopefully child support for the next 18 years from the idiot{s} who fell for the plot{s}. Usually, though, the idiots bug out across the state line to Oklahoma to build chicken houses for corrupt and devious bosses and in order to avoid jail. The state authorities have been cracking down on such ploys with cooperation from surrounding states as of the last few years. It was that bad. There are also entire housing sub-divisions set aside for deadbeats. with rent around 0 to 30 dollars a month, that are quite nice, actually, and make excellent meth labs. Unfortunately, it's not a very safe place for those who genuinely qualify for help.
But let me tell you, if those social programs or plethora of McJobs involve regular urinalysis, then forget it. They love their meth that much. Did you know there's a hidden sub-industry for providing clean urine to stoners and tweakers at up to 50 bucks a pop? Believer it or not, my whiz has made me more than a few bucks back in the day, and is as pure as the driven yellow snow. For me, the glass is always half full. And pride does not pay the bills, unfortunately.
Let me end with a question based on a comment repeated often by Bill Maher:
Why does America have the fattest poor people in the world?
The Appalachian's have progressed but not enough..there are still deep pockets of poverty needing aid. The men are proud, or stupid, depending on how you look at it...it's the women who file for food stamps to feed her children
No one forced her to have children. It's not like the guvment hands out medals to those who help repopulate the Reich for more cannon fodder. Oh wait, maybe they do? Remember, "Aim High", "Be an Army of one", "The few, the proud", and "It's not just a crappy job down in the bilge, it's an adventure!". Thank God for dishonest recruiters and deep geographical poverty pockets. Eh?
Hey, I like your term "snowbillies!" Was that used in the movie Fargo? It's been ages since I saw it--and frankly, once was more than enough. If memory serves me correct (it's been known to fail me more often than I'd like), it wasn't a movie I enjoyed
I laughed my head off. And don't forget the hilarious hicks of the upper Nor'east, too, a la The Bob Newhart Show. Frikken brilliant. What a pissah!
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Jan 18 '06
9:20 pm PST
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I like all of those homespun shows--including HeeHaw! (Reply to this comment)
by AinsleyJo
Some of the nicest people I know are po-folks from Tennessee.
To me, it seems that the main problems down that way have to do with the so-called privileged people who are the "ins" at this time when it comes to holding office.
Their political decisions have really messed up living in the Volunteer State--even more so now than it's ever been.
Don't even get me started...
Thanks for writing this. It's a clue for the clueless, if they want to take it and work with it!
Write On!
AJ :-)
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Jan 18 '06
7:46 pm PST
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That was a really interesting and enlightening read (Reply to this comment)
by staysee
A friend of mine is part Cherokee and was born in TN. I think Tenn is gonna change in the near future. People farther south are looking for new places to live and when I ask someone where they plan to go from Florida, Tenn is always mentioned as an option. Maybe with the influx of transplants things will change for the better as far as the economy goes.
Stace
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Jan 18 '06
5:50 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
The rotten teeth are usually a side effect of chewing tobacco. The red necks are a result of people without adequate skin pigmentation to protect their bare necks from the harsh sun while harvesting tobacco - whose ancestors evolved on a soggy green island at much higher latitudes for thousands of years and should of stayed put and left the rest of the world alone in my opinion. The lower latitudes are for dark skins only {and growing tobacco}.
Interesting assessment! :)
On a serious note, the rotten teeth isn't necessarily from chewing tobacco. Dental hygiene is not top priority when struggling to feed and clothe your children--no dental insurance to help either. Did you know inmates in a prison receive better dental care than a child of poverty? Someone who has committed a crime receives health care over an innocent child.
The Appalachian's have progressed but not enough..there are still deep pockets of poverty needing aid. The men are proud, or stupid, depending on how you look at it...it's the women who file for food stamps to feed her children.
And then along came a movie named Fargo exposing the ugly truth about the rather dull northern "snowbillies" of the hinterlands. Are there such things as 33rd degree rednecks, I wonder? You know, kind of like the Freemasons or something?
Hey, I like your term "snowbillies!" Was that used in the movie Fargo? It's been ages since I saw it--and frankly, once was more than enough. If memory serves me correct (it's been known to fail me more often than I'd like), it wasn't a movie I enjoyed.
Don Knotts is a genius. He and my father were both in uniform and stationed out in California during WW2. He could put the entire barracks in stitches with no effort. He's definitely a Jew and a master of the trade.
How cool! My uncle by marriage played football at college with the actor who played the Sargeant in GOMER PYLE--if that made sense--and this is one of those times when my memory has failed me because I can't think of his name! ARRGGHH! I don't think this guy was nearly as smart as Don Knotts was. :)
I no longer consider this nation "home". My fellow countrymen are staring to really get on my nerves lately. Belize is where I belong. It gently calls for me on the Southern breezes through the droopy cyprus trees. "Beliiiiiiiize Beliiiiiiize". Actually, there are no cyprus trees up here. And I hear Belize is really hot and kind of sucks.
I hear ya! I was in Scotland and Tenerife this past summer and this American received a rather "cool" welcome! Brrr. Tennessee is hot and humid in the summer. You can fry eggs on the side walk!
Yes. Southern France to southern Louisiana. Southern Germany. Southern Israel. Southern Ohio. And maybe southern North Carolina for one Cherokee who didn't quite make it all the way to southern Oklahoma, but I'm quite sure he's been to Heaven{er}. Oh, and one from South Bronx! They, like me, were all geographical-environmental bigots.
LOL. I think we're all geographical-environmental mutts! We meet, mix, and produce a combo, which is not so bad.
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
5:35 pm PST
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Re: yup (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
Hi dusty,
Nice job. A worthy read.
Thank you, Gary. I had to cut a lot out..it's a long story! :)
I appreciate the r/r/c.
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
5:03 pm PST
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Re: UT MORAH TOVA....... (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
and slowly I will learn ---about complicated subjects...little by little.
Todah Lou. Ma shlomech? Unny besayder. Utta gever chuchumm.
Little by little, I will also learn. It takes a lot of savlanoot.
Lehit-ra-ot.
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
4:58 pm PST
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Re: Wow again (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
What a wonderful piece and thank you for writing it. My Grand Mother was Born and raised in West Virginia (appalachia).
WV is a gorgeous state! There's a lot of history that goes back to the time when the Virginia's were united. It's economic background was worse than TN--not sure how it rates now, but without the coal mines, it would be lost. My oldest sister lives in VA and while traveling in that area, you could feel the past of America's earlier years.
I was very close to my Great Granddady who lived with us and used to sing to me in native tongue. He was a wonderful hard working man who worked hard all his life until a farming accident took most of his hand at 82.
How terrible, but then how marvelous that he was still able to farm the land at his age. To be a farmer is hard work and one that was necessary (in years past) if food was to be put on the table. People had to raise their own meat and vegetables--and if anyone thinks taking care of a garden and canning their produce was easy, they've never tried it.
This is probably a stupid question, but what "native tongue" are you referring to when you said he would sing to you? Just the southern way of talking (a regional accent) or was he from another country? If another country, which one?
I posted a picture of him on my profile page. It was taken just a couple of years prior to his death at 96.
I'll have to scoot over there and take a look.
My Grandma has fond memories of West Virginia and has a cute language of her own that is just darling. For instance she says "Talk to y'ens later" Instead of y'all. She's so cute!
I've never heard our accent as being cute before so that's a new one on me. :) East TN uses the phrase "y'ens" or "you'ns," but we also said y'all....middle TN is prone to saying y'all. I live in middle TN (have for around 18 years, I guess) and I've picked up a few of their words. For example...when living in east TN, we'd say we were going to "run" someone somewhere (if they needed a lift to the store, town, doctor, that sort of thing), or "take them". Middle TN, says they're going to "carry" them. Now, the first time I heard this, I thought there was no way I was going to "carry" anyone anywhere! I'd "run" them or "take" them but I'd not "carry" them! I felt pretty dumb when they told me what it meant. :)
This is one of the things I alluded to when I talked about the different dialects in the three parts of our state. Each region has its own way of talking.
A few years ago the company I worked for worked with an organization that collected funds and items specifically for the people in appalachia as there is such a strong need for aid there for even the most basic necessities. This is an issue more people need to know about.
I agree...more people need to be made aware of how destitute some of the Appalachian regions are. Money that is allocated for relief seems to wind up in the politician's pockets or in other coffers leaving the "poor" without much hope. Programs implemented to help the poor rise out of this cycle were abolished--rural counties need to be brought up to par with the richer counties--a poor child is entitled to the same education as a more affluent child.
I'm all for helping other countries, but when I see our "own" being left behind, kicked aside, living in poverty (the poor WANT to work, they want to pay their own way, have decent housing, an education--they have the same desire to succeed as everyone else does), I find it shameful our government thinks more of other countries kids than they do their own. Our kids are our future.
Things are better today then they were 30 years ago but we still have a long way to go just to meet in the middle of the road.
Thank you for writing about this issue.
I enjoyed it...there was so much that needed to be written about...I hope to write more later.
Sorry for the long comment.
I enjoyed reading your comments and hearing about your grandfather and grandmother. Thanks for sharing them.
Hugs,
Dusty
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Jan 18 '06
4:44 pm PST
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yup (Reply to this comment)
by garym
Hi dusty,
Nice job. A worthy read.
Gary
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Jan 18 '06
1:22 pm PST
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UT MORAH TOVA....... (Reply to this comment)
by louisdrinkingt
and slowly I will learn ---about complicated subjects...little by little.
Lou.
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Jan 18 '06
10:48 am PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by oldcomixfan
You're a hundred percent correct...and despite the many "great" people who came from the south, they still portray us as hicks and hillbillies. The media wants to keep us locked in an "ignorant" room where we are portrayed as dim wit's with rotten teeth and walk in the shoes of a redneck.
The rotten teeth are usually a side effect of chewing tobacco. The red necks are a result of people without adequate skin pigmentation to protect their bare necks from the harsh sun while harvesting tobacco - whose ancestors evolved on a soggy green island at much higher latitudes for thousands of years and should of stayed put and left the rest of the world alone in my opinion. The lower latitudes are for dark skins only {and growing tobacco}.
We do have rednecks but there are degree's of "redneck." I think people from the North, the West and the East all have their brand of "redneck," but it's our rednecks that seem to get the attention. Gotta say here, though, that I love the redneck jokes--they really crack me up
And then along came a movie named Fargo exposing the ugly truth about the rather dull northern "snowbillies" of the hinterlands. Are there such things as 33rd degree rednecks, I wonder? You know, kind of like the Freemasons or something?
As for the Beverly Hillbillies, the early shows were funny--we loved Andy Griffith--Barney wasn't the brightest crayon in the box but you still found yourself rooting for him.
Don Knotts is a genius. He and my father were both in uniform and stationed out in California during WW2. He could put the entire barracks in stitches with no effort. He's definitely a Jew and a master of the trade.
For all it's lack of urban sophistication, there's no other place I'd truly want to live. I love to travel and see other places but it's always good to get back home. *grin*
I no longer consider this nation "home". My fellow countrymen are staring to really get on my nerves lately. Belize is where I belong. It gently calls for me on the Southern breezes through the droopy cyprus trees. "Beliiiiiiiize Beliiiiiiize". Actually, there are no cyprus trees up here. And I hear Belize is really hot and kind of sucks.
Do you have any southern ancestors?
Yes. Southern France to southern Louisiana. Southern Germany. Southern Israel. Southern Ohio. And maybe southern North Carolina for one Cherokee who didn't quite make it all the way to southern Oklahoma, but I'm quite sure he's been to Heaven{er}. Oh, and one from South Bronx! They, like me, were all geographical-environmental bigots.
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Jan 17 '06
11:14 pm PST
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Wow again (Reply to this comment)
by misc_el
What a wonderful piece and thank you for writing it. My Grand Mother was Born and raised in West Virginia (appalachia).
I was very close to my Great Granddady who lived with us and used to sing to me in native tongue. He was a wonderful hard working man who worked hard all his life until a farming accident took most of his hand at 82.
I posted a picture of him on my profile page. It was taken just a couple of years prior to his death at 96.
My Grandma has fond memories of West Virginia and has a cute language of her own that is just darling. For instance she says "Talk to y'ens later" Instead of y'all. She's so cute!
A few years ago the company I worked for worked with an organization that collected funds and items specifically for the people in appalachia as there is such a strong need for aid there for even the most basic necessities. This is an issue more people need to know about.
Thank you for writing about this issue.
Sorry for the long comment.
XOXO's
Elaine
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Jan 17 '06
10:53 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
Yeah, it all sure does reinforce the excellent point you made about how literature helped to create the stereotypes - cinema, radio and TV did all the rest.
You're a hundred percent correct...and despite the many "great" people who came from the south, they still portray us as hicks and hillbillies. The media wants to keep us locked in an "ignorant" room where we are portrayed as dim wit's with rotten teeth and walk in the shoes of a redneck.
We do have rednecks but there are degree's of "redneck." I think people from the North, the West and the East all have their brand of "redneck," but it's our rednecks that seem to get the attention. Gotta say here, though, that I love the redneck jokes--they really crack me up.
As for the Beverly Hillbillies, the early shows were funny--we loved Andy Griffith--Barney wasn't the brightest crayon in the box but you still found yourself rooting for him.
For all it's lack of urban sophistication, there's no other place I'd truly want to live. I love to travel and see other places but it's always good to get back home. *grin*
Do you have any southern ancestors?
Dusty
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Jan 17 '06
8:25 pm PST
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Re: Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by oldcomixfan
Yeah, it all sure does reinforce the excellent point you made about how literature helped to create the stereotypes - cinema, radio and TV did all the rest.
I was gonna add Beverly Hillbillies to the list, but decided not to because most of those episodes were actually quite brilliant in their execution {and in all fairness, so was Andy Griffith although it would of been a total flop without Don Knotts in my opinion}.
Heck, even the Minnesotan neighbors loved the Beverly Hillbillies. It helped provide them with valuable insights and understandings for bridging the vast cultural gap between us. Mom got recipes for lutefisk and other bland culinary horrors {which she promptly tossed in the trash after the guests left}; and Mrs. Swenson finally learned how to deep-fry possums without them dissolving into some mushy, indefinable mess. So, I guess it wasn't all bad.
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Jan 17 '06
7:31 pm PST
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Re: I still think (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
things would of been much better off if the Cherokees had won. An alternate universe not cursed by reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard, Hee Haw or Andy Griffith. Imagine that.
I've often wondered myself how things would have turned out if the Indians had won...they never stood a chance against the white man.
As for those reruns, LOL, we still laugh at Hee Haw and the corny, backwards image they portrayed of southern American's...it's shows like this that didn't help us any. That show was on a LONG time too! I admit to watching it "back then" for the country music (guest) singers that performed.
I wouldn't watch it today. :)
~~Dusty~~
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Jan 17 '06
1:30 pm PST
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Re: Wow (Reply to this comment)
by ddustyrose
Thanks Mike!
Which part of the south did you visit? We have so many beautiful states with lots to offer visitors...I was in VA a few months ago and then traveled up to PA where Gettysburg and Hershey were toured.
There's a bit of history everywhere you go.
Take care.
Dusty
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Jan 17 '06
1:17 pm PST
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I still think (Reply to this comment)
by oldcomixfan
things would of been much better off if the Cherokees had won. An alternate universe not cursed by reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard, Hee Haw or Andy Griffith. Imagine that.
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Jan 17 '06
6:40 am PST
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Wow (Reply to this comment)
by toiletoctopus
This was really interesting reading-very intelligent work! Thank you for sharing, and this is something that should have more coverage.
I've been to parts of the Appalachian region, and there is no region in the world with prouder people. I was really impressed with how strong people are in even difficult circumstances.
Thanks again!
Mike
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Jan 17 '06
2:54 am PST
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