He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin' home to a place he'd never been before
Comin' home to a place he'd never been before
Those words by John Denver (Rocky Mountain High) captured my emotions on my first trip to east Tennessee. Instead of summer, it was early spring, but it was my 27th year. I had left West Lafayette, Indiana, in a near blizzard enroute to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to discuss doing my thesis research there. Snow changed to rain before I got to Louisville, Kentucky, and the rain stayed with me until I broke into sunshine crossing Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. It was a sign from the heavens.
My family had joined the great Appalachian migration to the industrial midwest just as I was entering high school. The chain of eight generations living in Appalachia was broken with no expectation of it being mended.
Mountains, coal mines, and subsistence farming had been left behind for the promise of a meager, but dependable, paycheck. Living was exchanged for survival. No one was actually pleased with the deal.
Louis Pasteur said "Chance favors the prepared mind." Thanks to education, and a willing wife, east Tennessee became home that day.
I didn't have family ties to the mountains but it sure felt like coming home!
ReplyDeleteYes, it shows in your writing, the coming home part, I mean. Jim
DeleteI love this blog, Jim. I am going to share it with my brother-in-law who has also retired back to West Virginia after some years away. Their farm was waiting and it is coming back to life!
ReplyDeleteMy wife is from West Virginia (Greenbrier County), my mother was from West Virginia (Mingo County), and I have a daughter-in-law from West Virginia (Kanawha County). West Virginia is good! Jim
DeleteThese beautiful east TN mountains call me all the time. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to move there. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe you will be "born again?"
DeleteNo matter how far we or our families roam, there is always a strong pull towards 'home'. It must be in the blood!
ReplyDelete