Saturday, July 3, 2010

Spirit

I've spent the better part of the last three days burning up highways between New Martinsville and Charleston, WV, in an Americana-type mood in honor of our Independence Day. I have always been impressed with the show of flags through Paden City. This is a city that shows its American pride throughout the year with flag draped streets but its never more beautiful than during the Fourth of July celebrations. I had to stop by my favorite small-town hardware and take in the ambiance of an era gone by. Its hard to keep mom and pop stores open these days and even if I spend only a dollar, I try to patronize these hard-working private-owned retail locations. Having grown up in a corner grocery store with wooden floors and penny candy I enjoy nothing more than strolling through the isles and soaking in the scents of my youth. I feel like a kid again with a few dollars in my pocket needing to be spent. I purchased a couple of sheets of sand paper and a utility knife. I'm not sure why, but I know I'll need them someday. We need to keep these few little markets going. I believe in a time the world will not be dependent on huge box stores anymore.
After attending the memorial service for Sen. Robert Byrd and marveling that most of the power in the free world of America was sitting before me in Charleston, WV, I headed back up to the calmer world of the Ripley Arts and Crafts fair. I reacquainted myself with Sunny Hollow Farms products and the great culinary talents of its owner Jill Brookover Goff and then went on to watch the art of rope making, wood turning, and to the sounds of bluegrass music. I would never be one to give up my electronics and go to a time when we had no electricity when everything was hand-turned, but for a day, an Independence Day, its great to reflect on our forefathers and the sacrifices they made - so I can blog and facebook. I jest, but we will never really understand what spirit it took to fight for Independence. We take it for granted that we will always be free, yet many of those early freedoms are already gone. I love history and what it can teach us. Robert Byrd always made sure new Senators read a copy of his history of the Roman council just to give them an idea of what can go wrong. Small independent stores can't begin to freely survive with the same opportunities as the large box marts and such arts as gardening, wood working and jewelry making are becoming popular again not because we are free to explore that past, but because our poor economy is forcing us to learn to do redefine how we exist; not just for art or show but for survival. When times get tough, the tough get going and we can always turn to that early American spirit to guide us in a new direction, even if it has a twinge of old support.

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