The Irish have nothing over a true West Virginian. They can have their green; all I need is my blue and gold and Irish whiskey is fine, but a good old cold 12oz. is really all one needs.
I never go anywhere without a West Virginia t-shirt and during last weeks vacation into the south I packed at least one for each state I was driving through. They are great conversation starters because we all know there are West Virginians everywhere; heaven knows its an unbroken rule to have enough jobs for us to stay in the state we love.
My shirts didn't let me down throughout the week. While others waited hours in line for a luggage cart at our Myrtle Beech resort, I went out to the garage and waited for a West Virginia fan to walk by with one. This guy came up and said he was from War and I replied my Dad's folks are from McDowell County and he said that trumps the little old lady I told could have this cart in the lobby. Hey, I took it. All is fair at check-out time.
But,the best reception was in North Carolina. I was walking through my favorite stop, Trader Joes, in Cary when a gentleman stopped and asked if I was from West Virginia. I said, "West by God Virginia," and he embraced me and said he was glad to see some "kin folk," which only a true blue and gold understands. We chatted for awhile and throughout the store he would stop me and tell me something else he missed from the state having to have left it some 30 years before looking for work. I invited him out to a local bar that evening where many West Virginians would be gathering for some fine live music performed by a Wheeling native.
We did in fact put together a pretty good West Virginia contingency at the bar that evening where there was a good amount of blue and gold showing. At one point this slightly inebriated guy shouts from across the bar, "I can't believe you would come in here with that shirt on," and points to me. Well he's lucky I had just come off four days of a stomach virus and I was sipping water, because had I been drinking at all, those would have been fighting words. Instead I remained calm as he came over and said he was from North Carolina, but his son was attending Pitt and his daughter was at Syracuse and he couldn't stand West Virginia now. I looked him in the eye and all I could think to say was, "Eat shit Pitt." He laughed and went back to his corner. It's a good thing the rest of the Mountaineers in the bar weren't paying attention or it would have been a scene from Saving Private Ryan.
West Virginians are a proud bunch and we should be. It takes a great spirit to overcome the years of verbal abuse that came from the poverty of the early 20th century; much of which still covers the mountains today. But, we defend her through and through. Montani Semper Liberi....Mountaineers are always free...free to give a few punches to anyone who dares to say anything negative, especially a Pitt fan.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
A Day of Reflextion
Two Roberts passed away today that significantly changed my life and the way I view many of its events.
First, there is Robert C. Byrd, the one-of-a-kind Senator from West Virginia who gave his all to seeing that American's freedoms remain intact and in believing that West Virginians deserved the basics of life just as an other American. He believed that we all should help one another in our search for the American dream and that the Constitution, a document written hundreds of years ago, was well worth saving so future generations could enjoy its fundamental strengths....that all people are created equal and they should remain equal.
I had the opportunity on several occasions over the years to interview Mr. Byrd. I remember first meeting him in Pleasants County when I was a teenager and a young musician playing in my first talent contest. He played the fiddle and I the guitar. I didn't really even think too much about his political position in life; I was mesmerized by the politician who could really play a hoe-down. I have an autographed photo of him playing his mother of pearl inlaid fiddle that now hangs in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. It was many years later that I snagged my first interview with the young Senator who was already fielding "term limit" questions. I remember him telling the audience, "You already have term limits...its called voting," he said. "If you think I've been in Washington too long and you want me gone, vote against me." Have you ever heard a politician say, "vote against me." That was in the 1980's and well you see how the voting went over the years. He was never ashamed of the millions in pork money he brought to our state and thank God for that. My last interview with him was about eight years ago and was by phone. He never faltered with an answer no matter how tough of a spot he might have been in. He was a champion for the state that I'm not sure we will ever be able to find again. He wept for West Virginia in its good times and in bad and we can only hope those tears helped develop and grow many strong roots which will continue to feed the growth of a strong state.
The second Robert I lost today was Bob Kelly, one of the finest journalists and writers in West Virginia. His last position was as the executive managing editor of the Charleston Daily Mail, but it was as a youngster that I first met Bob and his Dad, Adam, while the family was in Sistersville. The Kellys had the Sistersville newspaper and Roy Owens, a great friend and a former editor and publisher of mine, had the St. Marys newspaper, The Oracle. As a teenager, I loved to spend time in the back offices of either newspaper listening to the banter between the Kelly's and Owens. Both families inspired me to go into journalism and it was Bob who went out on a limb and hired me to the staff of the Parkersburg News even though I hadn't dusted off my journalism skills in many years. By then, it was June 2000 and I hadn't written a story since the 1980s. Bob said it was like,"riding a bicycle" and I would skin my knees up a few times, but that's what editors are for....(and as I thought he was going to say to pick me up and put me back on the bike again)....he said, to be like the antiseptic that would sting and bite and cause a few tears and I would cuss 'em, but I would know it was good for me. The last conversation I had with him was like all the others, he called me into his office to pick my brain to see if I knew anything about whatever the topic of the day was. He loved to find out everything he could about everything. And, you were never to leave out any detail, not even the slightest morsel. He had a great way of interviewing people and he would get what he needed in the most congenial way. He delighted in scooping other papers, yet when needed he would help them in any way he could...as long as he was first in print. They don't make journalists like Bob any more. This is what is wrong with today's news. There are two sides to every story and he wanted every detail of both sides. I'm sorry we have lost that in today's news and sorry to have lost his laugh. He loved a good joke. He loved West Virginia history and how ironic he would pass on one of the most historic days in the state's history in a long time...the same day as his good friend Robert Byrd.
May both Roberts RIP and know that there lives have touched a great many, but especially mine.
First, there is Robert C. Byrd, the one-of-a-kind Senator from West Virginia who gave his all to seeing that American's freedoms remain intact and in believing that West Virginians deserved the basics of life just as an other American. He believed that we all should help one another in our search for the American dream and that the Constitution, a document written hundreds of years ago, was well worth saving so future generations could enjoy its fundamental strengths....that all people are created equal and they should remain equal.
I had the opportunity on several occasions over the years to interview Mr. Byrd. I remember first meeting him in Pleasants County when I was a teenager and a young musician playing in my first talent contest. He played the fiddle and I the guitar. I didn't really even think too much about his political position in life; I was mesmerized by the politician who could really play a hoe-down. I have an autographed photo of him playing his mother of pearl inlaid fiddle that now hangs in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. It was many years later that I snagged my first interview with the young Senator who was already fielding "term limit" questions. I remember him telling the audience, "You already have term limits...its called voting," he said. "If you think I've been in Washington too long and you want me gone, vote against me." Have you ever heard a politician say, "vote against me." That was in the 1980's and well you see how the voting went over the years. He was never ashamed of the millions in pork money he brought to our state and thank God for that. My last interview with him was about eight years ago and was by phone. He never faltered with an answer no matter how tough of a spot he might have been in. He was a champion for the state that I'm not sure we will ever be able to find again. He wept for West Virginia in its good times and in bad and we can only hope those tears helped develop and grow many strong roots which will continue to feed the growth of a strong state.
The second Robert I lost today was Bob Kelly, one of the finest journalists and writers in West Virginia. His last position was as the executive managing editor of the Charleston Daily Mail, but it was as a youngster that I first met Bob and his Dad, Adam, while the family was in Sistersville. The Kellys had the Sistersville newspaper and Roy Owens, a great friend and a former editor and publisher of mine, had the St. Marys newspaper, The Oracle. As a teenager, I loved to spend time in the back offices of either newspaper listening to the banter between the Kelly's and Owens. Both families inspired me to go into journalism and it was Bob who went out on a limb and hired me to the staff of the Parkersburg News even though I hadn't dusted off my journalism skills in many years. By then, it was June 2000 and I hadn't written a story since the 1980s. Bob said it was like,"riding a bicycle" and I would skin my knees up a few times, but that's what editors are for....(and as I thought he was going to say to pick me up and put me back on the bike again)....he said, to be like the antiseptic that would sting and bite and cause a few tears and I would cuss 'em, but I would know it was good for me. The last conversation I had with him was like all the others, he called me into his office to pick my brain to see if I knew anything about whatever the topic of the day was. He loved to find out everything he could about everything. And, you were never to leave out any detail, not even the slightest morsel. He had a great way of interviewing people and he would get what he needed in the most congenial way. He delighted in scooping other papers, yet when needed he would help them in any way he could...as long as he was first in print. They don't make journalists like Bob any more. This is what is wrong with today's news. There are two sides to every story and he wanted every detail of both sides. I'm sorry we have lost that in today's news and sorry to have lost his laugh. He loved a good joke. He loved West Virginia history and how ironic he would pass on one of the most historic days in the state's history in a long time...the same day as his good friend Robert Byrd.
May both Roberts RIP and know that there lives have touched a great many, but especially mine.
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