After a moment I turned to her and asked, "So, what brings you to Harlan, Kentucky?"
She smiled and said, "I'm Harlan High class of fifty-eight and we have a little reunion every two years. Actually I didn't graduate from Harlan, in fact I didn't get my diploma until nineteen ninety-eight, but I like coming back here to see the people."
We talked for a bit about Harlan and I told her some about the trip, and then she got a phone call. I'm not sure who was on the other end, but I do know that just after saying hello she said, "Now sweetie, you're gonna have to make this quick. I'm out in front of the hotel and I've got a man cornered."
I wish I hadn't been drinking coffee right when she said that, because I spit a little out my nose and laughed.
When she got off the phone it was like nothing had ever happened. Marty just went right back to talking. She told me a lot about what it was like growing up in here. Harlan, like a lot of eastern Kentucky, is a coal town, and Marty thinks there is something about having one's father be in constant peril that makes the entire town pull together and become a big family. She remembers being in high school and being conscious that some people had more money than others, but no one was better than anyone else, and everyone looked out for each other.
Marty was a wealth of information, including knowing the origin of the term
'redneck.' "It started right here in Harlan County," she said. "In the thirties there was a lot of turmoil in the mining community, and all the union miners and union supporters wore red bandanas around their necks. That way people could tell who was who."
I think it's incredible that something like that can get so turned around through the years.
After we talked for a little while I told her the details of my trip, and we had a wonderful talk about the importance of friends and family. We had talked some about it earlier, but I told her about my travels through the biggest family on earth, and she smiled from ear to ear.
Talking with Marty reminded me why I wanted to take this trip in the first place - to talk to folks about life. Thanks for sharing the bench with me, Marty!
After my talk with Marty I was ready to get back on the road, she had fired me up. I started north again and found highway 160 through eastern Kentucky. I have tried to keep expectations to a minimum for this trip because that allows for more great surprises, and Kentucky was easily one of the biggest surprises. This place in beautiful! The mountains are lush, the farmland is fertile and green, and the roads are great:
I wound my way north and ended the day in Portsmouth, OH. When I got into town I went straight to the meeting place and was lucky to pull up next to Phil. He reassured me that I was in the right place for a meeting, but it wasn't for another hour. I asked him about a place to eat and he said, "There's a great place for footers just up there."
I said, "OK," and I didn't tell him that I was unsure what a footer was, but I wanted to find out. So I went to the little stand and then it dawned on me that a footer was a foot-long hot dog. Duh. So, I had a footer and net back over to the church.
The meeting was the 12 and 12 Group and it was a speaker meeting. I have to say that I was a little relieved to just be able to sit and listen for a change, and I was really grateful for the story that I heard.
After the meeting I asked Phil about places to camp and he was kind enough to arrange a campsite with his nephew, Dave, and also take me to his house to have a shower. Thanks, Phil!
After setting up camp I had a chance to sit with Dave by the campfire and chat about life and recovery. What a treat to have good company by the fire on the bank of the Ohio river. Thanks, Barb and Dave!
