Category Archives: Thoughts

Wearing the badge of honor

Thoughts, WV

I have so many thoughts going through my head as we begin to see some light at the end of the tunnel with our water mess.  Most of the affected water contamination zone has been cleared to start using water again although most people still don’t trust the water enough to actually drink it.  We are definitely in that camp…we are washing with the still-smelling-like-licorice tap water but not using it for drinking, cooking or teeth-brushing.

The CDC reported that pregnant women should not drink this water even though it has been declared “safe”.  Of course, that makes everyone wonder who it is really safe for….1 year olds?  What about 5 year olds?  There is no good answer here I think but what choice do we have?  Of course, I don’t want to move as some people have threatened, but even if I did, who would buy a house in a contaminated area?  No, we will stay here and this will pass.  It prompts many questions though.

Many people are over-the-top mad and many of them are directing it at the water company but I think their anger is misdirected.  The water company is the only entity communicating to the public so they are easy to yell at.  The damn chemical tank owner is to blame here but they are no where to be found.

Someone else mentioned it first but I sort of agree…too many times in Appalachian history, we have some massive issue like this and we wear our survival of the event as a badge of honor.  “This was a terrible disaster, but we are strong people…we’ll get through.”  It’s great to persevere, but it is a real shame that we have to…It’s not just here in WV either of course.  In my home town in PA, gas fracking is poisoning the ground as non-local companies pump thousands of gallons of chemicals into the earth, find their gas and leave town.  Locals are stuck living with the long term repercussions.  It’s a tragedy really but one that they wear as a badge of honor there as well.

I guess this badge of honor isn’t unique to Appalachia…maybe it is common to rural dwellers, the poor or just anyone who can’t fight back.  It makes me sad and mad that the human condition is, and perhaps always has been, one of simply surviving atrocity after atrocity.  Truly, this disaster has not been the disaster it could have been if a more horrible chemical had leaked, but dumb luck doesn’t really make me feel better.

It IS a sad condition and a shame to wear this disaster as a badge of honor but most here will do just that.  I suppose I will too as I don’t really see any other option.  We’re a tough people though…we’ll get through it…

Time to flush

Adventure, Nature, Technology, Thoughts, WV, ,

We had a bit of a water disaster here in Charleston.  It’s been called Aquapocalypse 2014…that’s probably a good term for the mess that we’ve had, but good news is coming!  It looks like our zone just got cleared to flush our water system (edit:  this just “undid” our area…dang it!).    WV American Water has done a fantastic job (in my opinion) as far as being rightly conservative in issuing the “Do not use” order as well as providing information and getting the systems back on line.  Sure, it would have been nice if our water system hadn’t been polluted, but that wasn’t their fault…it was the chemical company that apparently did not maintain proper safety systems.

Charleston Last Night
Charleston Last Night

So, the plan was to monitor the treatment system to find a point when the dilution of the chemical was at a level the CDC reported was safe…that is less than 1 ppm.  In laymen’s terms, what that means is if we had a million gallons of liquid, 1 gallon would be 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM).  There is much discussion as to whether that is truly a safe level for consumption.  I am concerned of course because the plan means I will be consuming some of that chemical…even in my  “safe” water.  I get that my drinking water is not straight h20 even before all this,  but I wish it could just be MCHM-free again.  That’s not a reality now however so we will proceed to shower in the water that has been declared “safe”.  In our house, we will not be drinking or brushing with it for awhile longer but ultimately, we will have to just “go for it” I guess.  Again, I don’t blame the water company of the officials on the ground for making this decision and all will probably be well…I just want my perfect world to return!

"Safe" water zones
“Safe” water zones…we are in the blue!

So we will drain our hot water tanks and all of the pipes in our house.  We will follow the nicely written directions provided by the water company and we will get back to normal.  I think most people have done really well in handling their situations.  Thursday night when this all started, it was a little wild as initial panic set in but people quickly got their heads on straight.

Water was trucked in from far and wide and distributed all over.  Neighbors checked on neighbors, and friends in safe-water-zones offered the homes and showers to others to make this all a little better than it would have been.  I am proud of my fellow West Virginians and of my state and local government (and maybe even the feds?) for how they handled this situation.  I saw a little more clearly as it was exercised before my eyes, the importance of community and helping others.  I also saw very clearly the benefit of having some extra water and water containers on hand.  I now realize how very much I appreciate having a shower and even more importantly, I realize how much I appreciate other people having showers.  Even so, I am proud to be a Mountaineer, stinky or not, and I am delighted to have such a great community who get down to business when the going gets tough!

Pulling the plug

Technology, Thoughts, ,

When we were first married, we were flat broke.  As soon as we graduated college, we got married and headed to grad school.  In case you didn’t know, grad students are poorer than college students…we surely were.  We were newly married and busy in school so it was easy for us not to have cable tv.

We finally got out of school and even started our family, but we never bothered to get cable.  I guess we went about 16 years without it but we really wanted to see the HBO series True Blood.  We got tv, internet and phone bundled together for the introductory price of $181/month.  We enjoyed True Blood and lots of other shows too.  In fact, it sort of became the only thing we did in the evenings.  Month after month we paid.  Just this Fall, we started to notice this year that we really were not enjoying what we were watching.  We watched anyhow of course, out of habit.

I am not sure why but we finally snapped out of it and realized what a waste of time and money it was. We pulled the plug and cancelled our land line phone and tv.  I called to cancel and the rep asked if they could lower our bill to keep us subscribed.  I asked what the offer was and that sealed the deal for me…she could lower my bill to $120/month with no change in service…a savings of $60/month!  That infuriated me!  I asked why they didn’t just lower my bill automatically…blah, blah, blah.  Forget it!   We kept internet so we can stream programs if we want.  It’s funny but we haven’t bothered streaming much.  When we do stream a program, it’s because we want to watch it.  Not only are we saving $120/month but we are interacting again…like…as a family!

To each their own, but no one in our house has noticed any lack of things to do or any withdrawal symptoms from cutting the cord!  And with an extra $120 per month, I can probably get a new hobby or something!

Luxurious

Fun, House, Thoughts, ,

I get picked on from time to time and usually by my wife.  Oh I know, some of you who know her well would never believe it, but it’s true…she picks on me!

Ahhh...Jergens lotion!
Ahhh…Jergens lotion!

So the other day, were were both complaining about “winter hands” so I went to the store and started sniffing for the right lotion.  I don’t like hand lotion much but bleeding knuckles suck so I suspend my dislike for the winter months.  Still, I don’t want to smell like a girl.  So I popped the lids on some and did the sniff test.  The scents were all over the place…some were stinky or girly or reminiscent of the southbound end of a northbound moose.

Finally, I happened upon a bottle of Jergens – original scent.  I knew I had my lotion!  I love this stuff!  It instantly transported me to my childhood where one of my relatives had Jergens in her house.  As a child, that smell was one of luxury.  I have no idea why but that’s how I viewed it.  I look back on it now and it’s silly, but my child-brain kicked in and it didn’t matter…I wanted to enjoy that luxurious feel in my home.  And sure enough, Jergens lotion is great!  It doesn’t stay oily and it works well on winter hands!  So I told Emily my story using those words and she has been picking on me ever since!  I don’t even care though…I am living a luxurious life!

There is a second part of the life of luxury I live…

The other night I was preparing to jump in the shower around 11pm.  It was a “work night” and pretty typical of my usual routine.  I cranked the water on, waited for it to heat up and jumped in.  I had my washcloth all lathered up when all of a sudden, water shot everywhere except out of the shower head.      I looked and the flexible pipe broke where it attaches to the wall.  We have long had a cheap low-flow shower head on a junky flexible hose that had a mind of its own.  It finally broke which didn’t make me sad.  Breaking at 11pm made me sad as neither Emily nor I had gotten a shower and we didn’t want to be unshowered for work the next day.

Broken shower hose
Well that sucks

I decided I would just go to Walmart  for a replacement.  It’s the only place open at 11pm.  They had a wide assortment of junk but I spied one shower head that had a metalish hose rather than an all plastic hose…sold!  They didn’t sell any hoses without the head but I never liked the hose or the head we had anyhow.  Surely, the metal hose has to be better than the plastic one that broke.

My new shower head
Ahhh, the life of luxury!

So here is the luxury part.  I didn’t realize it until I got home but this was not a low-flow shower head.  It was an “EcoSpa” and had green ink on its packaging.  It wasn’t until I got home that what made it “eco” was the “water-saving pause switch”.  Talk about worthless.  I saw “USA” on the package when I grabbed it too…I was feeling pretty good …until I got home.  It was packaged in the US of A.  Talk about a whole bunch of marketing crap!  Anyhow, I feel bad having a water-wasting shower head, but I have to tell you, the regular flow shower head is super nice.  I didn’t realize how pitiful the other was until I installed this new head (at, oh, about 12:15am) and grabbed a shower.  Talk about luxurious!

Please don’t judge me for using all these highfalutin things.  I promise to ask Emily to use the pause switch when she shaves her legs…

It’s never too soon for eggnog!

Awesome, Food, Fun, Thoughts, , ,

Like many folks, I typically get irritated when I see the big box stores roll out Christmas stuff before Halloween.  I mean, seriously, why do they do that?  I am still trying to wrap my mind around the end of summer (though these freaking cold temps are helping to make it feel real to me now!)  I cannot possibly contemplate Halloween already, let alone Christmas!

Southern Comfort eggnog is from the gods!
Southern Comfort eggnog is from the gods!

Anyhow, soccer season is finally coming to an end.  I don’ know if I ever mentioned it but I am the head coach for the middle school soccer team where Isaac attends.  We have had a great year and are in the play-offs for the county championship next week.  It’s dark early now and as I have regular work during the day, our soccer time is limited…and increasingly cold.  After practice is over, we are usually pretty well shot.

The kids enjoying Southern Comfort eggnog!
The kids enjoying Southern Comfort eggnog!

I was delighted last night as I returned home, to discover that Emily had been to the store and found eggnog!  And not just any eggnog but the very best eggnog of all, Southern Comfort eggnog!  Please, people at Southern Comfort, make a product page so I can keep up to date on when and where I can find your eggnog!  I would marry it if I weren’t otherwise attached to my wife and kids!  It’s amazing stuff!  Nectar of the gods I sometimes call it!

It's always so sad when you get to the bottom of the glass!
It’s always so sad when you get to the bottom of the glass!

The Southern Comfort eggnog replaced my exhaustion as it coursed through my system and made me awake and alive once again!  I am still not quite ready for Christmas (or even Halloween really) but Southern Comfort eggnog will soothe my soul through both Halloween and Christmas!  Bless you Southern Comfort, bless you!

Anonymous friends

Adventure, Thoughts, WV, ,

We were up at the cabin this weekend working on some fairly large projects.  We were pretty busy running around doing things and trying to get stuff situated.  Nearing the end of the afternoon on Sunday, something came up that was a bit of a family emergency.  It wasn’t huge but it wasn’t insignificant either.  No one was hurt and everyone is ok, but we just had a bit of a freak-out.

Anyhow, we had to do some exploring about the ridge to handle the problem and we were in uncharted territory.  Typically, when we are on the ridge, we go straight to our place.  We don’t have time to explore and honestly, I have been on similar back roads…if you don’t know where you are going you better have all day and a full tank of gas.  Still, we had to venture out and we saw a good bit of the area  in the process.

A WV farm we discovered
A WV farm we discovered on our tour of the ridge

But that’s not the point of the story…we weren’t lost but we needed help and as we drove about, we happened upon some folks on 4-wheelers.  I explained the situation to them and asked for advice on how to take care of the issue.  Really, I just figured they would give me a quick answer and we’d be done.  Instead, they asked if we wanted them to help out and I said, “only if you have nothing else to do all day.”  They said they would help in spite of my attempt at a warning.  They drove all over the ridge to help us out.  I suppose they each burned at least 45 minutes of gas and didn’t give up until we finally got back together at the cabin to report that the issue was handled.

Anyone who says there aren’t good people around is wrong.  I offered to fill them up with gas or give them a drink…they wanted nothing and simply laughed and smiled and moved on.  I didn’t even get their names but I hope they will stop back by the place sometime when we are up there.  I hope I can be such a neighbor and be equally willing to help someone in need.  I know they won’t see this, but thanks to my new anonymous friends and to all folks willing to help a stranger!

Soccer 2013

Family, Thoughts, ,

Soccer is back in season for both kids.  It’s a great time of year but also a bad time of year.  We love the game and the kids on the teams and the fun but we quickly get tired of non-stop running.  I am the head coach for the middle school team on which Isaac plays.  Especially now, in the time leading up to the start of games, practice makes us very busy.  We try to practice 5 days a week for a couple hours each night.  I have to contact other coaches to schedule games and there are always meetings to attend.

I really enjoy the boys and I have coached a large number of them in rec-league and middle school since they were 7 or so years old.  I have a great group of boys and I look forward to watching them succeed.  It’s really tough this year, however, since Isaac cannot play…at least not yet.  It’s not clear whether he will play at all, honestly, but we are hopeful.  It’s more than a little frustrating for both of us.  I do like coaching the boys but the best part of it would have been the opportunity to coach my own son.  His blood clot seems to be on the mend but he is still on blood thinners and cannot play because of the risk of a hard contact that would cause a dangerous bleed.

I am definitely committed to the boys on this team, but I just wish things could be a little different.  Isaac still gets to come to practice to participate in the non-contact drills but he does not enjoy having to sit out for the majority of each practice.  I figure it is good for him to be around friends though and also to see me follow through with a commitment.  Our games start next week so I figure that the team spirit will carry us all once things get rolling along.  Wish us luck dear friends!

Where I’m from

Family, History, Thoughts, ,

I am from pickles in mason jars; from returnable Pepsi bottles and snow tires.

I am from the small house with a fan in the window; from a well you pray won’t go dry.

I am from goldenrod, wild blackberries, and maple tree helicopters

I am from sitting around a fire pit and from bald heads; from Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Laura and Uncle Bill.

I am from hot tempers and strong wills; from roller skating in the basement and Johnny Cash on 8-track.

From “Come in and sit a spell” and “untie your brother”.

I am from an old stone church with many wise old gray heads

I’m from Appalachia, both Pennsylvania and West Virginia; from parsnips and cold beer.

I am from the strawberry patch lovers, the “pull the weeds, not the tomatoes!” crew and from the “Someone get up and turn the antenna!” labor force.

I am from camping in the back yard, hoeing in the garden;  I am from the woods and mountains and streams that were my world.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Grandma and Grandpa
Grandma and Grandpa

I saw this over at  Blind Pig and the Acorn and it really struck something in me.  Part of it was from this new old picture of my grandparents and from my longing to go back to simpler times.  I began to wonder how my kids would fill this out 30 years from now and whether I am doing right by them.  I wonder why my memory stinks so bad and how many important things I have forgotten.  I guess I need a little something right now, but looking back over this list, I can’t think what else I could possibly need.  Where I’m from, we have all we need!

If anyone else wants to share, I’d be happy to post where you are from too…here’s the format

Some bugs and stuff

Nature, Thoughts, WV, ,

Not much been going on around here lately.  We are mostly laying low, trying not to get anyone hurt.  School starts in a week and we sort of just want to make it to that point without any more drama…so, I took a few pics of stuff I have seen around lately…

Bumblebees on coneflower Bumblebees on coneflower

 

I love both bumblebees and coneflowers.  This is a perfect picture I think!  I like to sort of trick bumblebees to land on my hand and walk on me.  Honeybees do it naturally but you sort of have to trick bumblebees.  It’s a cool feeling!

Huge spider

I was cleaning out a shed and this big spider was hanging around.  I think he wanted to eat my leg but I left him alone and he wandered off to eat someone else I guess.  Impressive though!

Robber fly

We installed new motion lights on the house and this pesky robberfly would not leave me alone.  There is a variety of robber fly that eats bees, called a beekiller.  I used to have an observation hive and one of this guy’s cousins hung out near the pipe that lead from the hive in my house to the outside.  He picked off bees all day long.  I never could catch him with my shoe…

Size 15 shoes!

Speaking of shoes, we went shoe shopping for Isaac the other day in preparation for school…size 15s!

Pillbugs

If I wore size 15s, I might have stepped on these roly polies…I generally live and let live but pill bugs like these creep me out in numbers and this is only a portion of the ones that I saw in this pile.  I never knew it but these things are also known as wood lice.  No wonder they creep me out.  Anyhow, with my mere size 10s, I walked on without disturbing the pile!

Boats at the levee - Charleston, WV

I was in town the other day and took this cool pic of boats docked on the levee downtown.  It may not look it here but there was a good storm going on and I was stuck under a huge metal lightning rod…I mean shelter…freaky!

 

Mawage

Awesome, Family, Thoughts, ,

“Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam…” – The Princess Bride

The kids sat down last night with Emily and me to watch the Princess Bride on the eve of our wedding anniversary. Nineteen years ago today Emily and I were married hoping that, “…wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva…” We were young and maybe a little dumb but getting married was the best non-dumb thing I did when I was 22.  And so far, wuv has followed us.  We joked last night about some of the funny things that happened on our honeymoon like the worms and crows.  Emily told the kids what I think is my favorite story to tell other people about our honeymoon…

Our wedding pic
Who are those youngsters?

We were engaged for 2 or so years before we got married and we had dated before that so we pretty well knew each other and mostly had a good idea that we were going to be married early on and that it was going to be ok…or so I thought.  The wedding was stressful and my face was locked in a perma-smile for days but the ceremony was fun and went well.  We finished up at the reception and headed off to our honeymoon destination.  We were broke so there wasn’t money for anything exotic.  We went to a nearby state park that had a nice lodge and stayed there.  We ate and hauled our stuff to the room and basically collapsed in exhaustion.  Within a few minutes, Emily started crying, “What have I gotten myself in to?”  Over and over.  It’s not like we were having problems or anything…reality just struck her…on our wedding night!  I suspect she still doesn’t exactly know what she has gotten herself into as I like to keep her guessing but it’s worked out pretty well and the wedding apparently “took”.  So happy anniversary to you Emily!  I look forward to annoying you for a lot longer!