Orientation

My apologies for not updating sooner, and my thanks to all those who texted or called for fear that I'd driven into a ditch. I didn't. I spent the better part of the week on the east side - in Sandy Valley - for orientation. We all learned a lot about the organization and the Appalachian culture, and I met some really wonderful people. I'm so ready to get started in Owsley!

Home and family are running themes here, I'm finding. If a family owns a plot of land, you'll usually see several houses and a graveyard on it. And down by the road, usually, will be an old shack. That's the homeplace. The family originated from that structure, and even though no one's lived there for years, it'll disintegrate before it's torn down. Family names are recognizable on street signs and old barns, and most everybody knows everybody else. Many of my participants have never left the county in which they live now. They've never seen any reason to go. This is home.

I tend to get the same response from a lot of these people when they ask me where I'm from. "You're a long way from home." It's often accompanied by a sad little smile and a gentle shake of the head. When I first got here, it certainly felt that way. But with each passing day, I'm feeling more and more a part of this family. The Jackson House family, the CAP family, the Kentucky Appalachian family.

Maya Angelou said, “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” I have to say I feel like I'm there.