West Virginia kind of forces you to see it, doesn’t it? You can drive over a ridgeline and move from breathtaking natural beauty to gruesomely ugly despoilation in an instant, the state is just full of transitions and superimposed opposites in every way. I very much like WVA, and the culture there, while understanding that many of her people and places have suffered from lack of educational and economic opportunities, and from ruthless exploitation of people and resources.
I’m sorry to hear of your father’s death; I lost my own two years ago. It’s nice to hear you’re preserving his stuff, though, and if your experience is anything like it was for me, there will be a sad sweetness to reading it all, ultimately worthwhile.
