Sunrise in the Holler of Good and Evil

Well, I'm heading back today after a day yesterday that got as de-railed as the Old '97. Jesco's got a show in August though, and I'm going to try to be back up for that. Will be back in a few weeks either way, and you'll without question find a great story about him at GratefulWeb.net in the near future. Along with the story, we're going to be featuring a gallery of the artwork of Jeffrey Holland, (most recently of "Weird Kentucky"). He's got a really cool series of paintings of Hasil Adkins, who we featured on our blog at GratefulWeb MySpace

It just won't be a story about hanging out with him & Mamie yesterday. Just as I was about to call to see what they were up to, enter Aunt Teal with friends from the Peace in the Valley Church in tow, (didn't make that name up even). Apparantly my soul needed saving more than I needed to raise hell.

She'd torn out of here yesterday morning like nobody's business. Don't care how pious she is, she drives like her Daddy ran moonshine. (Teal lives in a house built just a hair up the fork in the crossroads from this one.) Seemed like an odd way to go to church but not my place to say or question. She's mad about the whiskey & guns and there's also something of a family feud going on, (it is Hatfield & McCoy territory, after all).

Anyway, we're about to head out to a phone signal to call Jesco and/or Mamie when our path was blocked by Bible-thumping, elderly Appalachian women. They weren't even bearing pies and lemonade or anything. They insisted we go back up to the porch and talk with them, (listen rather).

Now, I was a religion major. I've got nothing in the world against Bible-thumping Appalachian women. In fact, I find the unique way religion has settled itself around here completely fascinating and would really like to check it out more than I have. I've done everything form read the Bible in Greek to visiting a snake handling church in NC. But it just wasn't the time, you know?

Well, I heard a long story on the family feud and then began to be subjected to an endless flow of Bible verses. That's all well and good, but this habit of answering one Bible verse with another gets kind of old. I mean, the Bible is so vast it can really be used to support anything. Discussing the verses, now that might be insightful. But reciting something from memory doesn't really show you know it.

It went on so long I started reciting Bible verses in Greek and praying in Latin. "What is that, Spanish?" I was asked. I just kept on, (praying for real that I'd get out of there in time to call Jesco). "That Spanish girl sure is weird." Another said.

It went on for hours.

By that time it was too late to possibly go to Madison.

So next trip. But if he's playing, well that'll be even better.

A fascinating trip was made, however, to the Exhibition Coal Mine, along with a treck up Great, Great, Great GREAT Big Ass Mountain and another to the New River. I've never seen so many butterflies. The ones here at the house are about as big as baby bats and the ones down by the river were as thick as flies. Let me walk right in the middle of them, never seen anything quite like it.

Coal Mines coming soon. Guess it was something of a political trip after all. Mabye sociological is a better word.