We are in Clarksburg, WV, and enjoying the night after a hard drive. When I last wrote, three, maybe four, states ago, we were about to set out for someplace--we just didn't know where. Several days ago we ended up in Stroudsburg, PA, an absolutely wonderful town. We got there by our usual route, back roads and at least one mountain range. Best of all, once we landed (metaphorically) we found a great Polish restaurant. It was such a surprise to find such a place that I claimed it as our dinner destination. It really was a nice place--very good food, great service and they provide a defibrillator to every one who orders the Polish platter.
Yesterday was more of a slog. It rained, sometimes quite heavily. We were enough inland to avoid the apparently epic Nor'easter that is plaguing the East Coast, but we still had rain most of the day. We broke our rule and drove on the interstate. We would have never made it through the rain on the paths we have been taking. Our goal yesterday was to make it to Hagerstown, MD and we did, but we were tired, so tired we ate from a grocery store deli and called it a night.
Today we made it to Cumberland for breakfast.. One interesting "find" of the day was that Cumberland is the center of the flea market universe. Two-plus hours later, we made it to Highway 50, our carpet for at least the next two days. And once we on this road heading west, we entered into a part of the country that for many Americans is unimaginable.
West Virginia is an interesting state. It is either 49th or 50th in median income. Minnesota is 14th. Maternal mortality is twice the national average and infant mortality, especially for Black infants is fully twice the national average. Highway 55 takes you right through this snapshot of this demographic nightmare.
We were struck by a whole munch of questions. Just how do people survive? Where do they obtain any type of reliable healthcare? Where the heck are the schools? Where do people work and earn money, and how do they afford $4.60 gas to travel the 50 miles to a place where you might find work or groceries or even a beer? What do young people do? If you were pregnant, where exactly would you go to allow your your infant survive?
This is systemic economic disparity, though we academics are often told not to use the word systemic. All is poppies and marigolds and everyone can use those bootstraps to move up a few economic levels. I am a bit doubtful that this is possible and it is very sad.
While that view of West Virginia is dismal and even ugly, the simpler visual view along highway 55 is anything but ugly. Misty vistas, steep winding roads, and views that take your breath away are commonplace. Isn't that interesting is you can love the country but also, not love some of the underlying things that you just can't ignore.
Tomorrow we have more Appalachia to see and experience. Here is a bit of trivia to end the post--how do you say Appalachia? In Ohio, the most common way is to say it like "apple at cha" though there are other opinions.
More from the road tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment