Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.
Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.
The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.
Our first stop on my family’s trip to Scotland this past spring was to Edinburgh. We woke up extra early and grabbed our tickets to see the Edinburgh castle, which is almost 1000 years old. As we were walking up with the rest of the tourists my eyes looked upwards and saw this.
Take a close look. Do you notice anything wrong in this picture? If not, let’s try another one.
I learned to read much later than than expected. Part “I was good at faking it” and part “teacher about to retire just let me play and not do any work in second grade.” Third grade started my long journey with despising the act of reading. It wasn’t until Grad School that I started to enjoy the books and articles that were assigned to me.
One of the things my mom said to me growing up was “Ben, you don’t hate reading. You just haven’t found the right book.” Non-fiction books discussing nature fascinate me. I’m reading a book at the moment about all the habitats in the world, and that is a more gripping read to me than any classic I read in high school. But just as you shouldn’t stick to one genre of music, I thought I should expand what I was reading when I bought Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan.
My two biggest disappointments in my public schooling education are 1) not becoming fluent in another language and 2) the US history I was taught. Not only was I taught factually incorrect things, but I was never taught historically significant events that happened locally. The Battle of Blair Mountain is a must read for anyone living in Appalachia.
In December 2020 the employees of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh voted to form a union. This marked an end to the six month campaign lead by the United Steel Workers and it also marked the beginning of a new era in the four museum network.
After the official formation of the United Museum Workers union, many of my friends and colleges said the same thing; “Andrew Carnegie must be rolling in his grave.”
This morning marked the third day that Pittsburgh has been in a “Code Orange” for air quality. For those who are unaware, code orange is defined as “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” While there are a multitude of factors including seasonal weather and topography, one of the largest factors for the Monongahela Valley is Clairton Coke Works.
Even though I am not in one of the defined sensitive groups, I had trouble breathing when out and about yesterday and today. The thick haze that has covered my city has made me want to stay inside and find distractions.
I cannot think of a better analogy for how I have felt politically over the past four years.
Early last Saturday morning I awoke before sunrise. Climbing out of my hanging tent, I took a peaceful walk through the woods to the stony shore of the Allegheny Reservoir. There is a clarity of thought that happens that early in the morning. Sun melted away the fog and my morning grogginess.
Unfortunately, large motor boats broke the still silence of the morning. Large and loud, they charged forward on the reservoir as I sat contemplating. My plan was to kayak early in the morning, but those boats were creating such large wakes that it would be unsafe to travel on the water.
Before starting my road trip back to Pittsburgh, I stopped to read this sign.
A few days ago I had no more excuses. I was settled into my new job, had mostly everything unpacked in my apartment, and the holidays were over; I had to go for a run.
I'm not one of those millennials who enjoy running. The only thing dragging me out of my place that day to do it was my body saying "No more excuses! You need to go for a run!" The problem with this is as soon as I'm on a run, my body seems to break down. Everything from short of breath, ankles throbbing, and heart pounding. Again, I know it is the right thing to do, but I sure do hate doing it.
To help distract myself from all of the complications listed above, I thought I would explore my new neighborhood while exercising. Not ten minutes in did I stumble upon this sign below:
On a brisk Saturday afternoon I found myself with thousands of others carrying signs to the middle of Boston to gather in protest. Across the nation the March for Science has a simple mission. In their own words:
I have experienced only two forms of great podcasts. The first is the consistent great content that spends more time with you than your close friends. The podcast is there for you, week after week, providing you with great content.
The second form of great podcasts is fleeting, but powerful. These tend to be either flops in the water, or huge cult classics. Because there is no consistent updates, the original content has to be so great to keep people talking about it even after all of the episodes have aired. S-Town one of the best examples of this I have ever seen.
With the powerhouse names of "This American Life" and "Serial" behind it, I knew S-Town was going to be good. But it wasn't until I finished it that I realized the true depth of its greatness.
