Literature Appetizer
Ben Kusserow
A Northern Appalachian's Journey

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.

A Northern Appalachian's Journey

island

Salinity: what's really in the water?

Salinity: what's really in the water?

When I first started to live on Thompson Island I often said that I "didn't emotionally understand the ocean." I could explain how the moon's gravitational pull makes the water move around the globe, but when I would stand on the shore I would think "how do I know the ocean is going to keep going down or coming up?" It may sound silly for those with tons of ocean experience, but it felt like someone who had never seen the sun rise and set.

To get to know the ocean a little better, I try to spend a part of each day just listening to it. My view is often like the picture below with such a great sight of the City on the Hill (well, technically three but who's counting). Besides the tides, one of the biggest differences of living in the harbor vs Diablo Lake in Washington is the smell of salt.

But what really is salinity? How does it work?