Backus Mountain, Meadow Ridge, West by God Virginia
As a child, living in Michigan, my daddy & his kinfolk were mostly from West Virginia.
They are/were Native American mostly. Proud people who worked in coal mines, brewed home distilled moonshine. Many of them were born on Backus Mountain (in the Appalachian Mtns.), they lived there, married there, raised their sweet babies, died there.
Occasionally, some of them would come down from the hills for something other than work. For the most part, they stayed in the hills.
Dude!
It's truly beautiful up there!
I remember seeing this, or something very similar, the river gorge bridge, West Virginia.
Family ties are stronger, life is much more simple up there.
I was just an infant when daddy moved mom, my older brother & sister up to Michigan.
On my birth certificate it lists my parents as living in:
Backus Mountain, Beckley, West Virginia:
That's West By God Virginia to you! Ha ha!
Born in Raleigh County Hospital.
Daddy came from a large family. My cousins 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. all moved up to Michigan at around the same time. Then, the successive ones born came along.
My cousins were almost my only playmates for most of my childhood. Have to give credence to small town life. 🎔
All of us had that sweet little twangy West Virginia inflection in our voices, in our speech patterns.
"Y'all wont some cawfee?"
"Y'all wonna stay fer supper?"
"Turn the picture box to the news."
"Kids! It's purt near time for bed."
Daddy's family were very intelligent, resourceful people. They did whatever it took to take care of themselves, their loved ones, the dogs, the cars. Daddy was an especially talented mechanic. He could fix anything mechanical. He was just that good. He could also get just about any edible plant to grow en mass! He had a huge garden every summer.
Life was far from idyllic, we had our struggles.
Having family members (aunts, uncles, cousins ad even a few neighbors) come over for a barbecue or to sit around the table was a regular activity. Daddy would get his guitar out, plug it in to the amplifier, other family members who also played guitar & sang would be jamming until as long as 0300 hrs.
The air would ring with their guitars, their voices. Daddy would tap his toe to stay in time with the others. Just for fun & because I was quite certain I could get away with it, I would step on his toe, throwing his rhythm off! I was a bit of a mischief maker.
Ah, yes!!!
Some things stay the same! 😁
My mom would sometimes mock daddy by doing her best to speak with a West Virginia accent. She knew how to press his buttons.
It was a revelation to me, when I left my parents home, that I had the same accent as Daddy & all of his kinfolk.
Yup.
While going through USAF BMT people would sometimes chuckle at the way I talked. Then, in USAF Tech school, I began to lose the accent.
It would surface briefly if I was angry, very tired or simply unaware that I had slipped back into it.
Traveling all over the world, my vocal inflections changed according to where I was living. I could speak other languages like a native. Also, I could speak English (or Amerikanische as the German people called it) with a different accent, depending upon where I was or to whom I was conversing.
When I lived in Hawai'i, I spoke Pidgin. That was fun!!!!
Having lived mostly in the Midwest & North part of CONUS when I was in the USA, the accent had diminished to a slight lilt.
In 2012, due to many circumstances, I moved from Colorado to Texas. Once again, I have started slipping back into the southern accent I had up until the age of 18.
With that said, I have started to reconnect with family who are mostly living in Michigan. Last night, I was messaging with a cousin whose mama, I was very close to as a child. He messaged me that his mama often asked about me.
Surprise!
In truth, I thought that all of my family in Michigan had forgotten all about me. I have only gone back to Michigan a few times, since leaving to serve Unkie Sam at age 18.
My cousin gave me his mama's phone number while urging me to call her, that she would just love to hear from me.
Being a bit unsure, yet knowing that my cousin had always been a good guy with honest intent to help others, it was well worth it!
In truth? I was scared. I was shaking as I punched her number into my phone.
While fear of rejection may rattle many people, it paralyzes me!
While actually being rejected can sting others, it decimates me.
When his mama, Shirley answered, I felt a warmth wash over me. Her sweet smiling face came back to my memory. She is still one of those people that just about everyone loves. She smiles all the time. She always had a cheerful countenance about her.
Some things stay the same.
She and I had a very nice conversation, catching up.
After awhile, she told me that her son, David, wanted to talk to me.
He and I spoke for a few minutes when he said:
"You still have that country accent, don't you?"
Some things may change, then, go back to the way they were.
I think a trip to Michigan might happen for me in 2019!
