1.  2

     
    You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.
    — Pearl S. Buck
     

    Pearl S. Buck Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Hillsboro WV West Virginia The Good Earth literature quote 

  2.  5

     
    Diamonds in the Rough This dude is Woodie Walker II. His paternal grandfather was Johnny Walker. No, not as in the the whiskey, but as in the dude who co-owned a tattoo parlor in Hawaii with Norman Collins, a.k.a. “Sailor Jerry,” who, in turn, inspired the making of my favorite spiced rum. Woodie’s grandfather is currently being researched for a biography piece in Tattoo Archive. This dude, like me, lives in super-rural mountain Pocahontas County, WV. He is a fine writer, a hard worker, an all-around handy man, and, last but not least, my friend. No big deal.

    Diamonds in the Rough

    This dude is Woodie Walker II. His paternal grandfather was Johnny Walker. No, not as in the the whiskey, but as in the dude who co-owned a tattoo parlor in Hawaii with Norman Collins, a.k.a. “Sailor Jerry,” who, in turn, inspired the making of my favorite spiced rum.

    Woodie’s grandfather is currently being researched for a biography piece in Tattoo Archive.

    This dude, like me, lives in super-rural mountain Pocahontas County, WV. He is a fine writer, a hard worker, an all-around handy man, and, last but not least, my friend.

    No big deal.

    (Source: daringdame)

     

    Sailor Jerry Johnny Walker Norman Collins Hawaii Tattoo Archive tattoos Pocahontas County WV West Virginia Marlinton 

  3.  3

     
    Pouty Michelle ALL THE FUN things are happening today, and I am missing them, because I have to work at the new gig, which is much different than the make-my-own-schedule job I used to have. At least I’ll catch the last 30-45 minutes of the Caravan of Thieves show, though!

    Pouty Michelle

    ALL THE FUN things are happening today, and I am missing them, because I have to work at the new gig, which is much different than the make-my-own-schedule job I used to have.

    At least I’ll catch the last 30-45 minutes of the Caravan of Thieves show, though!

     

    Caravan of Thieves pink hair Dirtbean Ohana Cafe Marlinton Pocahontas County WV Great Greenbrier River Race West Virginia 

  4.  10

     

    Knapps Creek Bridge - Marlinton, WV - By Michelle Evans

    I took a picture of the bottom right subject, because it reminded me of a Dalek:

    (Source: daringdame)

     

    Knapps Creek Knapps Creek Bridge Marlinton WV West Virginia Pocahontas County graffiti Dalek Daleks Doctor Who 

  5.  13

     
    OH EM GEE THIS WAS MADE FOR MEEEEE. And I rhymed. Also fitting, because I moved from an urban setting (Philly) to a rural one (WV) thinking I liked the outdoors a lot more than it turns out I actually do. Oops.

    OH EM GEE THIS WAS MADE FOR MEEEEE.

    And I rhymed.

    Also fitting, because I moved from an urban setting (Philly) to a rural one (WV) thinking I liked the outdoors a lot more than it turns out I actually do.

    Oops.

     

    Philadelphia Philly West Virginia WV Pocahontas County drinking outdoors 

  6.  2

     

    Ramp Dinner w/ Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys at Pretty Penny Cafe - Hillsboro, WV - Part 1 of 2


    This is the same place they filmed some of James Franco’s film, Child of God.

    I had the ramps, potatoes, ham, and cheese dish with some sweet tea. My friend Natasha had the same, along with the tempura fried ramps for her appetizer. It was beyond delicious. I love living somewhere there is so much good food and, literally, for the pickin’. (Foraging is easy and quite fruitful here, and people trade all the time or just give it away. For instance, my friend’s mom gave me a dozen country eggs from our mutual friend’s 23 chickens.)

    I should’ve gotten pictures of the folks dancing, especially my supervisor with his granddaughters, but I wasn’t thinking!

    (Source: daringdame)

     

    ramps WV West Virginia Hillsboro Pretty Penny cafe James Franco Child of God eggs ham potatoes Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys Richard Hefner Hefner 

  7.  7

     
    Mark and I had talked about doing this over this summer, but fuck it, I gots frenz, yo, and I need to remember that. Looks like it might be time to resurrect DIPD (“Drinking In the Park Day”) too, though maybe it should be re-dubbed “Drinking By the River Day (DBRD),” but I’m not so sure it has the same ring?

    Mark and I had talked about doing this over this summer, but fuck it, I gots frenz, yo, and I need to remember that.

    Looks like it might be time to resurrect DIPD (“Drinking In the Park Day”) too, though maybe it should be re-dubbed “Drinking By the River Day (DBRD),” but I’m not so sure it has the same ring?

     

    spring summer fall creek river Greenbrier River Knapps Creek Knapps Creek Bridge WV West Virginia Pocahontas County DIPD Drinking In the Park Day Philly Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square park 

  8.  1

     

    imalwaysallright asked: You're a Nashville girl, right? Have you heard "Home" by Ben Rector?

    Nope and nope! While I was born and raised in the South till I was 16 (and born in Memphis), I’ve never lived in Nashville. I have been there a few times, though, and it’s my favorite place to be these days. I hope to move there in the fall of 2013 to transfer to Belmont University as a Music Business major.

    I’m in Pocahontas County, WV right now. I came here from Philly, where I had lived for 10 years, in August of 2010 to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA. I signed on for a second year of that in August of 2011 but recently handed in my resignation due to financial hardship for both me and my mother.

    This is a long answer to your question. Sorry! I will definitely check out Ben Rector!

     

    imalwaysallright Ben Rector Home AmeriCorps VISTA Belmont University music business Memphis Nashville Philly Philadelphia Pocahontas County WV West Virginia Marlinton TN Tennessee 

  9.  6

     
    Le Update Ginormous I enrolled in college today for the fall semester at One Room University, a satellite campus to New River Community & Technical College meant to provide Associate’s degrees and certifications to people like me who live in very rural regions and for whom commuting or moving to Lewisburg (voted “Coolest Small Town” in 2011) or anywhere in Greenbrier County (where they have other campuses and it is pricier to live) would prove a financial hardship. Turns out, I can finish most of my Fine Arts Associate’s degree in Arts Management online and via satellite at ORU in two semesters. (Not all my credits from Community College of Philadelphia will transfer.) A summer semester in 2013 on campus should complete the degree entirely. This degree will help me nicely in transferring to Belmont University in Nashville for a Bachelor’s degree in Music Business. I’m very proud of this community (Pocahontas County) and everything it has to offer people like me, who are willing to work for what they want and just need a little help “getting there.” I feel lively and hopeful again about my future, and I haven’t felt that way in quite some time due to my financial situation over the last few years. It is also making me like where I live again, for the first time in I don’t know how long. Oh! And did I mention, I resigned from my VISTA position with AmeriCorps? It was proving too difficult to support myself, so I gave a month’s notice this past Monday, the 12th. I start a new job that will go through September, where I will make more money as a barista at the local coffee shop just two blocks from me, the Dirtbean O’hana Cafe. I will also do some freelancing and side-gigs too, because I really need to take care of some things that have gone undone due to lack of funds, like car repairs and cavity fillings and such. One more thing! My mother is moving from Delaware to here. She and I will be roommates. She needs a safe, affordable, senior-friendly place to retire, and this is it! I know she will be okay here when I go on to Nashville, and that gives me and my sister (who lives in Baltimore) great peace of mind. Okay, this is long enough. Later gators!

    Le Update Ginormous

    I enrolled in college today for the fall semester at One Room University, a satellite campus to New River Community & Technical College meant to provide Associate’s degrees and certifications to people like me who live in very rural regions and for whom commuting or moving to Lewisburg (voted “Coolest Small Town” in 2011) or anywhere in Greenbrier County (where they have other campuses and it is pricier to live) would prove a financial hardship.

    Turns out, I can finish most of my Fine Arts Associate’s degree in Arts Management online and via satellite at ORU in two semesters. (Not all my credits from Community College of Philadelphia will transfer.) A summer semester in 2013 on campus should complete the degree entirely. This degree will help me nicely in transferring to Belmont University in Nashville for a Bachelor’s degree in Music Business.

    I’m very proud of this community (Pocahontas County) and everything it has to offer people like me, who are willing to work for what they want and just need a little help “getting there.” I feel lively and hopeful again about my future, and I haven’t felt that way in quite some time due to my financial situation over the last few years. It is also making me like where I live again, for the first time in I don’t know how long.

    Oh! And did I mention, I resigned from my VISTA position with AmeriCorps? It was proving too difficult to support myself, so I gave a month’s notice this past Monday, the 12th. I start a new job that will go through September, where I will make more money as a barista at the local coffee shop just two blocks from me, the Dirtbean O’hana Cafe. I will also do some freelancing and side-gigs too, because I really need to take care of some things that have gone undone due to lack of funds, like car repairs and cavity fillings and such.

    One more thing! My mother is moving from Delaware to here. She and I will be roommates. She needs a safe, affordable, senior-friendly place to retire, and this is it! I know she will be okay here when I go on to Nashville, and that gives me and my sister (who lives in Baltimore) great peace of mind.

    Okay, this is long enough. Later gators!

     

    One Room University New River Pocahontas County Greenbrier County Greenbrier River The Greenbrier WV West Virginia Dirtbean Cafe Lewisbirg 

  10.  1

     

    olivider asked: Here's to starting over and here's to good whiskey. That's what I say.

    Thanks, boo.  <3

    Come an’ see me in ol’ West Virginny!

     olivider replied to your post: Here’s to starting over and here’s to good whiskey. That’s what I say.

    When I am back in ze states, I think I shall :)

    That would be sooooo rad!

     

    olivider Pocahontas County WV West Virginia mountains 

  11.  3

     
    Sharp&#8217;s &#8220;Kissing Bridge&#8221; by The 219 Project via The Pocahontas Times, Feb 24, 2012 SHARP&#8217;S STORE, SLATYFORK — We happened to stop at Sharp’s Country Store on our way up to Elkins today, which very often is a frequent stop for us on our travels up and down US 219. Have you noticed that across from the old store is a bright red covered bridge? Did you know that it is often referred to as the “kissing bridge?”Just what is a kissing bridge? Tom Shipley, owner of Sharp’s Store, said his great uncle Dave Sharp confessed the truth when he was 90 years old: “When my Great Uncle Dave was a boy, he said you were always with your family, in church, in the field, being taught by your aunts, and the only way to get away and catch a peck with a girl was to arrange for a rendezvous in a covered bridge.” His uncle was insistent that it had to be red. So Tom Shipley built his uncle a red “kissing bridge”, across from the store that his uncle had owned and operated since he was just 18 years old. This was in 2005, when his uncle was still alive.“He was a really great guy; you would have loved to have talked to him.”  His uncle Dave Sharp was also the one who hung the manikin from the barn to shock drivers into thinking a man is falling from his ladder. I have to admit, that manikin is what first brought me to Shipley’s store. Apparently, the romance of a red covered bridge isn’t just a thing of the past. Shipley said folks ask his permission to propose marriage inside that bridge sometimes.

    Sharp’s “Kissing Bridge” by The 219 Project via The Pocahontas Times, Feb 24, 2012

    SHARP’S STORE, SLATYFORK — We happened to stop at Sharp’s Country Store on our way up to Elkins today, which very often is a frequent stop for us on our travels up and down US 219. Have you noticed that across from the old store is a bright red covered bridge? Did you know that it is often referred to as the “kissing bridge?”

    Just what is a kissing bridge? Tom Shipley, owner of Sharp’s Store, said his great uncle Dave Sharp confessed the truth when he was 90 years old: “When my Great Uncle Dave was a boy, he said you were always with your family, in church, in the field, being taught by your aunts, and the only way to get away and catch a peck with a girl was to arrange for a rendezvous in a covered bridge.” His uncle was insistent that it had to be red. So Tom Shipley built his uncle a red “kissing bridge”, across from the store that his uncle had owned and operated since he was just 18 years old. This was in 2005, when his uncle was still alive.
    “He was a really great guy; you would have loved to have talked to him.”  His uncle Dave Sharp was also the one who hung the manikin from the barn to shock drivers into thinking a man is falling from his ladder. I have to admit, that manikin is what first brought me to Shipley’s store. 

    Apparently, the romance of a red covered bridge isn’t just a thing of the past. Shipley said folks ask his permission to propose marriage inside that bridge sometimes.

     

    Sharp's Store Kissing Bridge Pocahontas County WV West Virginia The Pocahontas Times 

  12.  1

     

    dwiltse28 replied to your photo: Since almost everyone is interested in my angst…

    pshhh oh you know it :). Mal and I need to visit soon!

    Yes, y’all do! It is super-nice here May onward and then particularly so in the fall.

     

    dwiltse28 Pocahontas County WV West Virginia 

  13.  5

     

    Pretty Penny Cafe in Hillsboro, WV

    I heard they were filming for Child of God 20 minutes away from me at the Pretty Penny Cafe in Hillsboro, WV. While unable to observe or take photos, I was able to get the cell phone number to the casting dude. Turns out we both lived in Philly and ended up talking for, like, 20 minutes. Small world!

    Anyway, just submitted the last of my photos. I had to take a body shot, because I didn’t have one.

     

    Child of God Cormac McCarthy James Franco Hillsboro WV West Virginia Pocahontas COunty Pretty Penny Cafe 

  14.  12

     
    For those who might have missed it, this is what I&#8217;m up to these days: Dirtbean Ohana Cafe This is one of my new “office” options for my new position. The others are the local library, the local radio station, and home. Oh, yeah, so that happened! I now have a shared position as the Social Media Coordinator for the West Virginians for Affordable Health Care and the local community radio stations known as Allegheny Mountain Radio. These are good fits for me because: Social media is my background, I went without health insurance for 10 years before joining AmeriCorps, so I can relate, and I love music and will also be getting my own DJ night. I am still an AmeriCorps VISTA in Pocahontas County, WV and will still be here till at least August of 2012 (possibly till December). I just switched organizations. This is a more self-starting kind of job, which is way more my style. I am already much happier.  :) In other news, I have an appointment with Admissions at Rhodes College (a college that &#8220;changes lives&#8221;) in Memphis on March 5th. I am nervous and stoked, all at once!

    For those who might have missed it, this is what I’m up to these days:

    Dirtbean Ohana Cafe

    This is one of my new “office” options for my new position. The others are the local library, the local radio station, and home.

    Oh, yeah, so that happened! I now have a shared position as the Social Media Coordinator for the West Virginians for Affordable Health Care and the local community radio stations known as Allegheny Mountain Radio. These are good fits for me because:

    1. Social media is my background,
    2. I went without health insurance for 10 years before joining AmeriCorps, so I can relate, and
    3. I love music and will also be getting my own DJ night.

    I am still an AmeriCorps VISTA in Pocahontas County, WV and will still be here till at least August of 2012 (possibly till December). I just switched organizations. This is a more self-starting kind of job, which is way more my style. I am already much happier.  :)

    In other news, I have an appointment with Admissions at Rhodes College (a college that “changes lives”) in Memphis on March 5th. I am nervous and stoked, all at once!

     

    McClintic Library Dirtbean Ohana Cafe Dirtbean Marlinton Pocahontas County WV West Virginia WVAHC health care act AmeriCorps VISTA social media WVMR Allegheny Mountain Radio Rhodes College Colleges That Change Lives Loren Pope 

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