pairs of oposites

hazard to wheelwright- 09/17/2011

stopped in Hazard Kentucky and saw the Coal Pride festival. i met some sweet kids that were sons and daughters of coalminers. we had a conversation about the fact that coal is what their communities survive on and at the same time hinders it's development socially and is environmentally damaging yet is a mater of family pride and tradition.

what i mean by social hindrance is that, you are either for coal or against it and a lot of people are vehement supporters of it to the point of being indoctrinated. the attitude is, "Coal supports my family!" and you can't really fuck with that.
one of these kids was a mandolin picker and really cool, we hung out for a good while but his mandolin was the next county over, so no pickin'. because none of the folks i met lived in town, i spent the night next to a bridge in my tent out of the view of the general population, it was a really good night, pleasant weather and quite peaceful.

comming out of Hazard in stopped at this mechanic's shop, i wanna say it was Baglliani's Auto Body Shop, but i might be mistaken- i was ten miles away from Hazard and just passed through Dwarf, but the Mechanic was definite Italian and a bluegrass fan. there was a Sheriff that worked in Pike County there getting his car serviced. those fellas were some jolly fellas. they asked me to do some pickin' for 'em. mechanic said that made his day


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next i passed through Hindman KY, where i heard an elderly woman calling for help as a passed. i didn't believe my ears at first. nobody else was around accept one pickup truck that didn't seem to be stopping. i heard her say she couldn't get up. she was about a hundred yards away in a bench out side a community center that was apparently closed for the day.

so i turned around and pulled in. first i tried to find someone who could help her, and i told her so, but she says, "what did you say? i can't hear, Help Me Help Me! iv'e been here for an hour and no one has stopped!"

i tell you, i couldn't figure out where to support her to get her out of the bench and on to her walker, she was really frail and not strong, i was afraid of hurtin g her. finally another woman from the flower shop next door came out and practically scolded her, "Mildred, what are you doing out here?" the lady put one hand on her back and the other under the back of her leg by the hamstring and helped her right up.

then Mildred wanted us to help her home, so the lady Rebeca, i think that was her name, got her car and we drove about five hundred feet to Mildred's home and walked her in side. Mildred was sort of in a panic and wanted us to stay with her, which was kind of impossible. in hind sight, i should have stayed with her and asked her to tell me about her life and kept her company for a while. she wouldn't say how old she was and apparently her care giver was off with family for the day because of a death in the family.

according to Rebecca, Mildred used to own a hardware store and has three sons that don't check on her and only this other woman that helps her. Rebecca's opinion is that she should be in a home so she can have constant care. i left there feeling depressed because this woman has nobody and is very lonely and obviously has the desire to get up and move, yet Rebecca told her, for her own safety, to stay home and read the bible or a good magazine and not get out again. you know the term use it or lose it? i was thinking she should be getting out as much as possible, i can't believe she made it down the ramp of her house without falling but you can see she has a lot of fight in her still. i feel like she does need to be in a home so she'll have help getting around and more social interaction instead of being alone.
i rode on through the valley of Pipa Passes with a sinking feeling over that.