Category Archives: VA

Divide and Rule – – –

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Jack gets in almost in time for his Wednesday guest post – –

It seems that all over the world populist politicians have discovered the thing that others did in the 1930s or earlier.

But on Tuesday Wendy and I discovered something else –

We volunteered to hand out Democrat flyers and sample voting forms to folk as they arrived to vote at the local High School here in town. We started at 3pm and were due to continue until 7pm when the vote would close.

We arrived and were given our package of stuff and began welcoming folk as they approached. Another couple of folk were doing the same thing off to the side of us, for the Republicans – –

It was cold, miserable and raining. We shared umbrellas with our Republican compadres and chatted. Like most small towns in the US there’s a mix of ‘old families’ and newcomers. We discovered that the older guy was about to retire as a power line maintenance middle manager and move to North Carolina. His colleague was a first-time volunteer who had recently moved from California. In short order we shared a lot about each other as we continued to hand out our stuff. We didn’t talk about politics and it seemed there was no need to.

As people arrived and walked up towards us it was a mixed bag about being able to tell which way they might vote; they were young and old and some were even first time voters. Some of those wearing Trump hats or tee shirts joked with us, but only a few guys (and they were all guys) were threatening, and our new friends moved them on.

But then just 30 minutes before the polls closed along came someone else. Not a voter but a very serious Trump enthusiast. She had a loud voice which meant I discovered that she, like me, is 82 years old. Turning her back on us she took control of the  Republican team and just in case they didn’t understand explained that we, and all our kind, were the spawn of Satan. She continued to explain to no-one except us that God, Jesus and Trump were in combination the saviors of America. Finally the mean one went to her car to get something and Wendy asked the older man if he really believed she (Wendy) couldn’t be a Christian and a Democrat.

Yes, he did.

Bur we wish our friends well in their new lives and we’re glad we helped each other to survive those cold, wet and miserable 4 hours.

Democracy in action.

Trickle Down

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Yeah, I know it’s been awhile guys. There was this hurricane, see. And I’ve pitched a book to my agent about the hurricane in partnership with a reporter colleague from Inside Appalachia days (Roxy Todd) and we were flat out either delivering supplies or gathering stories. Keep you posted on that.

But here we are, back to a world of normalcy and trying not to think about muddy water 24/7, and the Governor’s Summit on Prosperity began last night, hosted in my town at our most posh hotel. Live music and fresh veggie trays with cute little finger food nibbles lined the tables, while a whole lot of suits and dresses swirled on the patio in a “see and be seen” dance.

The weekend before this began, I was running a medical conference at BREAKS Interstate Park. It’s always a bit of a guessing game to know how many people will actually make it up the mountain to eat with us, so I take any leftover food from that event to the local motels where those in transience can get some nutritional content from great cooking. Two pans of lasagna went to the Econolodge and the Travel Lite when I got home Sunday, along with some breakfast trays.

So Monday night I’m staring at the swirling skirts and hearing the wall of sound so many individual conversations become in a networking space, the words that just bounce off your eardrums and you don’t need to hear them to know what’s being said anyway, and I wondered–what are they going to do with the leftover food?

Three conversations up the hierarchical ladder later, I was talking to someone very polite with “manager” in her title who had clearly never been asked this question before. First she needed to talk to Kristie, who organized the event and paid for everything. I got Kristie’s approval. Then Ms. Manager thought we might need to ask the health department if it was okay. Which made me giggle but it was a noisy night and she was busy so we agreed to connect the next day.

The theme of the evening was rural prosperity. The Boling Wilson where the reception with the live music and the pork belly squares and the sweet little corn and cheese and tomato toppers on flat bread were being served to the people who were going to make life better for everyone, was across the street and down a block from the Travel Lite, where the lucky unhoused manage to get vouchers for a week at a time.

Maybe that’s enough metaphor for one day, this being my first blog in awhile. I’ll let you know what happens to the food. Y’all have a good day.