This morning (one of my last mornings in WV for quite some time) I was listening to NPR, as I do every morning. There was an interview with Roddy Doyle, an Irish writer. I was struck by how his observations on Irish identity and the economic role of tourism mirrored my thoughts about West Virginia. He says:

Doyle says the diffusion of culture in Ireland — results of the link to Irish Americans and the fact that the Irish speak English, he says — have made the country a “very self-conscious place.”

“We seem to punch beyond our weight, so to speak,” Doyle says. He worries about history repeating itself, if not in physical violence, then in the selling of Irish culture. “It’s happening again because the economy, as you’re probably aware, has hit, if not rock bottom, pretty close. And I suppose while the bankers and politicians have let us down, culture really hasn’t, and suddenly the power of books and literature — and to a lesser extent, I suppose, film — has come to the fore again.”

Of vital importance now, Doyle says, is just who will decide what it is to be Irish.

“Will it be us, the citizens of Ireland that actually live there? Or will it be some kind of marketing department of the Civil Service who will try to define what Irish culture is in the hopes of enticing people to arrive and spend their money?” he asks. “When I was a kid, if you didn’t speak Irish, you really wanted to. And you played Gaelic games and you didn’t pay any attention to what was happening in the outside world, because really, Ireland was the center of the universe. And I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Although, admittedly, it is the center of the universe.”

We West Virginian’s tend to “punch beyond our weight” as well. And our culture is also being diffused—-and has been for a long time (Beverly Hillbillies, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, so on and so forth). But I see the selling of culture here in West Virginia too as not just products of the larger “Hillbilly Diaspora” but by the state government and the educated yuppie types as well. State sponsored ads in magazines like Backcountry and Southern Living show the state as an escape, a paradise of mountain biking and rock climbing. There is that, but its more for tourists. And the educated yuppie types try to highbrow the culture of the state, turning backyard music into “folk art.” I know its a way to preserve the culture, I know it gets funding, I know it helps others appreciate it. But I never did feel comfortable with the stereotype of the innocent mountain native just playin’ fiddle.

I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. Among other subjects, he discusses why southerners, especially from Appalachia are so durn feisty. Its the herding culture of the Scotch-Irish-a people who were always scrabbling to keep their sheep in their own pasture. He relates the feuds of the early 1800’s, the Hatfeilds and McCoys etc, to this culture of defending your herd, and by extension, defending your honor. Maybe that’s why I get so determined about keeping things authentic here in WV. And why the Irish decided to start blowing up cars?

PS Ireland WV is a town in Webster County. My friend Bob McQuain grew up there.

Look at that lil’ bumblebee.

I’ll be entering GA Tech this fall in the Masters of City and Regional Planning program. I’m very excited to make the move to a big city after living here in Morgantown for 3 years (!). One of the best things about this program is the wide variety of specializations you can choose from. I’m looking forward to taking classes in design, economic development, and community and land development. My background is in downtown revitalization and real estate, so I’ve been thinking about somehow combining these two interests in a endevor to rehab historic buildings and marketing them as live/work areas for entrepreneurs. Of course that is just and idea, and I have a lot of them…

We move at the end of May…wish me luck!!

As an aspiring City and Regional Planning student (fingers crossed) I think about municipal and neighborhood issues a lot. I worked as a VISTA at a downtown revitalization agency for a year, and now I work in real estate and property manangement, marketing apartments, a trailer park, and a premier housing development. It makes for an interesting work day.

I plan on writing about Morgantown, and other places in West Virginia. I grew up in this state, and though I’ve lived other places, I always end up coming back. Because it is the best Virginia. And it gives many other places a run for their money.

Oh, Hinkleville is a small settlement near where I grew up. There is a rough little country store there where you can get gas, beer, video rentals and a tan. In the parking lot, there are usually at least 2 jacked up pick ups. Its one of those places that has a bulletin board with homemade missing dog signs. The Hinkleville Country Store would never claim anything of the sort, but it is definately the heart of a thriving rural community, and it plays a vital part in the daily lives of its patrons. More so than any suburban Whole Foods.