Hillbilly

“I walked not in the way of righteousness...” Part VI

Dan — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:54:45 +0000

Let me say this about growing up, I was a happy kid for the first eight years!!!! I remember there being a lot of love in our house. I was a very shy but happy little boy. I do have a couple of specific memories of that time.
One was starting school. After I got over crying everyday for the first hour, I rather enjoyed kindergarten. I look back on those pictures and I am smiling up a storm in them. Our teacher was Mrs. Potter and she was a nice, sweet, kind lady. The kids were great also. They would, at times, talk about events that I didn’t understand and that made me feel a little dumb, but it was a lack of my socialization. Even though everyone in our neighborhood was from Kentucky, Tennessee or West Virginia; most all of the kids I went to school with were from higher class neighborhoods. Some had Dads who were executives for Ford or General Motors or other companies. I never went on a ski weekend in Colorado or visited Disneyland. I was sure they had never eaten sweetbreads or killed a rattlesnake in their cousin’s back yard – so it was cool.
I also remember driving all day to visit family in Pikeville, KY. We would load up early in the morning and take off for Route 23 which would take us straight to ‘home’. Home, that is what Momma and Daddy called it. Because it was home to them, it was home to me, even though I had never lived there. We would stay with my Aunt Bootsy. Her house was halfway up a hill (actually it was a mountain, Momma just called it a hill). We would park the car in a community parking lot, walk a piece, then take the 49 steps up the hill to her house. There was a coal tipple at the foot of the mountain, where her hill was. I loved to watch the coal trucks, which came out of the mountain mines, back up the ramp at the tipple and dump their load in the feeder and pull off and down the alley to get another load. After a while the coal train would pull up to the tipple and start taking its load. I would sit on Bootsy’s front porch which was 19 feet off the ground and watch this spectacle everyday that we didn’t have anything to do. My Aunt Maud lived at the bottom of the ‘hill’ and two doors over. At least once a visit we would all get together at her house. It would be all of her kids and their kids, and all of us. Being shy as I was I would find a chair in the corner and watch them all interact. I did not really feel connected to this “crowd”, I was the only one not born in Pikeville, but I felt very proud to be a part of this family that loved and cried, cussed and feuded with each other.

Come Memorial Day we would dress up in our Sunday going best and visit the graves of family who had gone on before. We would once again hear the stories of death, bullets and coal mines. Daddy and Doug would pull weeds and rake around the graves. Momma and Aunt Bootsy would put the flowers on the graves. I would watch and wonder. Was I a part of this loving, caring family? Why did I only feel this way here, at ‘home’?
The other thing I remember is our family being part of the Underground Hillbilly Railroad. After WW II most of the hill people who went to the Detroit area to work in the bomber plants stayed and went to work for Ford or other large manufacturer. Daddy went to work at Great Lakes Steel (GLS) as an inspector. His job was to inspect the steel as it went into the ‘cold mill’ and grade it according to strength and purity. How he did this was always a puzzle to me; but they took his word for it and sold it accordingly. (When Daddy retired, one of the Big Bosses came to his party and remarked that “with Press retiring, an end of an age had come...” It would take two college graduates with engineering degrees and computers to replace him, his pencil and 7th grade education.)
Anyway, as young men in the hills would come to working age they had two choices: 1] work in the coal mines or 2] go north to find factory work. Some of these young men were friends or their families were friends with Momma and Daddy. When they came north, they would seek our house out for a place to stay until they could get on their feet. Daddy or my Uncle Joe, (Momma’s brother who lived 2 houses down from us) would then help them find a job, either at GLS or Ford where Uncle Joe worked. Anytime of the day or night there would be a knock on the door, then a short explanation to Momma or Daddy, then the pot was on the stove, coffee was brewing and the latest update on family and friends in the hills. They would be on the couch a night or two and then be gone. There would be times we would have 5 or more scattered about the floors. It was agreed that we would house them and Uncle Joe would provide the food. At this time Uncle Joe had several teenage daughters; let the reader understand.
This all ended one day when the knock at the door was not a starving hillbilly but a Michigan State Trooper. I was 7 years old and when I opened the door I saw the absolute largest human being I had ever seen in my life before. His fist was as big as my head. He had the nicest smile, like the kind you get when the turkey is brought to the Thanksgiving table. He asked for Myrt. The officer explained that there had been a store robbed that afternoon by two white men. One had been shot in the leg, the other got away. The one who had been captured gave our address as his. The officer came to see if the other man was there or if we had any information on him. Momma and Daddy told them all they knew. The officer was very friendly and continued to called Momma and Daddy by name. Come to find out, he was one of the first to come out of the hills and stay with Momma and Daddy. He was a son of one of Daddy’s black brothers from the construction work he had done when he quit school. After he left, Momma said, “No more; we have to do something else.” Daddy and Uncle Joe rented an apartment for the newcomers to stay in; so we continued in the underground Hillbilly railroad, but at a distance.

I walked not in the way of righteousness - part one

Dan — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:18:55 +0000

"I walked not in the way of righteousness. … But the Almighty God, who sits in the court of heaven, granted what I did not deserve." - Constantine (280-337)

Just day’s after becoming a Christian, we sang Amazing Grace at the Bethel Church of Christ, Bethel, Ohio (elevation 892 feet) and I understood for the first time, what it meant. I finally understood what it all meant. I saw grace not just as a word used in church but as a gift from The God who cared about this homicidal 15 year old. I felt grace in the freedom that my soul had...I was still struggling with the sin in my life but I felt freedom from the bonds that had held me. I was no longer controlled by it, just tortured by it (there is a difference!)

I didn’t understand, but for some reason...I was worth something to somebody. That Somebody was the Creator of the universe...That is some heavy stuff - that is...

When the LORD opened the door for Kathy and me to go into residential child care, it was at a facility named Edgewood Ranch. It was in the middle of an orange grove on the edge of Orlando, FL. We had absolutely no clue as to how to handle a cottage full of abused and/or neglected girls. We knew nothing of their backgrounds, just what they would tell us (and that wasn’t always the truth) but we did our best. We noticed from time to time we would say something that was, in our opinion totally harmless, but might get a huge emotional reaction from one of the girls. We didn’t have time to put much thought into it because there were kids for which to care.
As we came in contact with their parents, they would feed us bits and pieces of the girl’s background (sometimes just seeing the mom would explain alot) and things started making a little more sense.
I understand, now, why the directors of the Ranch didn’t give us that information themselves. It is always easy to pre-judge people by hearing where they have been and what they were exposed to. They also hired concerned Christian couples - not necessarily “Child Care Professional” couples- but capable of doing the job none the less. The background of these young ladies could have been used against them in the wrong hands. Let the reader understand.
As I continued in Child Care in different companies, Kathy having decided that she was not necessarily cut out for residential child care, I gained more training and understanding of the overall picture of a child’s life. I came to understand how their history and their parent’s history factored into why they behaved the way they did. Alot of things became clear to me about values, ethics, history, community and relationships. These factors, as well as the child’s individual appearance and any physical handicaps or disabilities they might have - real or imagined - made up the essence of the child’s personality. (Stands to reason - it makes up our personality also!!) As my learning progressed, I was more able to, not only write individual treatment plans but also, write house plans. I was able to write a treatment plan for the entire cottage milieu taking into account the “personality quirks” of the 20-25 residents in the program. Kathy feels that the emotional breakdown I had in 1990 came from my living inside the heads of 20+ severely emotionally disturbed teens with whom I was working.
The average “shelf life” of a Residential Child Care Worker was 18 months - The LORD allowed me 13 years. He also led me on a journey of truth about myself during this time. The question can be asked - Did I learn this about myself because I went through this or did I go through this so I could learn about myself? Good question!!!
Kids learn early on to go for the throat, especially when they have been emotionally abused. When they have been damaged to the point of a severe emotional disability they go for the throat with a chain saw. If the Residential Child Care Worker (RCCW) has any emotional problems or hang-ups - be assured the child will pick and pick until they find it. When it is learned, they have a great weapon against the RCCW. Unless that staff member deals with their own personality flaws - they are ‘dead meat’ when it comes to dealing with the residents. When ever a RCCW has to discipline a resident the first thing the resident will do is go for that weakness.
I did not want to be controlled that way, so I prayed that the Holy Spirit would give me an illumination of my past and what I should change and peace with the things I could not change. This is one of those prayers you want to be careful about praying (like for patience) because you might not be ready for the answers you are going to get. It is like having the pure light of God illuminate your every flaw, weakness and fear. I knew I was not flawless (my Momma made sure of that), I also thought I had a handle on my weaknesses (I had no real idea), and I thought I had no fears, after all, I grew up on the poor part of the west side of Detroit, in the Hillbilly Haven!! When I was 12 years old, I was staring down men twice my age. When I was 14 I was ‘warlord’ for a street gang. I shouldn’t be afraid of anything! I learned that it is not always the big things that can disable us in fear but the little hidden things that can and will paralyze us.
I have been asked why I am so personal in my writing. Why do I talk about all the unlit corners in my life? People do not want to see weakness in their ‘Preacher-Man’. They want to see a strong, dynamic ‘pretty boy’ who can help them into heaven (“If just a little of his righteousness can drip on me, I will have it made.”) I believe that we can not understand the full joy of our salvation until we understand why we had to be saved. Any part of our failings; any part of our weakness; any part of our shame that we do not want to open up to Christ is something that we have put between ourselves and our Savior. If I am open to you about myself, I am not hiding it from Jesus!
In therapy sessions we encouraged our clients to tell us their ‘story’. Over the next several months I will share with you my story. Most stories start back 2 generations, with Grandparents.
Therefore, my story starts in the Appalachian Mountains, on the Tug River and a family named Hatfield...

Hillbilly Theology Minicast 002

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:19:42 +0000

Dan enlightens us a another bit of his colorful family history.

Hillbilly Home Cures

Dan — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 05:06:01 +0000

Hillbillys are not just famous for their striking ruggedness and a habit of misunderstanding the English language. We are also known for making due with what we have...since we don't always have alot. For example...

Did You Know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-- without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional "pain relievers."

Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns.

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 Tablespoon of horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil, for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-- even though the product was never been advertised for this use.

Honey remedy for skin blemishes. Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus. Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

Easy eyeglass protection... To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer ... If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover .just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.

Hunt's tomato paste boil cure ...cover the boil with Hunt's tomato paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Balm for broken blisters... To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine ...a powerful antiseptic.

Vinegar to heal bruises . Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Kills fleas instantly...Dawn dish washing liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Good-bye fleas.

Rainy day cure for dog odor .Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.

Eliminate ear mites ...All it takes is a few drops of Wesson corn oil in your cat's ear...Massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief... It's not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.