another gem from the gazette.

sometimes i love this state so much it makes me hurt. it's like living in mayberry. which is a very good thing, if you were confused.

so ready

dear lord

if you've talked to me in the past year or so, you'll know i'm looking at going to chicago for grad school. very exciting! fun city, and a change of pace. just how much so?

according to the love of my life, wikipedia, pocahontas county has a population density of 10 people/square mile. chicago? 11,864.4.

YEESH.

good god by god

so, there's an election going on?

aside from getting the most rudimentary news via the internet, my current events are...not so current. when you live in a place that has a 'visiting' column in the local paper, your scope is bound to be limited. occupy wall street? gadhafi? bah, says she.

anywho, it turns out that wv has a perennial presidential candidate! let's be honest, none of us are likely to ever hear what he has to say, seeing as 175 assorted souls have already put their hats in the ring for 2012. but you, friend, really should know more about jack fellure, hurricane's finest! from a 1991 (!) baltimore sun article:

The most fervently Christian of all candidates is Jack Fellure of Hurricane, West Virginia,...who, upon declaring candidacy, sent to the Federal Election Commission a leather-bound copy of his platform, the Authorized 1611 King James Bible. ''God wrote it as the supreme document and final authority in the affairs of all men, nations and civilizations, for time and eternity,'' he says. ''It shall never be necessary to change it.''

Mr. Fellure will keep the Bible always open on his desk in the Oval Office. He is so sure of his eventual victory that he stamps all his campaign materials with the words: ''Historical Documents. Do Not Destroy. Retain For Future Use.''

what a fruit loop! god love him. incidentally, i may have mentioned this elsewhere--but i will never grow tired of the fact that hurricane (the town) is still pronounced in the colonial manner. which makes perfect sense, if you think about it--but how often does that really happen?

and, apparently jack fellure isn't the only religious fanatic running around the state. last year, my friend came to visit & picked up salvation on sand mountain, otherwise known as 'my snake bouk' (at least that's what the roommate likes to say). after she spent the next two days reading about it, i heard tale after tale of crazy-ass religious snake handling, some of which just so happened to occur in wv. specifically, jolo! the town is home to the church of the lord jesus with signs following. yep, apparently that's real. love this state.

beardy mcgee

beautiful news out of morgantown: wvu's annual beard-growing contest starts next week. as the college says,

Mountaineer Week is WVU’s way of paying tribute to West Virginia’s rich Appalachian heritage and traditions. The event aims to remind and educate WVU students about the culture that has made West Virginia what it is today.

that, and beards are hot--if they are well-groomed, accompanied by flannel, and do NOT encroach on the neck area. also, take note, city boys--they are only for mountainous, rugged and/or rural areas. otherwise, consider yourself judged.

fiesta!

years before this whole VISTA adventure started, i unknowingly had major love for one of west virginia's most famous exports--fiestaware! created by the homer laughlin china company, fiesta hails from newell, wv--at the very tiptop of the northern panhandle. any further north and you'd be in ohio or pennsylvania!

apparently i was always telling my mom that WHEN I WAS AN ADULT i would have a house full of fiesta. well, bless her heart, mom took it upon herself to start my collection early--but i didn't have a reason to use it until recently. life has gotten measurably better since then, i tell ya.

2011 is fiesta's 75th anniversary, and the special edition color? a rather mountaineer-ish shade of gold, though they prefer to call it marigold.

snow?

when 62 degrees (inside the house, with a space heater!) feels great...it's winter in wv. not really, but we are forecasted to get snow tonight and tomorrow--and it already snowed in the higher elevations of the county. i guess if it's going to be cold...