After the Reunion

Since returning from my 50th high school reunion in Oak Ridge, TN, I've been deep into Appalachian culture and books. I corresponded with one of my old classmates, who is located in Berea, KY, the editor of an Appalachian journal. I'm remembering the Appalachian ministries program I participated in while I was at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

I've told some stories in my blog about my Mom, who grew up in Middle Tennessee, and came from a family of educators. She was a musician, with a degree from a music conservatory in Chattanooga. She had one sister, and they were "city girls."

Now I want to turn my attention back to my Dad, who grew up in East Tennessee, a farm boy, from a large family, a true Appalachian. He only made it through part of high school, and had to quit school and go to work after his father suffered a stroke. My grandfather had remarried after his first wife died, and they had a young daughter. So my dad left high school and went to work to support those of his family who remained at home.

He had a hard life, my father, and ever after fit the Appalachian model. He worked hard, loved his family, and always had a strong value system. Strict as he was, I never had any doubt that he loved me very much. I treasure the years I had with him, brief as they seem now. He's been gone a long time, but there's still a big hole in my life that no one else can fill. The wooden box used in writing group as a prompt looks like the one that he kept on his chest of drawers. It looks a lot like him.

For all their differences, my parents were able to make a good life together. Such differences in education, in culture, in family, in today's society might cause "irreconcilable differences" which now often lead to divorce. But they adjusted to each other and continued to care about each other. In retrospect, it seems to me they had it right after all.