MUSING APPALACHIA

WHIMSICAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT HILLBILLIES AS THEY DEAL WITH OLD TRADITIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD

This is a compilation of true, often humorous stories and serious observations about the lives and customs of Appalachians from the old days to modern times.

Topics include mountain customs and traditions with forays into herbal remedies, moonshining, religion and language, along with the difficulties of being absorbed into cultures outside of the hills.

A few of the forty-four chapters include: Aunt Berthy and the Fires of Hell, Enlightenment Comes to the Mountains, Old Time Religion in Appalachia, Uncle Bryant: Mountain Medicine Man, Appalachian Medicine Chest, Catfish in a Log, Appalachian People Don't Talk Funny, A Good Night Meant Coon Hunting, Clogging n’ Flatfootin’, Southern Skunks Are the Best, Hillbilly Stereotypes in the Movies, The Preacher Flirted with Satan…and Lost!, Uncle Nathan Didn't Make No Mean Likker, Raising Tobacco, The Scotch-Irish Republic of Appalachia, plus twenty-nine more stories.

Once read, the reader should have had an interesting education on Appalachian ways and how they came to where they’re at today…with attention to transitioning from the traditions of living in the hills to the “flatlands” (cities).

During his youth, hundreds of times the author was asked, “Where’re you from? Whose boy are you?” These questions were an Appalachian way of trying to figure out not only who you were but also how you might interconnect with their life…or not. Life in Appalachia was never boring.