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With temperatures in the 90s, this time of year
makes us all think about things to do just like when there is a heavy
snow. The difference is, it is a whole lot easier for us to get around
right now and visit--something people around here are fond of doing.
I am a transplant, although my entire family is
from here, and both of my boys do not remember calling anywhere else
home. They are the reason we chose to live here, and so are things like
visiting.
Visiting is part of the real feeling of community
that still exists in the county. People take responsibility for more
than just themselves and their little piece of this world. Here, we feel
part of the entire county, and most of us don’t say we are from a
specific town. We are simply from Calhoun County.
Visiting, a great rural West Virginia tradition, is
not carried on throughout the country. Many places, people are lucky if
they know their next door neighbors, let alone folks on the other side
of the county. Rarely do we live near our families anymore, so visiting
them usually involves a trip of some distance. So, visiting Calhoun
style is unique to rural areas like ours.
On hot days like those we are experiencing now, we
have the perfect opportunity (and excuse) to put away the summer chores
for a few hours and get in the car for a trip somewhere close to see
those fond friends and family members who are usually saying, “Why don’t
you ever stop by?”
During these visits, you can count on something
cold to drink, a comfortable place to sit in the shade, and stories old
and new that are inevitably good entertainment, even if the old ones do
vary from the last time you heard them.
Please do not forget to take the children on these
visits. Although they may buck getting in the vehicle at first, choosing
a video game or television stupor instead, insist and take them anyway
sometimes. If they will only sit for a few minutes, they usually end up
cross legged on the porch listening intently to stories that will be
lost some day.
Let us not complain too much about the heat that
comes every year, but take advantage of the down time and re-acquaint
ourselves with old friends, and maybe make some new ones by simply doing
what our families have done for generations during the summer: go
visiting. You just might make someone’s day by showing up on their front
porch.
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