I could pack up and take the losses, but I won't. I've sat down to do arguably the hardest thing I, or any writer for that matter, must do; make understandable to those who might never understand. I gave piggy-back rides to six children the first day I was at the settlement. ...

The stereotypes I have portrayed in my recent blogging are arrogant and ill-educated. That was the point. "You aren't the first person to come up with the 'people from south don't brush their teeth or bath, they are stupid, incest and must do drugs.'"...

A sign for the Beef Jerky Outlet, which boasted 200 different flavors of jerky, welcomed me into Pigeon Forge, Tenn. I spent 18 hours there, grimacing at the junk stores and Dolly Parton memorabilia and drinking tallboy Pabst Blue Ribbon in a hotel room. I had followed a 19-year-old settlement employee and her boyfriend, because the settlement closes down on the weekends and I can't write about nothing...

I was a journalist, not because I had to, but because I was seriously interested why someone would live in Frakes for more than a week. The staff was extremely helpful in answering my questions which coincided perfectly with my assumptions. Most people working at the settlement are from Frakes and when asked what their parents do they usually said, "Stay at home" or "They're unemployed" or "Sit on the couch." All these answers can be simply put by saying, "Nothing." My roommate explained that many of the folks around here are on disability, even though they're not disabled. ...

I headed out Friday afternoon, with only The Constellations and a couple packs of cigarettes to keep me company, first to West Virginia (12 hour drive) for a family reunion and then to Frakes, Ky. (another 8 hours), where I would be volunteering at Henderson Settlement for two weeks...

Hello wonderful people... I wanted to start this blog with a warning. I'm terribly sarcastic and although I may say things that make me sound like a grumpy old man, I really love life and all the wonderfully unique people and lands in mine. If anyone has ever read my op.eds in The Arrow or checked out my personal blog, you have probably been initiated to my humor. If you haven't, be prepared for more than what most would say. I'm blunt and a tad insensitive. :)...