Just Thinking

Our trip through coal country the other day got me thinking.

We saw so many abandoned homes, so many closed businesses. Some people were doing all right apparently, as evidenced by their nice homes and vehicles. But many more seemed to be hanging on by a thread. As a commenter said on my last post, it takes a strong person to stay and keep trying.

One young couple really struck both of us. They were outside a convenience store with their two children. The mother wore a shirt that indicated she worked at the store. The man was unkempt, bearded with sagging shorts and a torn t-shirt. Now, I know we can't tell much by appearances--lots of people dress like that and have beards because they like the look. But his didn't seem to be a fashion statement; he looked and acted down and out, picking at the children who were happily eating ice cream while their mother looked on nervously. What it seemed to us was that she was working, he wasn't, and they were just barely scraping by.

And that led me to wonder about this: it took us about 45 minutes to drive from where we saw the couple to downtown Charleston. 45 minutes to places where there is work available. So why didn't they drive to the city and get jobs for them both? Even two minimum wage jobs would be better, surely.

It seems so simple, doesn't it? 45 minutes isn't a long commute by most standards; I drove over an hour to my job every day for over 20 years. Lots of people do it. So why do people in some place feel trapped, like there's no way out for them?

But it takes a decent vehicle to make a drive that long. The road was two-lane almost the entire way, so the drive could be tricky in bad weather. Which means tires that can handle ice and snow. Last time I bought tires it was over $500 for a set. That's a lot of money for a lot of people. Then there's car insurance and upkeep costs.

To buy a car, a person needs to have credit. If you're living on the edge, chances are your credit isn't that good. Larry said that often in coal country people don't own their homes or their land, they lease from the coal companies. I don't know if that is still true today, but if so then there is no collateral to put up for a loan, and nothing to sell to get another place to live. Relocating means money for security deposits. And then there's child care.

And all of that is assuming you have the education and/or skills required in today's job market. If you live in a place with limited internet service, would you have the computer, online and keyboarding skills required?

It would feel like the obstacles were insurmountable if you had no money to start with. These problems are no different from those of anyone anywhere is similar circumstances, and it made me realize how lucky and how blessed we are, how much we take for granted. We have home and food, the wherewithal to buy what we need. It wasn't always easy for us but we managed because we had resources to start with. And I knew how to get the grant money so I could go to college. You have to know about such things to know how to get it, though.

I don't have any solutions. Life is a tough road for many. It hurts to see children caught in the struggle to just survive. It is no wonder some people just give up, why some turn to drugs or crime when they have nothing to lose.

Sorry for the depressing post. Sometimes when I write it's just thinking out loud as I try to understand and come to grips with things I cannot fix. But oh how I wish I could.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.