Mountain Mama

On Country Roads

“Country roads, take me home

to the place I belong,

[North Carolina], Mountain Mama,

take me home, country roads.”

                                    John Denver (with a little help from me)

Early morning, Flat Rock, North Carolina, is like waking up in paradise. The sun is shining, every bird in the world is singing, the rhododendron is in full bloom, along with every other wild flower imaginable, and water is flowing over rocks creating a veritable symphony of sound. It is cool, maybe 60 degrees. Lord have mercy, I'm in heaven.

Flat Rock started out its communal life as a gathering place for the Cherokee Nation. There are great plateaus of flat granite here that easily serve as a natural stage. The Cherokee ranged from New England all the way down to Alabama, where Sequoia made his home, so this was a central location. In 1807, the area was discovered by wealthy Charlestonians who needed to escape from the malarial swamplands of South Carolina's coastal region during the sweltering summer months. So many of them built summer dwellings here that it's referred to as the 'little Charleston of the mountains'. Because of the beauty and natural energy of the area, Flat Rock has become home to a host of artists, poets (most famously, Carl Sandburg), playwrights, and entrepreneurs. Thankfully, the historical preservation society, and the local governmental agencies have had the great, good sense to preserve as much of the little village as possible in its original form. You will not find a Wal Mart here, but you will find 'The Wrinkled Egg' with its creaky plank floors. It was once the general store. There are lots of narrow, winding, two lane roads, and roads that start out paved but quickly turn into dirt and gravel. Lots of walking and jogging trails and clear, clean water every where.

As disappointed as I am with the state's passing of the Defense of Marriage Act as an amendment to the North Carolina constitution, I still have to say that for me, this is home. I hold in my heart the conviction that sooner or later all people will live free in these United States of America, with equal rights under the law. We've achieved equality for every other category of citizens, and this exclusion too will pass. We have come too far, and too many have suffered through discrimination of one flavor or another to give up now.

Meanwhile, I'm going out to walk on country roads so full of life they crackle. I'm going to breathe that rarest of commodities, clean air—hard to come by in Birmingham. And I am going to let Flat Rock, North Carolina whisper her stories to me. I hope today finds you someplace you love.

In the spirit,

Jane