September 2008 - What Two-Lane Livin' Means

Lisa and Frank Minney had the right idea just a year ago when they decided to put a name on a lifestyle that is uniquely country, mostly self-sufficient and rooted deeply in mountain traditions. It's not easy to put the Two Lane Livin' vision into words, but that's exactly what has happened over the last twelve months - through the words and stories of a fledgling publication that has quickly become a symbol of life in central West Virginia.

Even in the most rural of areas, in one of the nation's poorest states, in the midst of declining economic conditions, a voice has emerged to represent the thriving culture of life in these hills. Through the eyes of a determined publisher and a crew of novice writers, central West Virginia has created its own niche in the world.

I've received numerous responses from readers over the months and listened to their versions of what living here means - why they chose to come in the first place, and what drives them to stay. For most, the hills offer a sort of therapy they can't find anywhere else - whether it is an escape from city overcrowding, gaining a sense of independence rather than dependence, or the need to have Mother Nature in their backyard. For me and my family, living here means making a choice to try to live cleaner, live simpler and live healthier.

Although it's been a full year since Two Lane Livin' began its journey, it's still not easy to put the concept into just a few words. However, it is hard to miss the many day-to-day examples of what it means to experience the lifestyle.

For my family, Two Lane Livin' means …

... not having to measure time by the watch on your arm or the cell phone on your hip, but by the way sun moves in the sky or when the rooster crows for his breakfast.

... being able to run your errands day to day and not ever pass a stoplight or hear your kids beg to head through the nearest drive thru.

... living in a house that's more a shack than a home, with a lot of other critters (mostly snakes, in our case), and being able to laugh about it with your neighbors instead of having people feel sorry for you under other circumstances.

... your kids don't have to be NFL draft potential or Ivy league finalists to make the local newspaper from time to time or see their photo on a local website.

... going to the farmer's market and buying fresh food from the same people you drive by each week and watch tend those same vegetables in their gardens.

... having people nearby who gladly offer to take your children for a few hours at a time just to enjoy their company and not expect anything in return or make you feel as if they're doing you a favor.

... coming home and finding special prizes left on your porch from friends and neighbors who heard you were looking for something in particular.

... making a daily meal out of the vegetables from your own garden, steaks from your friend's cattle farm, and a dessert from the weekend bake sale (and the occasional fresh loaf of bread or homemade biscuits when I feel up to it).

... attending local football games and seeing all your high school friends there because their kids are on the team, or in the band, or selling hot dogs in the stand.

... neighbors willing to help with a project just because they can and don't have the need to keep score of who owes who (we owe you so much Doug!)

… getting some of the best Chicken Dumplings or Brown Beans and Cornbread ever made at a weekend dinner that also doubles as a fundraiser for a neighbor in a medical crisis.

... going to work at someone's house and they not only cook you lunch, but send you home at the end of a long day with a hot apple pie for your family (that was really, really good Phyllis!)

... looking out the back window and watching our daughter lovingly tend to the Mama Hen and her chicks, or the stray kitten that just showed up down our hollow, or the duck trying to make a nest in an old barrel.

... going in the store to simply buy a loaf of bread and spend an hour there talking to at least two or three friends and neighbors along the way (sometimes this is motivation to not go to the store at all!)

... having children want to gather at your place because they know they can play in the creek, or shoot their slingshot, or build a treehouse -- and then roast marshmallows later that evening in the fire pit.

... learning the patience inherently built into having to wait for things you can't buy at the drop of a hat, or find in town.

... having a next door neighbor who gladly feeds your animal family or mows your yard while your away, even without asking (we really, really appreciate it Carl!)

... feeling welcome regardless of what you drive, where you live, what you wear or how big your pocket book seems to be.

... being able to live off the land and become more independent of the modern problems plaguing the urban newscasts.

... knowing my family can sleep safely at night under the stars and breathe in clean, crisp air from the open windows.

Most importantly, Two Lane Livin' means being around people who are somehow there when you need them most, whether they realize it not. One of my favorite philosophers, Henry David Thoreau, once said, "City life is millions of people being lonesome together." For those of us who've been there, those words offer a familiar reality for which a dose of Two Lane Livin' is just the right therapy.