This is the pits

Granny's Pit Stop in Wolf Run, Ohio

While driving back from my sister's house on the 4th of July, I decided to take a few extra minutes and drive my old school bus route. Wow, how things have deteriorated in that area. It never was very prosperous. It was a coal mining town. I remember selling cookies as a Girl Scout. My partner and I were assigned the lowest income area that ever existed. I was born into poverty, but my eldest sister and brother worked hard and were able to put us into a decent house (with indoor plumbing) by the time I reached the first grade. Prior to my birth, my family lived in this neighborhood.

But the area that I sold cookies was what you pictured in the movie 'Coal Miner's Daughter'. The houses were gray and run down. The kids were shoeless and wore dirty clothes. Their hair and faces were dirty. They had impetigo sores on their faces.

Now, there are some nice houses. It isn't all bad. Just a section of it remains run down. An eyesore. Like impetigo on the skin. You look at the town, but you try to ignore the ugly side of it. There are many pretty pictures that I had taken that day - even in that area. The beautiful trees and hillsides, but this building reminded me of something I left behind. Reminding myself of how lucky I am and how fortunate that my family pulled out of that situation. I can go back and drive by it, but the past is gone. And sometimes, that is a good thing.