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Jul 17, 2022Liked by Heath Racela

Heath,

You are very correct. WV is very complicated. I moved here for a short stint 24 years ago and stayed.

Let us know when you are heading back, we will put some more great places on your itinerary.

This morning at Canaan National Wildlife Refuge the birding was pretty good with some phoebes, peewees, a bobolink, and some crazy warblers. We didn’t see the green herons from a couple weeks ago. High today here is expected to be in the low 70s with a heat index of about the same.

We will head back home today to Shepherdstown, briefly considered for Capital of the US due to the presence of Washington family farms nearby. Come see where that Shenandoah meets the Potomac - the only brief location where that Shenandoah touches WV and see some Harpers Ferry.

We are ready when you are.

There are complicated issues here - and - there is a lot going on.

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Thanks for the comment, John! I agree- there are complications but also tremendous beauty. I only ever head of the former, which made the latter that much more surprising!

I will be back and appreciate the recommendations!

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Agree with my friend, John - WV is a complicated place. I once heard someone say that being from here is lot like being from Texas - there's a lot of love and state pride involved. I think it has to do with the stereotype that creates an Us versus Them situation.

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Didn't mean to hit "post" as I wasn't quite finished my comment! Anyway, thank you for your essay, Heath. You're right when suggest that if you wanted to find the stereotypes, you could have .. easily. But you chose to write about WV with nuance. My hat's off to you.

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Thanks for reading it, Giles, and for your comments. Us vs Them is interesting. I admittedly only have a drive by view, but I don't know that I understand what the "WV identity" looks like (as opposed to say, Texas, where cowboy attire, big trucks, and the state flag are part of the uniform).

I look forward to reading more of your work on the state too- I'm hooked on WV now!

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