Once Eden, Inez shouldn't be forgotten

By Ronnie Ellis
CNHI News Service

INEZ, Ky. April 25, 2008 09:35 am

— Perhaps this really is a forgotten place, too far off America’s main highways for the rest of the country to take notice.

But John McCain’s forgotten places tour stopped here Wednesday, putting Inez in the national spotlight for a few hours. I’m not sure what impressions members of the national press corps took from Martin County, but my own are clear. The community is beautiful and so are its people. Even McCain was impressed, promising to come back if he’s elected president.

We engage too often in stereotypes. They are lazy, often wildly inaccurate intellectual shortcuts to misunderstanding people. That’s absolutely true of stereotypes of eastern Kentucky and its people. Wednesday I met wonderful people in Inez and Martin County. Yes, some were rural and unsophisticated. Kind of like me, actually. Some were more sophisticated than I will ever be. Mike Duncan is after all the chairman of the Republican National Committee, but he’s right at home in little Inez and you could see it as he greeted his neighbors. Wilburn Goble is not an unsophisticated or uncomplicated man. Kay Ward is thoughtful, well-informed and concerned about national and international issues.

Both Goble and Ward are old enough to remember when President Lyndon B. Johnson visited Inez to declare war on poverty. Both were excited about McCain’s visit but neither was in awe. And both are wise enough and have seen enough to reflect thoughtfully on how much – and how little – has changed in Martin County and eastern Kentucky since Johnson’s 1964 visit. But both remain hopeful. More telling, both remain in Inez, a place they love.

Every person I met showed me a kindness and patience a stranger can’t always expect in strange places. But in my experience, one is more likely to find that in rural America than in its urban centers. And most spoke with understanding and insight about the presidential election, about the problems of their region, and about their hopes and fears for their children.

Most were Republicans, but there were Democrats as well and even the Republicans weren’t all agreed on whether John McCain should be our next president. Some spoke with a cadence and an occasional twang which was a bit unusual to my ears. But then, my southern Kentucky accent often entertains friends I’ve made from Louisville or from outside of Kentucky and it probably sounded funny to the folks in Inez, too.

I was entertained by wit and humor, by folks who enjoyed talking to someone new as much as I enjoyed talking to them. And I was enlightened about how they see the world – not much differently from the rest of us, really. Most are alternately hopeful and fearful about the future and change. They worry their small community is forgotten not only by the rest of the country but by the rest of Kentucky, too. They worry about their children having to leave to find good paying jobs. They worry if the coal mines will re-open. They worry about drugs in their community, about taxes, about health care, and yes about the environment.

Several informed me that Inez was once named Eden. Perhaps they were suggesting the small town once knew better days. Or perhaps they were doing it to tell me how wonderful it’s always been. Unquestionably, however, they were telling me they love living there. And I could see why.

Just like John McCain, I won’t forget Inez, and just like McCain, I want to go back.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com.

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