In the course of writing a weekly column called Kentucky by Heart, a book series about everyday heroes in Kentucky, reviewing books of Kentucky’s authors or about the state, and just plain possessing a deep affinity for the place I’ve lived most of my life, you might guess that my Bluegrass mind-set hums continuously.
You would be correct.
This week, I’ll share some of my thoughts about this state I count as pretty special. Consider it somewhat a “stream of consciousness” unloading that may seem a bit (maybe a lot) disjointed and with no particular destination intended… other than a hope on my part that you’ll sense, on some level, a sort of Bluegrass connection that inspires your own disjointed images.
Recently, I’m musing about:
…Versailles, my most recent home (now two years) and a beautiful place having a folksy Mayberry feel, yet plenty close to bigger towns, like Frankfort and Lexington, when an urban touch is on tap.
…Governor Bevin, a hard-working, smart guy who sometimes makes remarks that don’t seem smart as he alienates other hard-working, smart people of whom their support is needed.
A male Cardinal, Kentucky’s state bird (Photo from Pinterest)
…Wilmore influenced heavily by Christian-based Asbury University and an unusually cosmopolitan aura, a small-town Kentucky treasure with a wonderful heart. My frequent visits help ground me to simple values of respect and compassion for others. It’s also the home and influence of Harold Rainwater, respected mayor of the town for over four decades.
…Aunt Alta Mae, Falmouth’s finest and the 87-year-old twin sister of my deceased mother, Alma Faye. Our phone conversations and visits bless me abundantly.
…springtime and the upcoming blooms of first the redbud trees, followed by the dogwoods, along with the bright green grass throughout the state, then my wildflower beds bloomin’ profusely around our one-acre lot.
…the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which was called the Greater Cincinnati Airport when I was growing up in the 1960s. My fondest recollection is as a 12-year-old, when I was present at the airport with my adult neighbor, Ted Woeste, when Bobby Kennedy and his entourage happened to be passing through, apparently to board another flight. Some fifteen feet away, Ted managed to approach RFK with a small piece of paper and obtained his scribbled autograph for me. I’ve misplaced the thing in adulthood.
…a military parade that there’s been some talk about lately for our nation’s capital. As for me, I’d prefer spending the money on helping local veteran advocacy organizations around our state and country. It connects people in communities in a special way and sustains the positive effects of the expenditure. The Kentucky Veteran and Patriot Museum (http://kygrro.org/kvpm/), in the small western Kentucky town of Wickland, is a model for advocacy for those serving our country militarily. Sandy Hart, founder and curator of KVPM, has admirably promoted our nation’s protectors in this Ballard County community for decades, and in 2004, organized a trip for veterans to Washington, DC, to visit the World War II Memorial.
…regrettably, the beautiful red cardinal I shot with my BB gun while a child growing up in Claryville back in the 1960s. Whether from boredom or some sort of evil spell that came over me, I can still see myself taking aim from about fifteen feet away, pulling the trigger, and watching the defenseless creature-Kentucky’s state bird-drop to the ground. The ache of guilt still sometimes surfaces…as at this moment as I confess.
“Graduation Recognition Day” at Plum Creek Christian Church, Butler, Ky., for nine Campbell County High School graduates, May, 1971. Steve Flairty is last male on right (Photo by Don Kennedy)
…the most scenic, fun-to-drive road stretches. At the present, my two favorites are U.S. 27 between Lexington and Paris and U.S. 60 between Versailles and Frankfort. Both are relatively straight and safe and both highlight beautiful Bluegrass Region horse farms. My favorites can change, though, often depending on the season. Who wouldn’t enjoy a fall trip down Mountain Parkway or U.S. 23 when the leaves are turning, or driving in the summer through the Land Between the Lakes area of western Kentucky.
…Mary Jane Holmes, an author living in Versailles in the 1850s who wrote, among 38 other books, her most noted, Tempest and Sunshine. It is reported that she trailed only Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in total book sales in the era.
…Boone County’s Camp Ernst, near Burlington, where I spent four weeks as a YMCA camp counselor in the summer of 1972 after completing my freshman year at EKU. I’d changed my major from sociology to education, and I wanted experience working with children. One of the most memorable, and uncomfortable nights, that I ever spent was on an unusually cold evening at the camp with about a dozen kids in a screened cabin (read a shelter in the open air). I slept, or tried to, in a light-weight sleeping bag and summer clothing, with temperatures that I’m sure were in the 30s. Ironically, my assigned campers seemed to be unbothered by the arctic blast. Good thing, because this teenager was in a “call Mommy” mode.
…my times at Plum Creek Christian Church before I went off to college. A friend recently sent me a group picture of nine of us “Creekers” on “Graduation Recognition Day” in 1971. We would soon receive our diplomas from Campbell County High School and head off in different directions. Most of us started out in the first grade at Grants Lick Elementary School under the iconic teacher, “Mrs. Dorothy.” (If you couldn’t learn under Mrs. Dorothy, well…then you couldn’t learn.)
I was baptized at the church at age 16, and I remember a specific “youth night” at church when I was the speaker, with the theme being the commandment, “honor thy mother and father.” I pretty much was a nervous wreck, and about the best line I could get out, voice wavering, was: “My mom and dad are the best parents I ever had.”
Kentucky…it’s “a-musing” place.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” was released in 2015. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)
