Appalachian American

In this post I discussed the little stray dog my mother discovered on the front steps of a nearby church (earning for the pup the name “Faith”).  After caring for Faith – feeding her, playing with her, and even having her spayed - Mom then found the dog a nice home.  Unfortunately, when Faith arrived at the home of her new owner she escaped, ran into the hills, and hasn’t been seen since. 

(Not all of my stories have happy endings.)

I was driving up the hill to my apartment earlier today when I noticed cars stopped both directions ahead of me.  I waited a moment to see what was the holdup when three deer leisurely strolled across the road and onto someone’s lawn. 

I started thinking of the many times deer have popped up in my life.  My father was a DNR sergeant, which meant endless calls to the house about hunting regulations, and I come from a family of hunters. (I went once when I was about nine and fell asleep under a tree.)  I’ve fed deer, eaten deer, and even hit one with my car.  (I decided not to feel badly about that.  It really did a number on my car…and they take their chances anyway.)   I’ve occasionally watched them troll around the hillside from my apartment balcony. 

I try to remember that they’re beautiful, graceful animals.  But once you collide with one at 1:30 in the morning in a tiny Geo Tracker and get the ever-lovin’ crap scared out of you, it’s hard to keep those pleasant thoughts at the top of your mind.

When I saw Kirstie Alley on the cover of the May 18 issue of People alongside the headline “Yes, I gained 83 lbs!” I just had to pick up a copy.  But it was something else in the back of the issue that caught me most by surprise:  a recipe from chef and food critic (and Mrs. Billy Joel) Katie Lee Joel for the Logan County Burger.   

“What a coincidence,” I, as a Logan County native, thought to myself.  Then I read a photo caption that revealed the recipe is named in honor of Joel’s West Virginia roots.  I looked her up.  She’s from Milton.

So a burger named after my hometown is in People magazine, created by the wife of Billy Joel, who just happens to be from West Virginia.  Will wonders never cease?

The recipe is essentially a cheeseburger with onions on toast.  If my memory serves, I venture to guess that Mrs. Joel has visited Morrison’s Drive-In – a Logan County institution if there ever was one.

On a recent visit to New Orleans, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that West Virginia’s own Fiestaware dishes are used at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant. 

“I just thought they were from Mexico,” said the waiter when my friend and I informed him of the Appalachian tie. 

It was a nice little nod to home down in the bayou.