Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

I’m from Clarksburg, and one of the best-known traditions there is the annual Italian Heritage Festival. I loved this festival when I was a kid, though I must say in recent years it seems to have lost some of its luster. Still, it’s a good place to run into old friends I wouldn’t see otherwise, so I try to make it down when I can.

While I was perusing the historical-photos archive at the WVU Libraries website, I came across this photo from the first-ever Italian Heritage Festival. (I don’t want to post it here, because I don’t have the rights for it, so you’ll have to click that link.)

Tell me — does the guy in the middle remind any of you of a famous West Virginian?

Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

My friend and coworker Laurel called me today to let me know she was going to be a little late in getting to the office. She had found a malnourished dog walking down the middle of the road, in traffic, and being the responsible animal lover she is, she picked it up and took it to the vet. It turns out the dog is well-known at the vet’s office, and they’ve been worried about it for years because of its irresponsible owner. Laurel can’t handle a third dog, but if the owner of the poor pooch doesn’t claim it in five days (knock on wood that he doesn’t), she already has a line on an awesome home for it. Well done, Laurel.

Which brings me to my rant: What the hell is wrong with people who don’t take care of their animals? Why even get a dog if you can’t be bothered to take care of its basic needs? Why? (I know the reasons; I just don’t understand them.)

When I was growing up, I knew some people who had two hunting beagles that they kept in a little pin in the back of their yard. (And by little, I mean 3′ X 6′. For two dogs. And the floor was made of two-by-fours with space in between them so some of the poop would drop out. It was a mixed blessing, because their feet would sometimes drop out too.) These were otherwise good people, but the dog thing was crazy.

I’m reminded of this kind of stuff every day, as I have to drive by this pathetic guy on my way home from work:

Fang

How bad would that suck? I did a post about this dog, who we call Fang, a year ago on Reversing the Numbness, and he’s still in this situation 24 hours a day. A lost cause on paws. Our kids often say “poor Fang” as we drive by.

To quote my friend Josh Williams: “Chaining a sentient being to a peg for its life is just not good juju.

tswhatI’msayin.

Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

What looks crappier than an old, empty pool on a really crappy day? Not much. Case in point:

The Stealey Pool

That’s the Stealey Pool, which was my summer haunt all the years of my youth. That place was awesome. Pretty much every kid in Stealey (including us Stealey boys) were members, and it was always one of the nicest places to swim in all of Clarksburg. Not only did spring mean the end of school, but it also meant the beginning of swim season and our daily trips up the biggest hill in the neighborhood to our beloved pool.

I was recently in Clarksburg for my Grandmother Stealey’s funeral, unfortunately, and my brothers and I spent a couple of hours driving around our old stomping grounds. It’s getting pretty run down in places, sadly, and I understand Clarksburg in general is going through some pretty tough times right now. Our trip up to good ol’ Stealey pool was an eye-opener. There it was, lonely, tired looking, its age showing in its peeling paint, its cracking concrete deck, it’s rusty fence. Add to that a gloomy day, a shallow pool of dirty grey water at the bottom of the deep end, and not another soul in sight, and the place just looked terrible. It looked dead, almost.

Even though the town is facing tough times right now, and I doubt the pool’s budget has an extreme makeover in the cards, I’m sure that the coming of spring will turn it into a completely different place. The surrounding hills will be lush with vegetation, the pool will be filled with clean, blue water, and the cracks in the deck will be hidden by slowly tanning feet of every shape and size.

I just love how spring makes dead things come back to life.

Props out to my Clarksburg friend Eric Lewis, who felt inspired by this fledgling blog and decided to record a song of the same name. Check it out here: “Picture West Virginia”

Thanks, Eric! Speaking of music, I’d like to invite everyone over to my personal blog (Reversing the Numbness) for this week’s edition of Friday Music, where my buddy Clash is guest-hosting. Have a band you love telling people about? Or maybe you’re looking for new music? Friday Music is a good spot for both.

Finally, there’s still time to submit posts for the first week’s topic, My Town. Also note the upcoming topics to the left — I hope more of you will participate next week!