wilkes

Herr Trump's favorite newspaper

It's a blessing, but not everyone has that and those tend to struggle the most.

We were left a lot though, and if it were not for our parents, life would have been harder.

I had the option to stay at home, but I loved my work. We were quite fortunate. We used to work off and on so one parent was always home.

Not trying to make an excuse, but there are reasons why people are the way they are. When you have a generation (who are now parents and grandparents) work their tails off to "give their kids what they never had", it then creates the generation of spoiled kids. Kody does work hard and unfortunately doesn't make much money, like millions of other Americans and people around the world. But that is where "adulting" comes into the picture. One has to let go of their comforts and wants to provide for their family and try to save for when emergencies happen. I wish we still lived in a society where, overall, a man made enough for his wife to stay at home. That would be a huge positive. Still in their case, she has to work. As far as working, they're doing the best they can for now. But the money management/habit management can definitely be finer tuned.

Those are some of the richest poor people you ll ever meet..He is in his 20's it is called poor decision making. Hopefully he will continue to work and will grow out of it.

Wilkes County Poster Child?

Wow, I assumed she didn't work since she's pregnant.

So he makes $24,000 a year, and she adds something to that. They're probably below the threshold to pay income taxes, which means they'll get money back at the end of the year that they didn't pay in. They probably qualify for SNAP, too, so they get most of their food for free.

Good grief, they end up with more money than I do!

Kody, I know you're reading this. We're not making fun of you or attacking you, you just have to realize that your priorities are out of order. You're a father now, and about to be a father of two. If money is tight then stop wasting it on childish things like vaping and streaming movies, and spend it on important things. Like a permanent home for the family and fixing the car so they'll have reliable transportation.

Antithesis, a little correction. He goes after he takes his pregnant wife to work.

yea, and there sit that baby, by his side.....that poor thing looked like he could use a few new clothes but alas, his father must blow the largest vapor ring to impress his vaping competition.

STANDING OVATION TO ANTITHESIS!!!!!

The emoticons don't work on this device but if they did there would be clapping, high fives, jazz hands and two snaps with a Zorro twist.

I don't even know where to begin with the protagonist of the story, Kody Foster.

Poor Kody. He makes $12.50 an hour ($2000 a month, gross), and he drives a 2012 Ford that he "bought off the showroom floor." His payment is $265, and it's going to cost $1,000 to fix the check engine light.

He has a $300 Verizon bill because "he lost track of how much video he had streamed."

He was paying $400 a month in rent, but now he lives with his wife's mom for free. He just can't afford to pay $600 for a double wide trailer, he says. Poor Kody.

And he goes to a vape shop after work, with his 4 year old kid in tow, instead of going home to his pregnant wife. Reminiscent of Homer Simpson going to Moes.

Here's a thought. If you're so poor and distraught, how about you stop spending your money on drugs (vaping), stop streaming a ridiculous amount from Verizon, and then use that money to fix your car?

This story isn't about him making a few mistakes, it's about him still not having his priorities straight. He would rather vape, hang out with his buddies, and watch movies than pay his bills and take care of his family.

He's not the hero of the story, and definitely not a representative of the county. He's just another manchild that doesn't realize that he should have grown up before he had that kid.

Wilkes County: An Alternative Perspective

Grrrainmal, you pretty much nailed it.

And Wilkes County didn't used to be that hard a place to live. In fact people from surrounding counties drove to Wilkes because of our economy.

****!!!! We were the economy!

I can pass out on maddog under almost any bridge in Wilkes and wake up the next morning with a hangover. Try that in New York and either the rats would eat you or someone would kill you.

We have local leaders with a vision?

Who are they?

If you look at the history of Wilkes County, it has always been a hard scrabble place to live, with most citizens eeking out a modest living through home subsistence farming, in the saw mills, or working in factories. Those that could not eek out enough of a living turned to illegal means, such as running or making shine. Generally speaking, those that made/ran the shine did so under the auspices of a person of more means, who was removed from the process in all ways except when it was time to profit.

As time went on, making shine turned to "growing weed", which in time became "making meth". Sure, those people that brewed/grew/created these vices probably indulged in them as they made them, but generally speaking, the farmer of old, the factory worker of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and the barely employed, poorly educated 20somthing of today all have one thing in common; in order to survive, they supplemented their income by going off the grid, so to speak.

The article spoke of the short film Prosperous Wilkes County, discussing the hustle and bustle of North Wilkesboro in the 40s, with everyone on the street, dressed in finery, and then, contrasts that with today, when downtown is heavily trafficked at lunch, but then is sparsely populated the rest of the day. That observation, while true, has more to do with the general decline of the downtown area as the "congregation" point all over America. Jobs that used to be all in a downtown area are now in the suburbs or outer edges of a town/city, where parking is ample, and the express way is nearby. So that point was...pointless, in the context of the article.

The only truly prosperous time in the history of Wilkes started in the mid 70s, when Wilkes was the basis for Lowe's, Northwestern, and Holly Farms. There was Ithaca, Golden Needles, and other factories that gave those who started "at the bottom" a real chance to become something. As time went on, Northwestern and Holly Farms were gobbled up, NAFTA gutted the factories, and Lowes, well Lowes left. By 2002, the golden era had passed; no more "Wilkes County Millionaires" was not just the shrill declaration from a Lowe's executive's shrew wife, but a harsh reality. Now, if you start "at the bottom" of Tyson or Wells Fargo (the descendants of Holly Farms and NW Bank, respectively), you may rise to just above the bottom, but nothing more. If you start at Lowe's here now, you probably will not escape to Mooresville, and if you are lucky enough to find a factory job, you could go out of business at any time. You can blame NAFTA, greedy corporate executives, or local government.

So that here we are. We are not alone in this plight; small towns around America, just up the road and across the country, share our plight. Those towns that have thrived and prospered did so because they were lucky enough to have local leaders with a vision, who truly wanted their entire community to thrive and prosper. What we have in Wilkes, unfortunately, are leaders who wish to line their own pockets, who build strip malls and fast food joints, but will not invest in industry that will bring more CAREERS. Why? Because bringing in industry, and career worthy occupations would create an increase in wages across the board, and which would cut into the bottom line. We have elected short sighted officials, who lied to Lowe's, protected their Good Old Boy Friends, and have little remorse for keeping those at the bottom...on the bottom.

Sadly, there was a great deal of "oh, look at the hillbillies" schmalz in the article, which is the sort of article that the Times trots out every few months or so (trust me, there will be one about the plight of rural Montana in a little while), but there were sadly many truths, as well. Again, though, those truths are not Wilkes County specific, or even Appalacia specific; they are the plight of the rural, American small town, and the minority, inner city enclaves. All we can really do is what every one of these areas can do; educate the young, teach them skills for life, and for success, teach them to birth control methods, and help them reach their full potential. That will make Wilkes County better, and America better, in the long run.

I've been to Baltimore.

The inner harbor area is particularly beautiful.

Do you live in Detroit or Baltimore?