Tuesday, June 05, 2007
This is my friend, Don Dudenbostel.
I met Don at Pastor Jimmy's church. Jimmy had told me about him before and referred to him as that "Appalachia guy". He's a professional photographer who has done some really amazing work.
Don is on a mission to document the disappearing lifestyles and people of Appalachia. His photos will be touring the US in 2009. I'm really flattered that he lets me tag along with him on jaunts.
I told Don about the First Monday Market in Morristown a few Sunday's ago and we made plans to go. It was a really great time and I got some stories and photos and he's sure he got some great photos.
First Monday Market is a smorgasbord of authentic Appalachian culture. Pretenders don't come here. They don't know about it. It's one of those impromptu markets that has been around for decades. It just happens every 1st Monday of the month. It is not unlike the livestock markets you find all over Asia and I did notice a few Asian faces there. If you want your food super fresh...like still walking around...this is the place to be.
The faces of the people as well as the animals draw me in. There are women with lined faces like street maps of hardship. Men with hands that bear scars of toil. To an outsider, the adults are often frightening examples of humanity. Jailhouse tattoos and gap-toothed grins showing rotted teeth. Guns are everywhere. But to me, they are the characters in my imagination brought to stark life. I see the gentleness in them. And if you take a moment to talk with them, you can see it too.
The Appalachian children are everywhere. They are some of the most beautiful children in the world. Don took a photo on one girl selling some produce and her father came up and asked what we were about.
Don told him and the fellow said his teenage daughter was running the store back at Bean's Station while his youngest son was selling the chickens and rabbits a few stalls over. He had the entire family working. He invited us to come and photograph the vegetable stand at Bean's Station.
We got asked a great deal what we were doing. Everyone, once they heard, was delighted to have their photo taken. We will most certainly be going back. Just one trip was not enough to catalogue the variety of people there. I've got photos and material for quite a few posts, so this will most likely be a series.
I've uploaded some of my photos onto my Flikr account if you can't wait for me to parse them out here on the blog.
Can't wait to read more from ya. Glad your back. I had no idea anything happened, cause a few times I came here nothing showed up at all on the blog. It was all black with just background. Hope it all holds together for ya so you can continue to write. I sure enjoy them.
Have a good day!
Do we eat goats?
Do I? I know I eat goat cheese but I don't recall buying or ordering goat meat on any menu...
Fuck, it's hard being me.
Housewife...I hate to tell you, but you eat goat. Goat is the most widely consumed meat in the world...partly because it is not offensive to most of the world religions. Cheese wise...goat milk is used in more than just "goat cheese" or chevre...you can make any kind of cheese with it. In France they have goat dairies just like we have cow dairies. So, if you eat much imported cheese, chances are you've not only had goat milk...but sheep's milk as well. Goat meat is used to make many sorts of pepperoni and all sorts of cured meat sausages of that sort like salamis. One popular US pizza chain makes it's own pepperoni using chevon.
But Chevon (goat meat) is really good for you, has very little fat, and is very delicious. So...don't worry too much about it. It's a much more healthful choice than beef.
And goat meat is a personal favorite, but I think I will have to take a pause on eating it since I have taken a shine to Bossy Toe.