West Virginia is the most beautiful of the 50 states.  I will stand by that statement forever.  I am a little partial, I am from there.  With all of it’s rugged beauty, fascinating history and some of the friendliest people in the country, I love saying I was born in the Mountain State.  But not everyone sees the state as kindly as I do, and most really would rather pretend it doesn’t exist.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the national news from the last week.  How much national attention was the WV chemical spill getting?  Hardly anyone was talking about it.  Sure there would be a random article here or there about how we need more regulations on chemical/coal mining or lots of politicians pointing fingers about who dropped the ball, but very little about the people this directly affected or about what can be done to help.

I would say 90% of my family still lives in the Charleston area of West Virginia.  Continue reading →