What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been! (jack)

I know it may sound cliché when I say that, but who could put it in better words than one of history’s greatest. Actually, I’ve been so busy riding in a moving vehicle I haven’t had a chance to update my story. On top of the lack of Internet availability, any opportunity I have had I spent doing many other –but just as important- activities, such as diffusing heated arguments among classmates, and soaking in the hot tub at the Holiday Inn. But this trip has been far from a vacation.
Last night, however, I ended up sleeping on a concrete pad under the roof of a gazebo in Stanley Heirs Park, due to the unpredicted heavy showers that West Virginia often falls victim to. About 30 miles outside of Charleston, Larry Gibson’s fifty-five acres of mountaintop property are surrounded by about 7,000 acres of large scale mountaintop removal mining projects. That’s why he started the Stanley Heirs Foundation, a land trust he hopes will ensure that big coal companies won’t be able to level his family’s property in a trend of environmental destruction that hasn’t been gaining much attention. Due to the large amount of profits the coal companies are making, and the fact that most of North America’s electricity is provided by coal, there isn’t a lot to be heard about it from local media or elected public officials. Big surprise?
Before arriving in Charleston, (and I do apologize for the reverse-chronological order) we spent our last day in Washington, DC. In the morning we visited the Hirchorn Museum of Modern Art; a great display of how much money you can make by thinking of something new, even if it’s not that special. After lunch we had a special opportunity to visit the Hart Senate Office Complex where we were privileged enough to take an underground shuttle to the U.S. Capitol where we toured the senate gallery. I was chagrinned and bewildered after we were able to sit in on a live senate debate. Not so much by the topics being debated –that’s why I watch CSPAN- but by the long winded speech the Republican Texas Senator gave. Rather than being concise and to the point, he seemed to jump from topic to topic, first jumping from immigration issues to outright attacking the democratic senate minority leader(Harry Reid), then speaking on behalf of his constituents he returned his conversation focus to the topic at hand –the proposed amendment.
I know this is only a partial coverage of our long strange trip, and I apologize I can’t give you more. However, I have documented and filmed more than 22 hours of footage I will have to comb through upon our arrival, as well as freelance journalism on various topics –Hurricane Katrina, Mountaintop Removal, State Highway Safety, the lack of public transportation and loophole politics- to all of which I will debrief and awaken the people of Crestone. So don’t worry, this blog is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are interested in the stories and experiences of the young adults in my class, the best is yet to come.
But I will say that, however extensively you educate someone about something, you can’t really be educated without the opportunity to see the world and how it works for yourself, with a chance to draw your own conclusions. That’s why I thank everyone who made this trip possible, –parents, teachers (especially Karen and Thomas), Reynold, Community, students, the superintendent, my mom, my workplace, and anyone who reads this- without such a unique school and group of people, we wouldn’t be able to do this. In other words, we wouldn’t exist if we didn’t. Thanks!
Jack Ward 04/07/06