By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
I once heard a guy make a joke that the reason West Virginia is “almost Heaven” is because it sits right next to Kentucky.
That’s always rang true to me. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no more beautiful place on God’s-Green-Earth than eastern Kentucky. In spring and summer, it seems like we don’t have enough words for green to describe all the various shades and hues our hillsides throw at us. In the fall those different shades of green erupt into an even more varied palette of warm reds, yellows, and oranges, and deep, earthy browns. In winter you can see the bones of the forests, highlighted in shining white snow, their stark silhouettes pointing fingers to the night sky.
The place we live is lovely in every season. But for me, Heaven will be Kentucky in the spring or fall. I was thinking about this the other day as I stopped at the bottom of the hill to get the mail. The sky was clear and bright blue, with puffy white clouds. The hills were green, with long grass waving in the breeze; the pink canopies of redbud and sporadic white flowers of dogwood accentuating the fresh, soft green of new leaves. Next to my mailbox, between the road and the field, the creek burbled and flowed, minnows and what I’m pretty sure are some small rock bass darting between rocks. Behind me, from the backseat of the car, my son’s laugh rang out high and loud and clear. A squirrel, startled at the bark of his laughter, took off scurrying up the hillside.
I stopped, closed my eyes, took a deep breath (it smelled like cow poop, and leaf litter, and dust), smiled, and tried to capture the memory of the feeling, at least, if I couldn’t remember every detail.
I am not certain of much about the afterlife, but I am certain of one thing – if I get to make it to Heaven, and Heaven is the place you’ve loved most and felt the happiest, it’s going to feel like that moment did for me.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
