Lack County Stir - Pandemic Exclusive

 "Stir it up". It was never my favorite Bob Marley song, but it was a pretty good one. 

 I always loved the blatant call to rebellion in Marley's music. Fuck the man, right out there in the open with nothing to apologize for. I wanted to be like that, so bad, to stick up for myself against any slights with courage and conviction. To always be brave and do the right thing. It was impossible, the standards that I quietly held myself to while I was growing up. 

There was no gifted and talented program at Baldwin Community Schools, no swimming pool, no lacrosse team, for fuck's sake. But what there was was racial diversity, poverty and the ravages of addiction on full display, and bitter, gaping gaps between rich and poor, all within the same small, nature-bound community. My mother, as was her habit, spoiled me and convinced me totally unwaveringly that I was special and was indeed gifted, talented, AND handsome, no matter what my cold, poor school could provide. She set up meetings at the school with the special programs coordinator and got me into a special, newly created program meant to give young people a sort of introduction to college-preparatory type education, and a glimpse at what elite education looked like, in an area where there was very little exposure to that type of thing and it was certainly not a given, or even close, that any given student would continue on to college or any sort of secondary education at all. 

The Lack County Stir - Exclusive Pandemic Edition

While I continue to pile up my stories and inane ramblings at my website: Lack County Chronicles (lackcounty.nathanduckworth.com) there are always bubbling brooks of other stories coursing through my head, over and over again. I keep getting reminded of it talking to friends, and sometimes I get the feeling I must talk faster and faster, fit more and more of those stories into the limited time we all have as our leaders and shakers and bread makers die and fall by the wayside again and again. *Inhales*

Anyway, The Stories collected here are a smattering of memories of growing up in Lake County, Michigan. Tucked in the midst of the Manistee National Forest in Northern Michigan, it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And one of the poorest. The lessons I learned there stayed with me for a lifetime and had a profound impact on me. These are some of those stories.

The Pandemic Edition: Fall 2020 (Note, titles will link to each story as it's published)

1. Mr. Harry Price and the Beer Sand > Coming Soon

2. Shooting with Tom > Coming Soon

3. Saw Sticking in Rural Lake County (or Walking with Ed) > Coming Soon

4. Missy Cleans House > Coming Soon

5. River Carry Me Away  > Coming Soon