Go Back From Where You Came

“Go back where you came from”. How many of you have ever heard that comment before? Has that comment ever been directed towards you? Have you ever told anyone that? In most cases, it has been predetermined, by the accuser; where you came from is far worse than where you are at. I recently had the opportunity to go back from where I came, it opened my eyes to the wonderful life I have. When you look on a monument and see your heritage before you and meet a relative who descended from the same great-great-great-great grandfather who fought for the Confederacy.

 

The more I dug into my heritage, the more I found out, about me. It has been a family heritage to serve our country and the pride etched on historical markers.

The call from the sound of the guns has been in my blood from the beginning. My children and grandchildren can be proud of their heritage from the hills of southeastern Kentucky.

There are other issues which should be forgotten but have long been remembered in stories being passed down from generations.

It wasn’t just in this county, it was scattered across the hills of southeastern Kentucky. I remember the stories, being sent to bed early, listening to the guns being pulled down from the wall, as family members went into the hills to defend their property.

Going back from where I came, with an elder parent who feels it may be their last trip to, from where they came. They challenged them self, as they climbed the hills to view a cemetery and at eighty-three years young, they stand in triumph from the climb.

As you walk through the cemeteries, you see your past laid out before you. What I found disturbing was the number of children's graves, with nothing more than a flat stone for a head marker, laid in a row, alongside other siblings and their parents. Veterans from many wars, decedents of those who crossed the Cumberland Gap to settle in the hollows of southeastern Kentucky, in one of my families final resting place.

It wasn’t all about the hardships of war and surviving in some of the toughest counties in the hills, it really was about family and connection to distant families who worked the coal mines and coal industry. The excitement of meeting family, for the first time, as well as re-introducing ourselves to family we had not seen for almost fifty years. Re-kindling relationships and passing information to stay connected.

A monument was dedicated to those who settled and worked in the coal industry in the hills surrounding Tip Top Kentucky, with the names of the families forever remembered.

I suggest to you; Go back from where you came from, open your eyes and ears and ask questions, find out, why you are who you are. Create an opportunity to meet family, you were unaware ever existed or re-connect with family, after years and distance. Go ahead, Go back from where you came from, it’s good for your soul, at least is was for me.