Posted on March 17, 2008 - by Calvin L. Smith

Englishman in the Back of Beyond (22)

Apologies for no entries for the past 24 hours. After the conference (which was highly successful) I left early this morning to speak over in Western North Carolina and have only just returned to the so-called `Research Triangle’ (where the conference was held), an area encompassing Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill and a third university which gives this area this name. This scholarly and historic district, replete with `old money’, brings in many of out-of-state students, making it a wealthy, prestigious region driven by intense college sports rivalries (a big thing over here).

Today, though, I travelled 200 miles West and, frankly, it was a little bit disconcerting (`scary’migh be a more apt adjective). The people in that part of the country are lovely – friendly, down-to-earth and helpful - but the area has moved on very little in the past couple or three decades since I was last there. This is real rural, Southern (even`redneck’) territory, where an outsider gets the distinct impression that if a local Sherriff doesn’t like you, you stand to be locked up without anyone knowing where you are (at least, it felt that way). This is mountain district, where they listen to Bluegrass music, chew `tabacah’ and are `good old boys’, much like nearby Kentucky and Tenessee. It made me realise just how cosmopolitan, city-loving and non-rural I am (though being rural in the UK can be quite urban).  Indeed, it was really good to catch up with friends I’ve stayed in contact with since I worked there at Summer Camp in the early 1980s. But today’s trip also demonstrated just how parts of America have not moved on like other parts of the country. Europe has really caught up with, and even overtaken many parts of the US. Socially and culturally this trip (one of many dozens for me to the US) has been a somewhat mixed experience.

Yet despite all this, there were churches absolutely everywhere in the area I visited today, filled with people, and making us look like pagans. This was part of the true Bible Belt and it was really obvious.