I had a baby girl while we lived in W.Va., and her initials are J.S.B.  All the locals, including my ob/gyn asked me if we had named her for Jeb Stuart, who, unbeknown to me, was a much revered Confederate Officer.  Who knew?

Also, another piece of trivia about W.Va., while we were there, the state became inundated by researchers who studied accents, word usage, etc., as the native descendants of early British Isles spoke a derivation of Elizabethan English.

On a pickup parked in front of a yard with a Clinton sign in it...boy was I wishing for my camera right then.

Great diary. And you are to be commended for the courage to go door to door in areas where confederate flag symbols are common place.

I was struck by your comment about the black man who won't vote for Obama because is black. What is the logic there? I just can't imagine.

Btw, Shoney's is a southern chain, not specifically Appalachian. I've seen them in Raleigh. If you like grease, you will love Shoney's. :-)