Kentucky Hillbillies in the Big City

Last weekend I was in Manhattan- I had interviews on Monday and made a 3-day trip out of it.

I had sushi three times (one of the main reasons I love the city), ate lunch at The Dead Rabbit, which has been rated the “World’s Best Bar” (had a life-changing Irish coffee), and found myself nearly dying at Y7 hot yoga.

On my last day in the city, I was alone at a subway station, waiting for the H line to take me to FiDi. Google maps said there were “significant delays” but I was broke at this point, stubbornly refusing to pay for a taxi or Uber.

So, I waited. There wasn’t cell service underground, so I was observing my surroundings (crazy right? Ah, what technology has done to us…). I noticed a couple a few feet in front of me, who instantly reminded me of the people in my hometown of Rolesville, North Carolina.

They were dressed in faded blue jeans, thick, brown, mud-splattered hiking boots, and matching heavy tan Carhartt jackets. They looked a little out of place among the New York crowd. They seemed very confused, and so I walked up to them to ask if they needed help (not that I am a Manhattanite myself, but I have visited enough to somewhat know my way around).

They were trying to get back to their hotel, and luckily I was familiar with the area and pointed them in the right direction. I told them about the delays in the subway system.

“You found that out on your phone?” the man said. “Dang hun, we need to always have a young person with us!” They were holding a paper map of the subway system.

I asked them what brought them to the city, and their response was completely unexpected.

They own a farm in Kentucky. They divide workload evenly between the two of them - manual labor in the fields, tending to the animals, cooking, cleaning, going to the market, etc. They grow corn and sell hogs primarily.

They met in grade school and have lived in the same small town all of their lives (I couldn’t remember the name). The two of them grew up going to the same quaint church every Sunday morning.

When I asked them what they like to do at the end of the day when they could prop their feet up, they smiled at each other and said “chess.” Every night, they sit with music in the background and play chess.

Apparently, there was a chess conference/competition in the city this weekend that the couple came all the way from Kentucky to attend. And yes, they both walked away with awards for placing in the competition.

I congratulated them for their success, and their beaming faces told me they were proud.

Their thoughts on the city? Hated it. They told me they couldn’t wait to get home! I think they must have been in good moods over the fact they were on their way home, because they gave me their Metro Card that still had $10 on it. “We don’t need this anymore, and probably never will again.”

I wished them the best of luck in their travels home, and told them I’ll always remember the “Kentucky hillbillies” (as they called themselves) in the big city.

#Manhattan