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Garry Barker’s Head Of The Holler |
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Kentucky author Garry Barker was born in Otway, Ohio, in 1943, grew up in Elliott and Fleming Counties of Kentucky, graduated from Berea College and worked as an arts administrator and writer until he retired from Morehead State University. Barker lives at Bald Hill in Fleming County and is publisher of the Flemingsburg Gazette. He is the author of 10 published books and of “Head of the Holler,” a newspaper column that has run in regional newspapers since 1988. This site is columns, fun or fanciful, angry or sentimental, always concise and clear and related to rural Kentucky. Enjoy. Agree. Disagree. Respond. Comments are always welcome. Send your e-mails to headoftheholler@hotmail.com |
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WINNER OF THE 2008 KENTUCKY LITERARY AWARD for fiction from the Southern Kentucky Book Fest. Here now!! From Wind Publications, a new collection of Garry Barker’s short fiction, award winning stories set in Appalachian Kentucky. Kentucky Waltz includes stories honored by Appalachian Heritage, Modern Mountain Magazine, the Catholic Press Association, and other journals and anthologies. Order from Wind Publications. For an autographed copy send $20 to Garry Barker, PO Box 32, Flemingsburg, KY 41041. |
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Now that an eighth grade basketball player has committed to play his college ball at the University of Kentucky, it won’t surprise me if a kindergarten kid signs on next. The 15 year old California eighth grader is already 6’ 4” tall, and not many preschoolers are that big, but to me it’d make about as much sense to sign up the new recruits as soon as they get out of diapers. To his credit, UK President Lee Todd was as shocked as some of the rest of us when he heard about the new signee, probably wondering how much a full scholarship will cost in another four years. When I was growing up it was not uncommon for eighth grade girls to get married, so I reckon signing on with a basketball team at the same age shouldn’t be too shocking. At least the basketball player has four years to change his mind and wouldn’t have to file for a divorce to back out. The whole recruiting business is a bit absurd, since so few coaches stay put for four years and even fewer 14 year olds know what they want to do after high school. “Robbing the cradle” takes on a new meaning in the sports world, though it seems to be particular to basketball. The Cincinnati Reds haven’t signed a 15 year old since Joe Nuxhall pitched a major league game at that age. But UK does actually have an academic recruiting program that targets eighth graders. The Robinson Scholars program, once funded by proceeds from the controversial Robinson Forest, selects eighth graders from the service area for full college scholarships, and provides support to the chosen students for all four years of high school. The recent controversy over clear-cutting timber from the forest has put the funding in jeopardy, but UK has, I think, included the Robinson Scholars in its regular budget process. Maybe the kid from California is a Robinson Scholar. Once removed. The students in the Robinson can go to UK or any other Kentucky four year college, though, giving them a little flexibility about their future. The likelihood of getting injured while studying is lots lower. A few years back I went to Hazard as a speaker for the Robinson Scholars high school graduates and was much impressed with the group of teenagers, and I also spoke to the incoming eighth graders. They were all a much more sophisticated group than we were when I was that age, a benefit of improved communications technology, and they all were being helped by a generous gift given with the concept that it would last forever. Maybe, maybe not, given the conflicts over how to use the Robinson Forest to produce income. Either way, the scholar program is a clear cut (pun intended) above asking kids to commit to play basketball. UK has been the laughingstock of the sports columnists for a couple of weeks, and deservedly so, for signing what Dick Vitale could call a true “diaper dandy.” Odds are we’ll never see the young recruit in Kentucky. Four high school years lie ahead of him, and his life, like everybody’s, will change during that crucial time. He might even decide to become a scholar instead of a shooting guard.
The Appalachian Writers Association is returning to Morehead State University for three years, and their annual conference is July 11-13. To view the web site click here. Listen to Garry Barker on Morehead State Public Radio’s “Front Page” news program. Page 6, Appalachian Writers Assoc Page 3, Bill Clinton comes to town Page 5, Kentucky Literary Award
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