Carry Me Ohio
by Matt
Eich
Buried
in the heartland of the wealthiest country in the world lays a stretch of land,
which was once known as the Ohio coal belt. Historically, this region has been
defined by its extractive industry, but with the decline in the job market it
has become overrun by poverty. "There's not really much work here in Chauncey.
If you find something it usually
pays
like $5 an hour. A lot of people live on cash assistance or work at restaurants",
said Jesse Sellers, a resident of Chauncey. Jesse was an ironworker for more
than 16 years and regularly travelled to Columbus, Cincinnati, or Dayton to
work until he lost his driver's license because of a DUI.
“Exhausted
after enduring two hours of temper tantrums and escape attempts at an Ohio University
basketball game, Jesse still struggles with his daughters’ disability.
“I didn’t know how to accept it. To me, it just hit me real hard.
I blame everything on God. I probably shouldn’t. But they talk about how
wonderful He is, and to me that’s not a very wonderful person to put me
through that."
