"Well, I'm 28, and I've got four kids. And I'm also
married! (laughter)" (October, 1970)
"That was my life; my kids was my life. Now they’re gone. I don’t have a life." (February, 1995)
For twenty-five years, we watched. Darlene carried water, built a fire, slapped a child; the child grew, had children of her own, now refuses to speak to her mother. Darlene had a husband, and a boyfriend, "that certain someone"; "that certain someone" was dismissed, another boyfriend arrived, and her husband remained. Darlene lived in a three-room cabin, without running water or indoor plumbing; she moved to a five-room house, with running spring water but still without indoor plumbing. Darlene was "flat-assed poor" (her term); she is still flat-assed poor. For twenty-five years we watched, as the children (five; one graduated from high-school) grew and left home, and as Darlene, her husband, and her boyfriends grew old. A generation passed before our eyes—-and cameras. A remarkable record of an Appalachian family. Produced by P J O’Connell for Penn State Public Broadcasting. Rural lAmerica Documentary series.
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