Of an Irishman who left an impoverished rural village there and emigrated to America. He got a job, made new friends, etc. When a friend visited Ireland and upon his return asked the Irishman how he could bear to leave such a beautiful place, he replied, "You can't eat the scenery."

In the past, many folks in Appalachia have regretfully come to the same conclusion and left the region. And now , sadly, many in West Virginia may well pack their bags, with mountaintop-removal mining and water pollution making a perfectly lovely state virtually uninhabitable.