In 2020 she was with her Ohio family a lot. Macy and her sister kept vigil at their mom’s bedside. Their mother was in hospice care. The subject of politics arose-Macy was astonished to hear what her sister thought. Her sister had never been that interested in politics.
Macy was hearing views that were polar opposites of her own. She wondered; how did this happen, this fracture, between family members? Her sister was not her only relative expressing such opinions. Macy wanted to decipher how this occurred.
She had been living in Virginia for years. She decided to write a memoir and conduct research during regular visits to Urbana, to explore the forces transforming the place, to consider the fractures in her own family and in so doing, our massive fractures as a nation.
As a girl she had been a paper girl delivering the local newspaper, thus her memoir’s title. She remembered Urbana had a vibrant newspaper. She wondered what had changed. She realized the current incarnation of that paper was merely a shadow of its former self. She discovered many other things had changed in her community.
She began spending time with a high school student who was dealing with life struggles. He was an enthusiastic member of the high school marching band and wanted to go on to college. Would he have the same opportunities Macy had to escape a difficult background and earn a college degree?
This student had many challenges, there were drug addictions in his family. As a teenager he had to begin taking care of his younger siblings because their parents had essentially checked out. He had a scholarship opportunity to attend Clark State Community College training to become a welder. There was a huge roadblock however, how could he get to school without reliable transportation?
Macy realized Urbana had changed. A lot. The opportunities she had were now virtually non-existent. College really isn’t an option anymore when you are poor. Public high schools are in decline. Social services are overwhelmed. Macy spoke with family members and even a former boyfriend who became a hardcore political radical.
How do we learn to talk to each other again? To heal these fractures somehow? She offers us ways. You can hear my interview with the author today at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO (91.3FM).
Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit wyso.org/programs/book-nook. Contact him at vick@vickmickunas.com.
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