You must of had the best of Appalachian ancestors. I have to admit many West Virginians have no trouble being on welfare. However, “too hard-headed to take to authority very well and a determination to survive no matter what comes my way” is right on the money. Obeying the law is pretty optional to many but most won’t do anything particularly bad.
Even though my parents grew up "dirt poor" (my mother went to a one-room schoolhouse & the house she grew up in had floor boards spaced so wide apart, she said they couldn't play marbles in the house without them going through the floor - they also wallpapered their house with pages from Montgomery Ward catalogs) - no one in our family has EVER been on welfare. It just wasn't an option.
Here's a picture of my great-grandmother and my great-great-grandfather with my dad and his older brothers. The boys all ended up with college degrees or owning their own successful businesses. My dad put himself through college selling strawberries he raised and everything else he could do to make money. America sure has gotten off track - welfare never has eliminated poverty.
