of course, not everything in us a ausley county is exceptional. in many ways it's ordinary, full of normal people living normal lives. these lives take a different shape and arc than they do in some other places, but the basic themes are the same. people care about love, community, family. about a mile outside of town is a narrow gravel road that drops dramatically over the side of a hill, plunging steeply into the ngllow below. it's called cow creek. it shares its name with the stream that cuts through it. a few hundred yards farther, and i'm at the bottom of this valley, a small, flat space enclosed by rolling hills. on the top of one of these hills is a farmhouse looking out onto theil fields below. it resembles an elderly woman leaning into it, folding around an ever-weakening structure. it is gray now. its wooden boards worn and fawlded, but there are hints of the white and green it once wore. there's a strength in its brokenness. it has withstood weather, time and families. iten is it is vacant now, resti, watching, waiting as each new day c