And who am I ?

Well, I'm Kim. Kim M Crouch. Also known as "Moma Sita".

I came to Clarksdale, as a child of divorce, in 1967. I lived and grew up here. In 1984, at 21 years of age, I up and left here. Thought this was nothing but a hell-hole. I was tired of the small-town and all the drama that comes with it. I hated the flat Delta land. I wanted something better. So North I headed.

I settled in Memphis, Tennessee, which is not too far up Highway 61 from Clarksdale. But, it was close enough away for me to spread my wings. (So to speak) I secured employment and after several months found that I needed to slow myself down. I wasn't a City girl. That was for sure.

I crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas and lived with a cousin in West Memphis until I could find a place of my own. It wasn't long before I met Jimmy. My husband of 24 years. (long time, I know!) We started our family and lived in West Memphis until 1997.

We moved to Sherard, Mississippi in the fall of '97. Sherard is on Highway 1, in West Coahoma county. Our own little piece of Delta dirt. Can see the levee from our front porch. Just miles from the Mississippi River.

So, I've been back "home" for nearly 13 years. You know they say you can't go back home again. I've found that to be true and false in so many ways.

While things are now certainly more different at "home" than back in the day I grew up here, there's a lot that still remains. Generations of families still here. The dusty flat land is still here. The never ending rows of crops are still here. The laziness of the South is still here. Racial issues are still here. And, the small-town drama is still here. All this remains from yester-years.

The logistics, economy, neighborhoods, and population of Clarksdale has changed. For sure. That part of "home" is gone. Long gone. The streets are the same. They just don't take you to the same places. Visually, the foundation and structure of Clarksdale is here. But the inside, the soul, needs motivation and renovation.

Today, our history and cultural is even greater and deeper, the music is alive and becoming even more increasingly so. And, I'm ashamed to say I didn't realize what we had or appreciate these things during my childhood. It saddens me to think of all those years I wasted, when I could have been learning and experiencing all I see now.

Yes, my eyes are open. I see it all. Perfect vision. I know what it was and I know what it can be. I believe in what's in store for the future. Many good things are happening. Thousands are already participating. I see where we're headed and I'm very excited and interested in traveling this journey.

And No Place Like Home where you get to go along.