On the Clinchfield Route

It’s 6:58 a.m. and still mostly dark when we cross over into Elkhorn City, Kentucky and park on the street behind the WYMT news truck. We’ve shared the last thirty-something miles of flood-ravaged country mostly with matte gray coal trucks, but here, the streets are full of mothers and fathers—eyes glossy from sleeplessness—buttoning colorful coats to their collars on children who move like marionettes.