Small towns in peril

Traveling over the last week, I've had an opportunity to see a good part of our heartland. These are the "red" states. It struck me how differently we all view our country and how that affects everything we do. Here in the land of small agricultural towns, there is a sense of community. There is a sense of belonging and pride. I was amazed when I attended the St. Louis Cardinal game the other night that everyone stood and sang, with pride, the National Anthem. In New York, we usually miss the last few bars because everyone starts clapping. It's treated as the song you have to get through before the game gets started.

It is this sense of "ownership" that is important. There are people across the country who spend thousands of dollars in therapy trying to find this connectedness that is prevalent in the hundreds of thousands of small towns across the heartland. They long to be able to walk into the hardware store and have everyone in there greet you. To make you feel like you're special, you're one of them.

Now this way of life is in jeopardy. The small town of my grandparents is dying. It's downtown has been gutted by the Super Walmart that came in and destroyed family businesses that couldn't compete with the cheap crap imported from foreign countries. The town council tried to fight but who can compete with the legal team that has destroyed small town after small town across the globe.

In addition, the lights and glitter of the "big city" have always held a fascination for the youth of these towns. Once any opportunity has been stripped away by the likes of Walmart, what is left but to move out. Sadly, these roots of America are withering.

I wish I could write some words of wisdom on how to reverse this and save a vital part of our heritage but I don't. I can merely warn of impending doom and hope that readers will think and respond. One thing I can tell you, I don't EVER shop at Walmart!!

Thoughts anyone?

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Knowing what's important

I've had the opportunity this week to visit good friends from college in Chicago and to attend a family reunion in rural Southern Illinois. I've also spent time wandering around my college campus (Illinois Wesleyan University -- I would highly recommend it to any college seekers). All of this has brought home the importance of relationships.

My friends and I were laughing about some of the issues we fought for (and against) while in college and were amazed at how important they seemed to be at the time and how unimportant they seem to be now. I'm sure if we look at what is important to us now, in ten years, we'll be able to laugh about how trivial those same issues seem to be then.

The point of all this rambling is, what has really endured over the past 30 years is the connections. Connections to friends and family that have kept us moving forward through all of those seemingly "critical" issues that come and go each day. I guess it's important that we worry about jobs, mortgages, and other daily life issues, but it's equally as important to make time for those who are truly important.

Although it was challenging to get four families from all over the country to the same place at the same time, the four hours of laughing and reminiscing refreshed and invigorated us to go and face the world. It reaffirmed an anchor and more importantly, the kids got to meet and get to know each other. The families are beginning to become intertwined for longer than just 4 years in college. Who knows how important that tie will be in future generations.

Thoughts anyone?