Not from around here

A colleague of mine and I always talk about horses and farms.  She has both (well, it’s kind of a farm in a more modern sense), I have neither but love both.  She answers all my silly questions about living in the country and horses, so when she heard Jimmy Carter’s memoirs, An Hour Before Dawn: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood on tape, she immediately brought me the book (er, tape).

It was so fascinating to hear about his boyhood in rural Georgia.  I picture Monroe to have been similar during the Depression - large farms, small strips of civilization, a strong sense of community.  The stories he tells are fascinating, like the time he got a giant splinter stuck inside his wrist and, in an effort to please his father by helping with the crops instead of wallowing in pain, he violently twisted the wrist to reveal a stream of pus and a giant splinter that had been lodged in the middle of the joint.  Ew, but wow.

The book also draws upon a few things I love about Monroe.  I love passing the horses on Hurd.  I love the open fields and pastures; our next house will either have these, back up to these, or have easy access to these.  (Or be on Lake Erie, one of the four options!) I wonder what things were like here 70 years ago…

 Any insight?

Carter also discusses racial relationships in the South.  His family was progressive in the sense that the normal rules didn’t apply.  But as often happens now, race was closely related to income/poverty so the oppressive system continued.  Blacks and Whites lived together but seperately - what happens in many ways even now.  Schools were segregated, of course, and though that’s not mandatory now, it’s often the case; did you know that Michigan is one of the top 5 most segregated states? Carter definitely gives hope, though, that being a strong voice standing up for your beliefs of equality can be respected, should be respected, and can be appreciated. Definitely check the book out - very touching and a talented writer. 

If you heard someone hissing outside at 3am, that was me. One of my dogs now thinks it’s funny to sit at the door, wait for a treat, and run when I get frustrated and reach for him. 

 I was so. stinkin’. mad.

The other dog goes out just to GET treats.  But hey, at least she comes!

My father is as German as they come.  I guess that  comes from being born and raised there.  The man is still a German citizen and a resident alien here, even though he’s lived in the U.S. for over 25 years.  He’s so German, in fact, that he only buys old German cars and fixes them up.  Which is what I drove until I realized I am no McGuiver like he is; I can’t fix a broken belt with a paperclip and some gum. (No really, he did that once on a drive from Michigan to New York in an old VW van from the 70s.) So I decided to buy new so I wouldn’t have to worry about it.

 Buying a new foreign car in Michigan is interesting - some raised eyebrows, that’s for sure.  But anyone that knows my family knows how likely it would be that I would buy foreign even though I always swore I would buy the most American car I could find, just to spite him.  So I bought foreign.  Here’s what I found out, though: it’s not always the car manufacturer that makes the car “American”.  It’s the driver.

 Makes sense, right? Yet not every car is “Americanized” to my father.  Just mine, and just because I’m what you might call…not neat.  I live in my car and so does my life, which means there are random things in it.  A few coffee cups, an enormous amount of pens, some stuff on the floor…I can live with it.  I never hear the end of it from my dad, but thankfully he doesn’t drive in my car often.  It’s that whole living 60 miles away thing.

I did, however, offer to drive my parents to the airport this weekend for their trip to Germany. (See, I told you he was truly German! He still goes and drags my Colombian mother 2x a year!) This meant that my car needed a serious cleaning and it honestly was too far along for me to do it, as sad as I am to admit that.  So I made it even more “American”, in my father’s mind, by going to have it detailed here in Monroe.

 I wanted to go with a little local place because I love to support local businesses whenever possible.  But the local place was $30 more than the chain! I certainly don’t have that kind of money.  It made me sad though, because I’m sure it’s a vicious cycle: small business opens, big business comes in and is more cost effective.  Small business loses money, so they have to charge more, and big business keeps getting bigger and more known so it continues.  I still feel guilty about it.

 My car is spick and span again, though.  Almost cleaner than it was 3 years ago….brand new!