Terminalcoffee discussion

Ok, bear with me here, I have to explain this.

While driving through central South Dakota a few weeks back I was struck by the fact there are no fast food restaurants way out in the middle of nowhere. I'm serious. I wasn't even hungry, but I noticed this pattern in particular when on I-90 passing signs that often show fast food restaurants at the next exit but McDonalds and their ilk don't have outlets in these areas. I asked a teenage waiter at a small diner about it (in the central city of Chamberlain, SD) and he said, "they don't want to have to supply us way out here." Now, can you imagine that? McDonalds as a special occasion, if you will? I don't want to criticize or romanticize the idea, but I started to think that truly rural areas are practically a different planet not to mention a different part of the country. I also had rural areas on my mind because I believe the Obama administration is working on rural issues (I heard about a rural government tour coming through Wisconsin, but, of course, they visited a small city). And in education there's been growing interest in how hard teaching in rural locations can be with few resources and a shortage of good teachers esp. in hard to hire content areas like chemistry or whatever. I also don't mean to sound like living in a truly rural culture, however you choose to define that term, would be so awful, but I live in a small town about a half hour north of Milwaukee, and I grew up in Chicago, and I can't imagine living four hours from a McDonalds. Plus I don't even like McDonalds (except for, you know, their fries, but everyone likes their fries, right?).

So...questions...

1. What experience do you have with traveling/living in rural areas? Buns, sometimes it sounds like you live in a pretty rural area.
2. What are the advantages/disadvantages of rural living?
3. What are the cultural ways of life way out in the middle of nowhere?
4. Could you live way out in the middle of nowhere?
5. What else?

I won't be able to live in the middle of nowhere more than a month. When I visit my Grandmother(she lives in a village(in the middle of nowhere)), I usually stay a week, but then, I just can't bear it- to see the same faces every day, to hear about the same problems,not see the city lights and not to hear cars rushing by, not to be able to go out with friends, not having proper internet connection, it feels like life is going on without you.... (these were disadvantages), but
people in such places are kinder, they care more, their lives aren't easy(they don't use all the new technologies we have), they work from early morning to late night, and despite all these they are grateful for what they have.They don't complicate their lives. they live SIMPLE and not having Macdonalds and Starbucks isn't such a big problem as it is for us. And sometimes I think that it is better that way-because we made slaves from ourselves to all these kind of things, we are becoming robots, but they-they can live even without electricity(they keep candels for such occesions). Besides they are closer to nature. when I am there It feels Great( the first two weeks)not watching TV and Using computer, but lying on the grass, watching sky and listening to the voice of nature. Such places feel like home- with homemade cakes and frash eggs and vagitables from the front-garden. It is Great to rest in such beautiful places, but not to live.

When I was a kid, I'd visit my grandparents on their farms (mom's and dad's parents each) during the summer. Both are pretty isolated. I remember a 30 minute drive would get us to the nearest diner where I could have french fried or an ice cream cone and that was a pretty great treat. What'd we do? We'd make an occasion out of ordinary events - watermelon purchased at a road stand... we'd plan to cut into it the next night after dinner out on the front porch. I remember while staying with them, accompanying my grandmother and my great-grandfather to town for his doctor appointments. And being grossed out when he'd tell her after the appointments that he wanted to stop at Arby's for a "roach beef sandwich." For years, I wouldn't step foot into an Arby's because I thought they served roach meat. I was in the 6th grade before I ever stepped foot into an Arby's. The pasttimes I remember most centered around gathering together around mealtimes and afterwards for great food and conversation and sometimes songs. The conversation was never dull at the dinner table in either home. I loved helping with the dinner preparations and clean up afterwards. It was nice to have something to do. When I'd visit either home, we'd make a special occasion out of going into the attic or storehouse to pick out up to 3 toys or games to bring back to the house with us. My cousins and I had adventurous and imaginative treks and intrigues. We were always "spying" on the adults... and willing ourselves to be invisible. When I'd visit the Louisiana grandparents, my cousin and I would go out in the fields and pick soy beans for my grandmother to prepare. We'd also go "crawdaddin'" (try to lure the crawfish out of their dirt homes in the ground). At my Arkansas grandparents' home, my cousins and I would go on nature treks or we'd go fishing on the stocked pond... and feed the farm animals. We'd play tetherball and hide & seek. Their neighbors had a trampoline and we'd spend afternoons there jumping until the sun went down after finishing our day chores. We'd make mud pies, too. :) It was NEVER dull or boring at either place. I would love to buy my Arkansas grandparents' farm and live there for the rest of my life. I have wonderful memories from that place. I enjoy treks to the city on occasion, but I'm definitely a country girl at heart.

I've done challenge camps living in the mountains. One time was without electricity. It was a fun experience and taught me how far we've come in exchanging information. That time in the mountains, the Oklahoma bombings occurred. We had no idea until we came down at the end of the week. It was surreal.

So I suppose the bonus is to be away from it all. All the hype and publicity. The downside /is/ being away from it all. I like being able to drive to a nearby restuarant because I am hungry. And get served quick. I like having a ton of artistic events (galleries, museums, concerts, film fests, etc) at my disposal.

And RA, are you SURE there wasn't a Stucky's around there? It always seems to be a Stuckys or Hardezees in those rural areas. Or some 18 wheeler truck stop. Mmm. Truck stop diners. Good cookin ;)

Rando...,This may be one of the better posts I've seen since I've been on GR! Thanks!

Tanja said: So I suppose the bonus is to be away from it all. All the hype and publicity.

Give me one good reason why anyone would need hype and publicity. A reason that would better one's life?

And yes, I live in the STICKS of the Arkansas Ozarks 30 minutes from the county seat where I work and commute 5 days a week.

It is very difficult to make a living. A culture person or a fast food junkie can't live in the country...their wiring will short out. Thank God, for CDs, DVDs, and ITunes! However, I don't have a TV.

I can't imagine sitting in my house or in a lawn chair outside and smelling car exhaust fumes while I read a book...just as Bun said the birds, frogs, cicadas, dogs make it worth while. My nearest neighbors are a quarter mile away. I used to teach at a rural high school but it got annexed with another district so I work as a librarian now...for much less pay! I grew up on a farm in central Arkansas and have never desired to live in a city for a very long time. Gardening, reading and music take up all my spare time, don't forget wife and son. We do love driving to Little Rock or Fayetteville to hear live music but we much prefer the wild music of the woods! Good Luck!

By the way, I love going to Starbucks. The nearest is 90 miles away...a 2 hour drive to Conway. We buy quite a bit of our supplies in bulk on-line or at stores like Wholefoods when we visit town so we stock up on stuff we love like organic whole bean French Roast!

Randy, I LOVE Marshall - it's a neat place! Great canoeing on the Buffalo... the drive to there is pretty easy on the eyes, too. I went through there on my way to some canoeing just last month. If I'm not mistaken, there's a Dogwood Inn Restaurant there? My grandparents would drive to there on occasion for dinner with the fam. I've been near there quite a bit, too - St. Joe, Gilbert, Leslie (stayed at a retreat center near Leslie a few times) - and I have some dear friends in the Fox area who live on the animal sanctuary. I stayed with them back in April for a retreat from the "city life" - no television, no electricity, most everything was grown or raised on the farm... and the animals had all birthed so lots of baby animals were frolicking about. :)

I was just recently reading a book about a cholera outbreak in the mid 1800s in London, which segued into a discussion of city living. One interesting point the author made is that the greenest way people can live is in cities, where the high density makes efficiencies greater.

People in cities such as New York drive much less than rural folks, use less energy to heat their homes, as they are in apartments that share the energy, and supplying sewage services to city dwellers is more efficient than septic systems to rural homeowners as well.

It was a fascinating point I'd never considered before, and one I never expected to have come up in a book about an outbreak of disease!

Good public trans is a big advantage of city living, I agree. I wish we had better public trans where we lived. We have to drive pretty much everywhere.

Well blow me down, Heidi! I live in Witts Springs and work in Marshall...besides gardening and family canoeing the Buffalo River, the nation's 1st National River is one of my favorite activities! Yes, there is a Dogwood Inn Restaurant...I know folks at Fox and have several good friends in Leslie. Try Serenity Farms Bakery for some of the best sourdough bread and pastries in the United States. Please feel free to stop by and say "Hi" anytime you are coming through Marshall. Just ask anyone where the Searcy County Library is! We also have wireless here! What a small world!

Being completely uninformed regarding the world at large can be dangerous and yet there's a peaceful beauty to it. I know when I came back from the mountains, I was realized how "glutton" society has become.

I forget...was it Steinbeck who wrote about living amongst nature? To simplify? There's something quaint and gentle about living away from it all.

But I know I couldn't withstand it for a full year. Maybe half.

Witts Springs - wow, that is a rural area. :) I've actually been to the Serenity Farms Bakery. My stepmom got turned around the last time we were driving back from MO and was looking for it around Cherokee Village (in NE AR). Thanks for the welcome and invite. I'll keep it in mind next time I'm around there. My family's from around the River Valley/Tri-Peaks area - Conway County, Perry County, Yell County, and such. Most aren't living around there anymore, but we have strong roots there.

Larry's got some family connections from around Stone County also, if I'm not mistaken. Right, Larry?