A Tale of Two Cities
Two cities: Dekalb, Illinois and Sidney, Nebraska.
On the drive back from Chicago, Brad and I made two stops at towns along I-80 with the hopes of catching two World Cup games. The plan was simple. Drive until gametime. Find the nearest town and bar with a television tuned to ESPN. Eat, drink, and be merry.
It seemed like a good idea. It would break up the homogenic monotony of freeway travel and let us experience a little bit of the flavor of the midwestern states. The road less travelled.
Two cities, two very different results.
Dekalb was a dream.
Based on a random turn at an intersection we wound up at Fatty's, a tavern located on the edge of town. Our gamble was immediately rewarded. Both the World Cup and the White Sox game were on tap. The nachos were plentiful, the Newcastles a breezy two dollars, the crowd vocal and convivial. Brad explained the intricacies of soccer to an old man siting next to us. He explained to us the painful intricacies of losing a son.
Brad and I got back on the freeway pleased with our find. We anticipated what the next day would bring.
It brought Sidney, Nebraska.
It was Sunday. Downtown was all but closed. Brad and I tried two bars before finding success with Goldy's.
The scene was immediately unnerving. All turned to us as we approached the bar.
The response was curt. "This is America. We don't watch soccer."
As Nascar blared from the television, the mulleted two playing pool began slandering each other in unironic sexual and racial slurs. A country song "Size Does Matter" kicked up on the jukebox.
Brad and I got back into our car before we got hate crimed.
posted by d l wright at 6/27/2006 03:33:00 PM
6 Comments:
You hate Rural America just as much as it hates you.
Don't lie.
Oh please. Your 'Rural America' is an empty term.
Logan I absolutely believe you... I've said for years that Rural America will be the downfall of... umm... America.
And based on the anecdotal evidence I have from my life experience, people from Rural America are self-centered, rude, unfriendly and they talk trash about me behind me back to my future in-laws.
SOBs...
Still, I am reluctant to use Pela's generalization of "Rural America" - part of the point of my posting was the diversity of encounters and experiences beyond the Red State/Blue State or Red Town/Blue City divide.
My family is from Rural Arkansas and I would never categorize Eureka Springs with Sidney even though they have roughly the same population. Even in the Mountain Time Zone you will find a sharp difference between rural New Mexico and rural Montana. Speaking of "Rural America" is just lazy.
Oh Logan... you liberals and you're "let's not use generalizations because they're imprecise."
Let me ask you a question, if generalizations like "Rural America" are so imprecise than why does everyone use them?
Simple Mark. Because everyone is lazy!
[Besides, I would like to think I dislike generalizations because I am stuck in my academic ivory tower, not because I vote for Josiah Bartlet.]
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