(OT) Batteries Recharged

Oatka · September 2, 2001, 02:28 PM

Well, I'm back from an 13-day 4,000 mile odyssey from Nevada to Wisconsin and back again. Moderators bear with me - TFL is somewhat of an extended family and I want to share this. (I will work guns into this somehow

)

It is an unsettling reminder of your mortality when you see the ship you served on as a youth is now a floating museum-piece (USS Cobia SS-245 at Manitowoc, WI).

On the way up there and back I decided to follow the Western leg of the trail of a guy who worked his way across America in 1891-92 as an unskilled laborer. He wrote three books about his experiences. ("The Workers, East", "The Workers, West" and "A Day With A tramp" by Walter A. Wyckoff. He was later a professor at Princeton and became known as "The Father of Sociology".)

The trail took me through Illinois, down through Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. It also took me through county roads to small-town America, which is the reason for this post.

A while back, John/az2 posed the question, "Is it just me, or are things getting worse..." and instinctively I agreed with him. While the gun control scene is slightly better, unimpeded ILLEGAL immigration, all this PC crap, and just a general feeling of "this country is going to Hell" was getting me down.

I will tell you it was uplifting to drive through "fly-over country" and see the real America. In small town after small town there were American flags flying. Not just on state/federal buildings either - I'm talking about flags lining both sides of Main Street, flags flying from various businesses, and flags flying on homeowners lawns and individual farms. Many of the latter two were from flagpoles that had to cost time and money to install.

I feel one helluva lot better now - maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. We have a ways to go (not many flags in the metropolitan areas), but the bedrock still looks sound.

Firearms? Well, I did wander about Cabella's in Kearney, NE looking at all the goodies - a looong L-shaped section loaded with shotguns and rifles and some handguns in display cases plus all the other neat hunting stuff.

So . . . while things are not rosy, they don't look as bad as I had imagined.

KPS · September 2, 2001, 03:44 PM

Nice post Oatka.After reading "Travels with Charlie", I enjoy visiting all the small towns when in a certain state.My first experience was in 1998 when I hiked from Springer Mt in GA to Katahdin Mt in ME.I'm from the snobby northeast and it was a great pleasure to meet kind polite folks in the small southern towns.After a 10 day vacation in AZ, my wife and I couldn't believe how much friendlier people are outside of New England.

griz · September 2, 2001, 04:04 PM

I couldn't agree more. One of my neighbore where I used to live had a flag pole in his yard. This is not in an upscale area where the yards are big enough for poles to be common. He even had the American flag lighted at night. It really made me feel comfortable to see that.

KPS · September 2, 2001, 06:47 PM

It's nice to see folks flyin' the colors year round

September 2, 2001, 02:28 PM	#1
Oatka Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 1999 Location: Nevada Posts: 3,119	(OT) Batteries Recharged Well, I'm back from an 13-day 4,000 mile odyssey from Nevada to Wisconsin and back again. Moderators bear with me - TFL is somewhat of an extended family and I want to share this. (I will work guns into this somehow ) It is an unsettling reminder of your mortality when you see the ship you served on as a youth is now a floating museum-piece (USS Cobia SS-245 at Manitowoc, WI). On the way up there and back I decided to follow the Western leg of the trail of a guy who worked his way across America in 1891-92 as an unskilled laborer. He wrote three books about his experiences. ("The Workers, East", "The Workers, West" and "A Day With A tramp" by Walter A. Wyckoff. He was later a professor at Princeton and became known as "The Father of Sociology".) The trail took me through Illinois, down through Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. It also took me through county roads to small-town America, which is the reason for this post. A while back, John/az2 posed the question, "Is it just me, or are things getting worse..." and instinctively I agreed with him. While the gun control scene is slightly better, unimpeded ILLEGAL immigration, all this PC crap, and just a general feeling of "this country is going to Hell" was getting me down. I will tell you it was uplifting to drive through "fly-over country" and see the real America. In small town after small town there were American flags flying. Not just on state/federal buildings either - I'm talking about flags lining both sides of Main Street, flags flying from various businesses, and flags flying on homeowners lawns and individual farms. Many of the latter two were from flagpoles that had to cost time and money to install. I feel one helluva lot better now - maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. We have a ways to go (not many flags in the metropolitan areas), but the bedrock still looks sound. Firearms? Well, I did wander about Cabella's in Kearney, NE looking at all the goodies - a looong L-shaped section loaded with shotguns and rifles and some handguns in display cases plus all the other neat hunting stuff. So . . . while things are not rosy, they don't look as bad as I had imagined.

September 2, 2001, 03:44 PM	#2
KPS Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2001 Location: MA Posts: 781	Nice post Oatka.After reading "Travels with Charlie", I enjoy visiting all the small towns when in a certain state.My first experience was in 1998 when I hiked from Springer Mt in GA to Katahdin Mt in ME.I'm from the snobby northeast and it was a great pleasure to meet kind polite folks in the small southern towns.After a 10 day vacation in AZ, my wife and I couldn't believe how much friendlier people are outside of New England.

September 2, 2001, 04:04 PM	#3
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: hampton,va,US Posts: 1,121	I couldn't agree more. One of my neighbore where I used to live had a flag pole in his yard. This is not in an upscale area where the yards are big enough for poles to be common. He even had the American flag lighted at night. It really made me feel comfortable to see that.

September 2, 2001, 06:47 PM	#4
KPS Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2001 Location: MA Posts: 781	It's nice to see folks flyin' the colors year round