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Report From The Real World
#1
I guess this should be titled "Report From My Real World".

Just a little fill in for those that don't know, I live in a small area considered the backwoods, in a fairly close community. That does not mean we know and love each, or that we sit around the fire pit singing Kumbya. We have more than our share of jackasses, bigots, and "hold my beer" types. But we get along most of the time, and we tolerate each other, the best we can.

Crazy thing about most country folk, is that they don't have to like you to do right by you. That neighbor that killed your dog for straying onto his property, and may have not have said a single word to you in ten years, will be the first one to your rescue if you need help or are in danger. So I was not surprised by what I saw  when I took my mother to the local market today.

My mother asked me to take her to the market because it is Sunday, she is bored, and she wanted to make something different for dinner. I knew the real reason was because Sunday is her normal day for socializing, and since Sunday services are still not being held in her church, she missed being around people. I gave up a long time ago trying to tell my mother what I thought was best for her. She is as stubborn as they come. She is of sound mind. I trust her decisions to be what she wants, and what she thinks is best for her, so my only response was, "what time to you want to go"?

Let me add, before I get to he meat and potatoes of the post, that my family is one of those families where people are strangers only for a hot minute. I am terrible about picking at people. I am the oldest of ten children, it is ingrained it me. Whether I know you or not, if I am in earshot of you, I am going to speak. The simple "Hello", more times than not, will turn into a five minute conversation and it will magically spread until everyone in visual distance will be participating in the conversation, that in short order, will also have everyone laughing. My mother is the same way.

Okay so to get back on topic. I had not been out shopping in a very long time so I was impressed by how they had set the place up with people managing the carts, cleaning and handing them to you. A big sign requesting all wear a mask, very tastefully done, funny, and not offensive in any way. Direction arrows for traffic. Not bad for a country store. That is when I started paying attention to the customers.

People shopped exactly the way they always did. It didn't seem anyone was paying attention to the arrows. People were just as responsive to my silly banter, just as quick to laugh and joke, and just as friendly. I would say about 80% of the people wore mask, as requested by the sign, and no one seemed to notice those that chose not to wear them.

I saw people of different skin tones, even heard some foreign accents. No one seemed angry, offended, afraid, or unsociable. In other words I did not see anything different from any other time before COVID, other than some signs, and a lot of masks.

Why this long post to say that one simple thing? Because we are not those people that are constantly being promoted on the internet and by the media. It is because we are not the people they are forcing us to believe we are, and that behavior we find repugnant, is not normal. It is not who we are, it is not who our neighbors are.

I write this post as a reminder, maybe as a challenge, or even a request, that we reject the lies, the programming, of the virtual world, and accept and embrace our real world, not as just luck, unique, or only for the fortunate or the special, but as the true normal. There are people that are unfortunate, that have less, and are victims of the ills of our society. And yes we do have to do what we can to fix that, but we don't fix it by spreading and becoming what we already know is broken.

We will all never agree on everything, and it goes way beyond mask or no mask. The world is constantly changing and there will be challenges. What we can't lose is our humanity in the process. We can't lose our respect for each other, and we can't lose our tolerance for our differences. It has served us well throughout the ages and history shows us what happens when we are divided. We don't have to follow the Pied Piper off the cliff. We can be really good at being angry and defiant. We just have to turn our anger and defiance in the right direction.

Of course, this is just my opinion.
#2
My real world is pretty normal, except when I go to work in the city. To see everything boarded up, graffiti everywhere, tents set up in the center of the city, looking like a ghost town, I fell like we have lost something as a society. 

It's pretty much same as usual when I go to the store or go out to eat in a restaurant, all races , young and old, getting along and respecting each other. 

Downtown, totally a different world.
The Truth is Out There, Somewhere
#3
It's the same way here.

I think most of the trouble we're seeing on the news and social media is in the bigger cities.
The media runs around trying to capture that one fight that might break out so they can continue telling the rest of us how bad it is "out there". They want us to believe it's like this all over our country; it's not.

I always try to spread the positive side of things. It's getting tougher and tougher the longer people are force-fed the brain washing lies from the media.

But, I know better.
#4
(06-28-2020, 08:46 PM)kdog Wrote: My real world is pretty normal, except when I go to work in the city. To see everything boarded up, graffiti everywhere, tents set up in the center of the city, looking like a ghost town, I fell like we have lost something as a society. 

It's pretty much same as usual when I go to the store or go out to eat in a restaurant, all races , young and old, getting along and respecting each other. 

Downtown, totally a different world.

Soon the boards will come down and the area will be anew. Maybe those area that have fallen will need to be redone and better incorporated into the community. The cities are often hubs of commerce where people gather to spend money. Maybe less focus on stuff and a remodeling of the venues to embrace community.

I am just throwing stuff out there. I tried living in the city, but that old saying that, "you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl", rings too true for me.  I could not tolerate apartment buildings, especially high rises. I  felt like I was living in an ant colony.
#5
(06-28-2020, 08:49 PM)Mystic Wanderer Wrote: It's the same way here.

I think most of the trouble we're seeing on the news and social media is in the bigger cities.
The media runs around trying to capture that one fight that might break out so they can continue telling the rest of us how bad it is "out there". They want us to believe it's like this all over our country; it's not.

I always try to spread the positive side of things. It's getting tougher and tougher the longer people are force-fed the brain washing lies from the media.

But, I know better.

I so agree and it is why I become so frustrated when I see and hear people believing and accepting the lies.

I am as guilty as anyone else sometimes. If you look in the closet in my guest room, you will find a ton a shampoos, conditioners, and beauty products that I knew darn well, when I bought those items, my hairs was never going to look like the girl in the commercial. My skin was never going to be made perfect, yet there the products are, sitting on the shelf. Along with a ton of others.
#6
(06-28-2020, 09:04 PM)NightskyeB4Dawn Wrote:
(06-28-2020, 08:46 PM)kdog Wrote: My real world is pretty normal, except when I go to work in the city. To see everything boarded up, graffiti everywhere, tents set up in the center of the city, looking like a ghost town, I fell like we have lost something as a society. 

It's pretty much same as usual when I go to the store or go out to eat in a restaurant, all races , young and old, getting along and respecting each other. 

Downtown, totally a different world.

Soon the boards will come down and the area will be anew. Maybe those area that have fallen will need to be redone and better incorporated into the community. The cities are often hubs of commerce where people gather to spend money. Maybe less focus on stuff and a remodeling of the venues to embrace community.

I am just throwing stuff out there. I tried living in the city, but that old saying that, "you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl", rings too true for me.  I could not  tolerate apartment buildings, especially high rises. I  felt like I was living in an ant colony.

We have been living in a one bedroom apartment for 6 years now, about 8 miles from downtown, basically a suburb with plenty of shops and stuff close by ,  because of my divorce and being broke,but real soon, within the next year, we will be buying some property in south west Kentucky. We are both country people , more so my wife than I. 
People are selling their hunting and vacation lands around here and the prices keep dropping.
The Truth is Out There, Somewhere
#7
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. I agree that nobody seems to focus on those of us in “flyover country” so to speak. I think in smaller towns and out in the country, it is much more real than in big cities. I have nothing against big cities. I agree with you and others that the media focuses too much on all this unrest in big cities.

I live in a town that has a smidge over 25,000 people. Just the right size. Small town friendliness and yet much nearby. We have a thriving downtown, unlike many small towns. I was eating outside at my favorite watering hole the other day. As a bus came by around the corner, I saw a African American guy shout for the bus to stop for a minute. It turned out the bike rack in front of the bus was sticking out, and could have damaged another vehicle. The gentleman put the rack back as it was. As he came walking back, I gave him a thumbs up, and he smiled at me. No matter what color/whatever someone is in our town, we all are in this together. Acts of kindness go on every day in our town. 

This kind of stuff gives me hope. I like to focus on what we have in common rather than what may divide us.
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#8
(06-28-2020, 10:41 PM)ChiefD Wrote: I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. I agree that nobody seems to focus on those of us in “flyover country” so to speak. I think in smaller towns and out in the country, it is much more real than in big cities. I have nothing against big cities. I agree with you and others that the media focuses too much on all this unrest in big cities.

I live in a town that has a smidge over 25,000 people. Just the right size. Small town friendliness and yet much nearby. We have a thriving downtown, unlike many small towns. I was eating outside at my favorite watering hole the other day. As a bus came by around the corner, I saw a African American guy shout for the bus to stop for a minute. It turned out the bike rack in front of the bus was sticking out, and could have damaged another vehicle. The gentleman put the rack back as it was. As he came walking back, I gave him a thumbs up, and he smiled at me. No matter what color/whatever someone is in our town, we all are in this together. Acts of kindness go on every day in our town. 

This kind of stuff gives me hope. I like to focus on what we have in common rather than what may divide us.

One of my neighbors is still on furlough. They have given him a target date in September for a possible date for reopening. He is Italian, has spent half his life in the hospitality industry, and is bored out of his mind. He loves to cook, so he is constantly doing something in the kitchen. What does he do with his experiments? He makes his neighbors fat.

He just sent down a very tasty dish made up of a variety of fresh vegetables, pasta, turkey cubes, and salami. Yesterday it was fresh baked bread straight from the oven. I have another neighbor that sends me one to two dozen of eggs every week. Another that sends fresh produce from the garden.

I see every day the goodness of people. None of which will ever be shown on TV. If someone places it on the internet, it will never go viral unless it supports an agenda or fits into a premise they are trying to sale. While out, I saw an older man standing by his car on the side of the road with his hood raised. He wasn't the same race as me, so what? I am an old lady and I know nothing about cars, but I stopped anyway to ask if I could help him. He told me a tow truck was on its way, and he was genuine in his gratitude. As I drove off, I saw three other people offer him help, because that is what a community does. Because that is normal.

I honestly believe that good will always triumph over evil, and that evil never grows weary.


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