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Yesterday as Hubby and I were cruising the back roads here in Southern Illinois, I was soaking up true Americana. The things that make me happy and proud to be an American. The parts of this country that soothe my soul and make my heart sing.
Our first stop was lunch at the Farmers Inn, it was founded in 1896, Hubby's dad used to take him there when he was young. It had closed for a couple of years, until a young couple decided that it was a community fixture and reopened it. All I can say is that it was AMAZING! Around here folks always say if you want good fried chicken go to Eckerts or Dandy Inn... and both of those are good... but... may I suggest heading out on 158, until you come to that lonely intersection with the old brick building. You won't regret it!
After that fantastic lunch we headed back out until almost sundown. I wimped out and got far to chilled to go on so we finally headed home. That ride was so breathtaking. And humbling. Watching the farmers out working their fields, fresh turned soil, combines churning along, the last of the corn and soy beans being gathered. Those beautiful leaves, the smell of random fires and fireplaces. I was envious of those clotheslines laden with bed sheets, cracking in the breeze. I would love to have a clothesline, but with my work schedule I fear we would run out of clothing.
The broad front porches, pumpkins and hay bales decorating walks and yards. It was slower, more peaceful, quieter. My heart longs for that. I am not a city girl, I don't do well with it.
I have often said how much I hate the way things are, where there are electronic babysitters filling every minute. How we become disconnected from reality. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that it is intentional. The more we become disconnected from those simple things and from each other the colder we become, the less joined, the more we are simply existing. The easier we are to control and contain. The needier we become.
As I was listening to the radio this morning, yes, it was Glenn Beck, he read a short story. That deeply touched my heart. And it truly sums up some of the challenges that we as a nation are facing and in my opinion a large part of the cause. "If you fix the boy, the world will fix itself", this really spoke to me. I am thankful that I was able to raise my kids where it was a bit slower. That there weren't tons of television stations and unlimited internet. My daughter is a lot more like me, my son is a bit more techno. He isn't a television fan, he is definitely a computer kind of guy. But then physics makes perfect sense to him.
I am not a fan of where this country is going. I hate turning on the television and finding out that we have been lied to yet again. I hate that we are allowing this to happen to us. It worries me that we are abdicating the raising of our children to electronic gadgets and people who's beliefs are not at all in line with our own.
I long for a simpler time, maybe that is why I do so many of the things I do. Simpler didn't mean that you didn't work hard, because you did. But things had meaning. I don't waste things that I have grown with my own two hands. I take great care of the socks I knit, I know the time I put into them, it gives them value. A quilt on the bed is far more comforting when you have made it with love. Oreo's are mindlessly consumed, home baked cookies are savored and enjoyed. Hand made soap is treasured and used to the last bit.
I am not alone in this pursuit. I have many friends that feel the same. We speak the same language. I think we need more people speaking that language. More folks willing to slow down and take a few more back roads to get to the place they need to be.
When you slow down you have the time to see people and their needs. You have time to feel the feelings of those around you and your place in that. Before we started disconnecting from human interaction we used to take time to care more, feel more, help more...
Glenn might be on to something... take care of the child... the world will take care of itself...
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