The Middle of Nowhere

[furtech]

One of the places I spent time at before the con was pretty much the middle of nowhere. Somewhere in Indiana. The local paper had two sections: the local news and the sports section. World and domestic events were limited to the back of the sports section.



Middle America is, ironically, one of the most alien cultures I've ever encountered. If it didn't have to do with corn (or soybeans), the weather or Little League Baseball-- then they simply had no interest. Nice people, they had their interests and hobbies...certainly not lacking in intelligence-- just interested in different things. I think most of the women I got matched with at Eharmony were from here. Nice, but hardly interested in wearing werewolf costumes.



The area is beautiful-- not the flatlands but the morain left by the front edge of the glacers of the last ice age. Rolling hills, lots of creeks. Funny little islands of woods that you could lose yourself in, even as you were surrounded by millions of acres of corn.



The local headline was about an infestation of something called " Butterweed " that was concerning the local agricultural community (taking over fields, not corn=bad). I'm not sure what actual threat they posed, but their flowers sure brightened up the scenery.



I teased my friend that this was the local hot spot where the whole town came to relax. Such a fanciful name for so drab a concern.



I'm not so sure about this beauty salon, but I'm sure that all the local wimmin had their hair done here before retiring to the Fantasy Inn.



Since they had no cable (just three clear tv stations-- two PBS stations and NBC) and their internet connection depended on how many crows were perched on the line, I just turned off and enjoyed the vacation. Even cell phone use was a production, as there were two places in the yard where I got a strong enough signal (hence my standing in the middle of the driveway a lot).

Comments

[kit-ping.livejournal.com]

I think most of the women I got matched with at Eharmony were from here. Nice, but hardly interested in wearing werewolf costumes.

They should so add a section for that. :)

[mistahbojangles.livejournal.com]

Middle America is, ironically, one of the most alien cultures I've ever encountered.

I think this is probably a very common feeling from people who've spent alot of their years among the more cosmopolitan areas of the US. Country mouse / city mouse sort of thing.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Not only that, but from having lived on the left coast all these years. I can see how Stephen King and Hitchcock and Sterling get so much mileage out of rural settings. At times it felt like something out of a Twilight Zone episode or a Stepford film.

internet connection crows

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

LOL!.. fun report all in all!! :D

[mistaken-silver.livejournal.com]

-chuckle- I live in Indiana-- though I'm very much a foreigner-- I must say, Indiana is one of Backward, confusing, places I've ever lived and was glad to escape to Chicago for Art College.

Indiana is ALSO one of the ugliest states you'll ever drive through.

No I'm not against Indiana-- But coming from the United Kingdom, Indiana was a major shock to my system. And pretty much all of Indiana is the "Middle of Nowhere."

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Yes-- I got the impression that even the "big cities" are pretty much lost in time. I wouldn't say that it's the ugliest state I've been in (depends on the time of year-- green seas of corn or desolate wasteland after harvest), but it's sure the most boring.