Down Home, Dixie-fied, Home Grown

Country living has made several impressions on me these past weeks. The funniest story comes from a friend of ours who had an interesting conversation with another woman about how they both went to a wedding where the couple and all guests attending wore camo! The conversation went something like the following:

Woman 1: " I went to a wedding where everyone wore camo!
Woman 2: " So did I! .. were we at the same wedding"
(At this point they both realized it was in fact NOT the same wedding and that two camo weddings had happened in the same area in the same year)
Woman 1: "Well at my wedding they had the ceremony in a deer stand!" (The apparatus used to secure one to a tree when deer hunting)
Woman 2: "Oh yeah? Well at my wedding the bride and groom rode away on a 4 wheeler!"
Woman 1: (here comes the trump card) "Well, at my wedding, the groom's father had passed away in the last year. So as a memorial to him, after the ceremony, they shot his ashes out of a shot gun!"

This is by far the funniest episode I have been privy to thus far. But rural Illinois isn't all deer stands and shotgun dedications. The area has a certain charm to it. Last weekend, Amanda and I went to a trivia night at the local Knights of Columbus hall. At a trivia night, various families from around the area get a table together. Then an announcer reads off 10 rounds of 10 questions each to the audience. Each table bans together in an attempt to answer as many questions as possible. All the money goes to charity and everyone eats snacks and drinks bad beer including but not limited to PBR and Coors Light. It was great to hang out with the folks. People who get dressed up for goin' out on a Friday after a week of real hard work.

I have also been running again, which after 3 weeks is finally starting to feel good. Today was my first 3 mile run of the training that made me feel good. I do get more odd looks from the locals who wonder who this nut job is running in 15 degree weather. But I also get a good amount of waves.

I love the sunsets and the quiet snow falls on the country roads with no one around for miles. I love the tractors on the roads and the abundance of individuals wearing Carhartt overalls. No one drives foreign cars and no one is impolite. In short, I am enjoying living here. The place has a beauty that I can't quite explain. Not like mountains or rivers or woods. It's more subtle, more quiet and secluded. It's not grand but it feels more like your own, more like home. It's a beautiful place to be from.

Cheers.

"Oh, to be home again.
Down in ole' Virginie.
With my very best friend.
They call him rag time Willie.
I can't wait just to sniff that air.
To dip that snuff I won't have no care.
That big rockin' chair won't go no where."
-The Band