Those commenting on the political landscape we now encounter are inundated with subjects on which to opine. Any complaint about our ruling ‘elites’ would include some or all of the following problems in the body politic.
Inflation is higher than it has been for decades. Just today, the price of gasoline is higher than it has been since 2014. Our southern border is a sieve through which it looks like at almost two million illegal aliens will pour this year. Our President* continually exhibits the traits of someone who suffers from dementia. We have instituted policies which have angered our allies abroad. This administration has passed or wants to pass bills that have trillion-dollar price tags, growing our national debt close to 30 trillion dollars. And although the Democrats control all three branches of government that make the laws (House of Representative, Senate and the Presidency) lately they have been quarrelling among themselves as they attempt to pass their agenda.
This list could go on ad infinitum, and today I read a column that filled a page three times as long as this one with other failures of the * administration. Most of them have been caused by themselves, as is usually the case with all of us!
But today I am going to talk about how we are living the ‘good life’, in a small town in southeastern Illinois. Even though we are not close to the levers of power, and are impacted by those who are our ‘betters’ (at least in their minds), life is not so bad here.
The sun came up this morning! That is amazing, I know, but to see another day with a beautiful illumination is always calming and satisfying. Many in our world do not have this blessing. In addition, we life in an area teeming with the wildlife that God has created, wildlife we can enjoy as we see it. In our little corner of the Land of Lincoln, we have several of the whitetail deer; once we counted more than a dozen of them.
Also, here in our subdivision of Paris, a couple of flocks of wild turkeys live and we get to see them strut their stuff from time to time. Squirrels run around, picking up nuts and swiping the corn we put out for the deer. Rabbits abound, and even the occasional turtle is seen. Birds chirp, and in the early morning when I walk, I can hear the rat-a-tat-tat of the woodpecker at work near a neighbor’s house.
But the people are what make the place special. In our small part of Paris, at least half a dozen men and women work at the local hospital where our daughter has worked for over 15 years. We have a large number of acquaintances we see frequently, and it makes life in a small town special.
Examples include a former student who built the foundation to a new garage we are building. The hair salon we use is run by those we taught years ago. Even the Dairy Queen has hired those we had as students down through the years. We know and are served by former students at the local Wal-Mart and the Rural King stores in our town. We worship at a church where we know many from our teaching. These kinds of connections make life in a small town attractive and fulfilling.
This is a farming community. Many businesses cater to the farmers’ needs, and supply chemicals, seeds and equipment for the work on the land. Edgar County, of which Paris is the county seat, has only about 17,000 residents, and outsiders look at us and wonder how we can put up with this existence. Although sparsely populated, we are at the crossroads of state highways 1 and 133 and federal highway 150. Interstate 70 is less than 15 miles away to the south. If we want more than we can find here for our needs, Terre Haute, IN, is 20 miles to the east of us, and Champaign, IL, is only an hour away to the north.
Our young people, if they wish to stay close and go to college, can select from four institutes of higher learning in Terre Haute, the U. of I. in Champaign, and community colleges in Mattoon, IL, west of Paris and in Danville, IL, about 45 minutes to the north as well as one in Champaign. Jane, my wife, a native of Terre Haute, went to Indiana State University there, and we have had many students attend a top-rated engineering school in that city. Charleston, IL, west of Paris on Route 16, is home to Eastern Illinois University, where I went to college.
Small town, small school — these do not limit our students nor keep them from excelling in the world. We have graduated those (many) who have become doctors, nurses, peace officers, business leaders, lawyers, accountants – the list is varied and long. And a rising star in the country music world calls Paris home. Yes, he was a student of mine many years ago. Giving back to the community are more teachers in our school system who graduated from Paris High School. We count among these those who became principals, superintendents, aides, who are educating our children even as they had been taught. Others have become preachers and missionaries.
Although not known for mega-churches, a Sunday morning will see several thousand Parisians in churches in the city. We have many more places of worship than saloons and bars. We are a part of the Bible Belt in this country and not ashamed of our faith.
Even after life here, our mortal remains will be cared for by one of the two funeral homes in town, run by (in part) — you guessed it, former students of ours!
When driving through Edgar County, especially now in the Fall, some of the most satisfying sights for farmers and others in the area are the fields empty of crops, with only the residue left of what had been grown there. It reminds us of the promise to Noah, that “seedtime and harvest will not perish from the earth.” And those who do not till the land know that the soybeans, corn, and wheat grown each year feeds us as well as the livestock which become our food. There are not as many cattle, hogs and sheep as once were grown here, but enough to again realize that without the farms and farmers, our nation would not thrive as it has.
“Now Hiring” signs are plentiful, as jobs are available in our small town. Those who want work can find gainful employment, and the stigma of the “dole” can still be detected in our rural mind set.
Politics in Paris and Edgar County is truly local. The county went heavily Republican in the last general election, but the sheriff’s office has been in Democratic hands in four of the last five terms. Many of our elected officials are known to the public on a first name basis and the county, city and school boards are approachable by the general populace.
Life is slower here, and there is not much night life in Paris. Our schools provide many activities outside of the classroom; sports are popular, along with the frequent special programs presented to the public by the students. The Paris Center of Fine Arts, located at the Paris High School, brings in professional singers and musicians, as well as producing plays and musicals by the Paris Community Theater and all of the Paris schools.
Perhaps the above examples are not enough to entice most people who live in the big cities and the coastal areas to move to a small town, but the absence of many of their problems should be a lure to some.
But no matter what the locals believe about the quality of life here, those ‘elites’ still call us part of ‘flyover country’, rubes and hicks. For me, those terms I will gladly endure because I like living in God’s country!