Posts Tagged ‘I feel Friday’

Home Again

May 21st, 2010

(Note: It’s Friday, which means this post is a part of our “I Feel Fridays” project.  Our goal is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response.  We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share something from their lives in the past week. To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post- and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

I came home from college for the summer this week, and nearly everyone I met in my hometown made me feel welcomed back into the community.  That’s something I haven’t felt in a while.

I grew up on a family farm in Howard, SD.  I then decided to travel 788 miles down Interstate-90 to attend the School of Architecture at Montana State University – Bozeman.  I knew I would miss my family and friends, but I was ready to make the change.  What I didn’t think I would miss as much as I do is the community.

Howard is pretty small, and I was ready for bigger things – a bigger town, a bigger school and a sense of “bigger” that would come from me moving there.  I didn’t think I was better than my friends who stayed, but I thought I was on a new adventure to try completely new things.  While this is true, I started to miss the things I once took for granted. 

For instance, the meat that showed up on my dining hall plate was not from our cows or our neighbors pigs.  I couldn’t find any garden fresh kohlrabi in the salad department.  Worst of all, it definitely wasn’t cooked by Mom.

I would drive down to Target and the cashier didn’t ask me about my Grandpa, only if I wanted my receipt with me or in the bag.  My floormates laughed at my hometown newspaper saying, “It’s for the whole county, only comes once a week, and the main story is about a cow?!”   I started to defend my little paper by explaining it was Fair week, and the steer won Best in Show for a local 4-H kid.  They didn’t think it was a big deal.

I truly realized how much I missed the community my first night home from college during Winter Break when I walked into the Cabaret Steakhouse in Carthage, SD with my parents.  As we found a table, friends and neighbors all smiled at me and asked how it felt to be done with my first semester in Montana.  I was caught off guard because these people cared enough to stop eating, talk to me, and remember were I was going to school and what subject I was studying. 

That’s when it hit me: Bozeman may be a very friendly town, but it doesn’t even compare to Miner County.  When I go back to school, only my close friends and professors will welcome me with a smile and genuinely care how my summer went.  When I walk into the restaurants, no one will ask how it’s going in Howard or say how nice it is to have me back in town.

I think a previous post about Tom Bodett’s thoughts on a small town embody why I love Miner County.  The small-town community is hard to explain, but now that I have gone away the pull for me to come back is getting stronger.

I’ve now finished my third year at MSU and I’m no longer caught off guard by people saying, “It’s so good to see you!  How long are you home for this time?”  I happily answer, “The whole summer, and I’m really glad to be home.”

 

Photo: Miner County residents do their best in a pie eating contest to celebrate Straw Bale Days in Carthage, SD, uploaded to Flickr by the Rural Learning Center

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Posted in Gen Y, Quality of Life, Rural, Rural Life | Comments (4)

Getting out of my funk

April 30th, 2010

(Note: It’s Friday, which means this post is a part of our “I Feel Fridays” project.  Our goal is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response.  We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share something from their lives in the past week. To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post- and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

 

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and discouraged this week, causing me to be in an unproductive funk.  As the week draws to an end, I’d like to share how I’m trying to get out of this funk.  And I’d also ask you to offer any advice you believe might help.

The fallout from vacation

The first of my negative emotions stems largely from an unmanageably large “to do” list, which grew exponentially while I was on vacation recently.  As the list has grown, a sense of hopelessness has set in, decreasing my energy when I need it most.  I bet many of you can relate.

Currently, I’m attempting  to deal with this issue by doing a better job of prioritizing my daily “to do” list.  More importantly, I’m trying to focus on some advice offered by Seth Godin in his latest book, Linchpin.  Godin tells us that Linchpins (people who make a difference) do a better job of “shipping” products than others. 

By “shipping,” Godin means completing tasks on schedule and sending them off to market.  It might be a software product you’ve been working on, a presentation you’re going to give, or a marketing plan that’s critical to your business.   Linchpins find ways to ship products on-time, even when they feel the product is not quite perfect.

That’s where I’m at right now.  As I prioritize my tasks and work on my products, I’m trying to not let my fear of imperfection get in the way of shipping. 

Discouraged about the future of rural communities

The second of my negative emotions stems from a general sense of discouragement about the future of small towns.  This emotion comes from many sources but is highlighted by the recently announced temporary layoff by Knight & Carver Wind Group in Howard, SD.

The temporary layoff at Knight & Carver is personal.  Not only is the business in Howard, but I helped the company establish itself here in 2007, when I was the community’s economic development coordinator.  Even though I’m not directly involved in that work today, I still feel connected to it.

Before going further, let me say that my heart goes out to workers and their families who are dealing with the financial and emotional uncertainty of the layoff.  I know the company’s leadership cares deeply about its employees, and I’m confident they are doing their best to meet the challenge.

And that’s where I know I need to focus my attention.  Just as businesses must overcome challenges, so too must communities.  This isn’t the first challenge confronting Howard since our community development efforts began in the late 1990s, and it won’t be the last. 

As Jack Schultz identifies in his “7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Communities,” rural communities that thrive are those who adopt a “can do attitude.” To some, this may sound trite, but I think it’s a critical element of success community development work.  Adopting a can do attitude will prevent community leaders from wallowing in the fear and self pity that causes them to do nothing.   

And that’s where I’m at personally as well.  Prioritize better.  Ship more regularly.  And refocus on a can do attitude.  That’s how I’m attempting to get out of my funk.   If there’s something I’m missing, I hope you will help me out. 

 

Photo Credit – Secret Tenerife – Flickr

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Posted in In the News, Rural | Comments (3)

Taylor Calmus: Shooting for Hollywood stardom

April 23rd, 2010

(Note: It’s Friday, which means this post is a part of our “I Feel Fridays” project.  Our goal is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response.  We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share something from their lives in the past week. To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post- and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

The rural Midwest is typically not recognized as a hotbed of thespian talent.  But today, I feel proud of a young Howard native, Taylor Calmus, who is attempting to build a career as an actor in Los Angeles, and want to share a bit of his story.

I ran into Taylor on Wednesday when he was back serving as a “guest employee of the day” at his mother’s coffee shop in Howard.   I tried engaging Taylor in a conversation about his career while he was taking my order.  But I cut the questions short as he fumbled over the keys of the cash register. (Based on Taylor’s performance operating the machine, I hope he’s not working in a coffee shop like many other aspiring actors. :-)  ) 

One subject we did get a chance to talk briefly about was his attempt to become Flo’s assistant in the “Help Flo” contest sponsored by Progressive Insurance.  Personally, I thought the video he produced (and which is embedded below) for the contest was a winner.  Unfortunately, he didn’t make Progressive’s Top 10 list.

 

In many ways, Taylor reminds me of an entrepreneur; to be a successful actor, he will need to develop his skills, be a risk-taker, and learn how to sell himself. 

Previously, I’ve written that rural communities need to do a better job of lifting up local entrepreneurs who are successful.  If we don’t, young people will assume that they HAVE to move to larger communities to be successful.  Even though some individuals, like respected blogger Jim Russell, question this strategy as a means of “retaining” young people, I stand by it.   

I do not, however,  want readers to think that we should discourage young people from setting goals that may lead them elsewhere.  I’m excited by Taylor’s desire to become an actor.  I’m proud of his decision to move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career; it’s definitely not an opportunity his hometown of Howard can offer. 

But I think I know Taylor. And when he makes it big in the movie industry, he will never think of himself as better than his classmates who have chosen to live in small, rural communities.   He’s just made a different, not better, choice than others. 

And that’s why it’s easier to cheer, “Go Taylor!  We’re rooting for you.”

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Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (2)

Cat’s Trip to Wisconsin: My Door County Easter

April 16th, 2010

Note:  Today is the 3rd week of “I Feel Fridays,” and we feel fortunate to feature a guest blogger, Cat McClintock.  Our goal with the  “I Feel Fridays” project is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response. We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share an experience of their own the past week.  Last week Cat responded by writing a post on her blog, BismarckStories.com.  It was so insightful that I asked Cat if she’d share it on ReImagineRural.

Cat is an experienced blogger with a special interest in hyperlocal stories.  Prior to moving to Bismarck, she created quite a following on a blog she created in Fort Collins, CO, called Lost Fort Collins.  As a newcomer to Bismarck, she’s just scratching the surface of stories, but I’m predicting she’ll capture a strong audience just like in Fort Collins. 

 

By Cat McClintock

I grew up in San Diego. Everything I knew about the rest of the world, I learned from its expatriates. And in San Diego, there were a lot of expatriates.They would talk occasionally about seasons, hockey, union factory jobs, and creeks so big you could swim in them. But that was rare. Mostly they all wanted to become part of the Orange Crush commercial that was my hometown and forget the Midwest. They wanted to ditch Mom and Dad, boogie board with the dog on the beach, and wait for the green flash.

So, I’m telling you, I only thought I knew about Wisconsin. But then my boyfriend took me home to Brussels, a farm town settled by Belgians in the 1850s.

We visited with the old men who told family stories while I after-dinner napped in my chair. Between dreams, I’d try to memorize their accents. They are the third (pronounced “durd”) or fourth (“ford”) generation in this county, and they still speak like they just got off the boat.

They live in dairy country so beautiful it was once featured in National Geographic. And the maple syrup and cheese spread are from heaven itself.

But typical of the Midwest, that’s where all the good taste ends. The house is a prefab because the original farm structure got old and wasn’t worth saving. There are plastic pastel holiday decorations out front and all over the window seat. And function trumps form: I counted 6 recliners in the living room-so nobody has to sit in a folding chair.

These people, ha! They never got the memo that La-Z-boys have no lines, and plastic bunnies on the lawn are now ironic. That prefab homes lack architectural interest. That they should have exercise equipment where the dartboard and pool table now reside.

But then sometimes I wonder. Could design rules dreamed up by magazine editors and movie set designers fail to apply when your own cultural ties run deeper than Don Hutson? When nature, combines, and cows do the landscape? When you’re practically walking distance from Grandma’s grave and the church where your great grandfather cut the foundation stones?

They’re not my family. My family was briefly together like this, but we move every generation and now only have the internet to hold us together.

But this is what I’ve missed for most of my holidays. People with more food than they can eat; take some. People whose aunts, cousins, friends drop in all day long. People too tied to home to drive to the Cities for Ikea or Restoration Hardware, and just pick up some at Wal-Mart.

People so unlikely, they hug my teenage son and me the first time we meet. Then they say they love me, just because their nephew loves me.

Welcome to this old old family.

I take another Diet Pepsi without asking, go back to my recliner, and quietly thank God they never made it out to California.

 

(To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post - and then tell us what you’re feeling.) 

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I’m feeling the renewal of spring

April 9th, 2010

(Note: It’s Friday, which means this post is a part of our “I Feel Fridays” project.  Our goal is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response.  We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share something from their lives in the past week. To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post - and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

 

Spring has arrived in the northern Midwest, and I feel energized.  I also feel lucky to be able to celebrate holidays with family.

These feelings emerged last Sunday – Easter Sunday — when in-between church and my parents’ arrival for dinner, I grabbed a book, snuck down to the lake, and basked in the warmth of the spring sun with some light reading.  Sure, the temps were only in the upper 50′s, but it renewed me.  This short hiatus also reminded me of the Easter tradition Jodi and I initiated while living in South Carolina, some years ago.

Easter in South Carolina

With no family around for Easter, our tradition involved picking up a bucket of Church’s chicken on our way home from Easter services, donning our swimsuits, and heading to the beach just 20 minutes away.  We thought our picnic and beach excursion made us pretty cool. We were young, footloose, and living a dream.  But even then, I think we knew this youthful “coolness” could not compete with the void created by missing family.

Three years in South Carolina were fun, but it never felt like home.  I’m glad we experienced this time away because it causes me to appreciate South Dakota even more.

Should I go or should I stay?

What’s better?  Living your whole life in the place that’s home or moving away for awhile so that you recognize what home has to offer?  The answer is probably unique to each individual. 

I also often wonder if I neglect telling others enough about why I chose to live in South Dakota.  It’s definitely not as “hip” as living in tourist-trendy South Carolina, nor can I enjoy a spring day in the Atlantic. 

But I’ve learned that I don’t want to live without family and the variety South Dakota’s seasons offer.  Spring means renewal, summer is outdoor recreation, fall (my favorite season) brings crispness, and winter connects friends, indoor time, and togetherness.   There’s a beauty in each.

In short, the variety of these seasons, along with the closeness of family (and friends), are the reasons I call this place home. 

Why do you call your place (wherever you live) home?

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Different…not better

April 3rd, 2010

(Note:  This is the first of our “I feel Friday” features.  In short, each Friday we’ll share a story about something that generated an emotional response in the previous week.  We’re also encouraging others to share stories about something that happened to them in the last week as well.  To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post – and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

 

I feel insulted every time I meet someone new who feels that living in a larger community is always better than living in a small community.  Usually, I interpret these feelings through the facial expressions and body language of a conversation.  But last Friday, a person told me this straight to my face.

The subject came up in a conversation with a Sioux Falls resident (SD’s largest community) I had just met at OTA Sessions.  After mentioning that I had moved from Howard (pop. 1000) to Watertown (pop. 20,000), the individual commented, “So, you’re moving up in the world. How do you like it?”  Moving up? 

After a pause, I responded that I hadn’t realized that I had moved up:  I had simply moved to another great place to live.  I went on to tell her that living in Howard had a lot of advantages.  For instance, I was within an hour’s drive of four of South Dakota’s largest communities, and I could enjoy the best of ALL of these communities, while still living in a community where people cared for me.  I certainly wasn’t putting down Watertown; I like it a lot – or else I wouldn’t live there.  But to tell me that I was living in a better place irked me; living in a larger community is different, not better.

What troubles me most about attitudes like this is that they have an impact on young people’s attitudes towards small towns.  Tell a person something enough and they are bound to believe it.

So what do you think? Am I off base?  Would you have the same emotional response?  We’d love to hear what you feel about this experience or any other experience you’ve had this last week…It’s what “I feel Fridays” is all about. 

 

Photo Credit:  Titled “Different Perspectives: by HikingArtist.com - Flickr 

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I feel Fridays

April 2nd, 2010

For the next two months, we’re going to pilot a new feature on ReImagine Rural that we’re calling “I Feel Fridays.“  It’s inspired by the work of Jonathan Harris, who created “We Feel Fine,” a project which gather’s impressions of emotions that are expressed on the Internet. (Check out the “We Feel Fine” website and this video interview  from the OTA Sessions for more info.)

 

(Thanks to Ryan Phillips at TIE for producing my interview of Jonathan)

The goal for “I Feel Fridays” is to encourage people to share stories about experiences that have generated an emotional response for them during the past week.   We’re initiating this effort because we’d like to hear the stories that are impacting people who are passionate about rural places.   We hope the stories will help communicate how we feel about rural places to people who may not share our passion. 

Here’s how it works.  I (or someone at the Rural Learning Center) will post a story each Friday about an event that occurred in our daily lives during the last week.  We’d like the story to have a rural context, but anything’s game as long as it generates a feeling. And to highlight the emotion, we’ll try to start the post with “I feel…” or “I felt….” 

But we don’t want the stories to be just about us.  We want to hear what you’re experiencing as well.  For that reason, we’ll invite readers to share a story from their lives.  Long or short, just share your story as a comment. 

Later today, I’ll start the process by sharing an experience from last Friday.  Unfortunately, it’s a negative one.  But I’m sure it’s an experience most small town residents can relate to.

We’re not sure how this will go. Currently, we’re not placing any specific rules on the stories people share, other than we don’t want this to become an opportunity to put anyone down.  Complaining just to complain doesn’t do anybody any good.  We know our regular readers are smart people, so we’re confident everyone will use good judgment.

Let’s have fun with this feature, and tell the rest of the world how we feel about Rural America.

 

Note:  Check out Jonathan’s website.  I love that he’s about “reimaging how we relate to our machines and each other.

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