Kansas Flip-Flops
I love small Kansas towns.
They have wide streets and no traffic.
Some are like small ghost towns.
Minutes of Glen Elder City Council Meetings (GlenElder.com)
Population: 390 in 2006 (The population was 439 in 2000)
Estimated median household income in 2005: $26,500
Estimated median house value in 2005: $38,200
Profile of Glen Elder, Kansas (city-data.com)
“We are a community of friendly, hardworking people that represent the
backbone, not only of Kansas but also America… We recognize our good
fortune in the beauty of sunsets and wheat fields, the smell of freshly tilled soil,
visiting with old friends and neighbors and the feel of a well-hooked fish.”
Quotation from Greg Linton, Mayor of Glen Elder
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and
shabby, old and sullen. On the farm the weather was the great fact, and
men’s affairs went on underneath it, as the streams creep under the ice.”
Quotation from Willa Cather, My Antonia
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NORTHIE!!!
June 29th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Wander if these small towns, the “backbones” of America, will vote for Obama or McCaine?….
June 29th, 2008 at 5:37 am
WONDER!
June 29th, 2008 at 6:28 am
You’re not moving to Kansas are you? If you do you have to make sure their are fields of sunflowers around.
Loved the quote.
Thanks for reading too.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:14 am
now you´re quoting willa cather? do we like all the same authors?
you should read some janet frame
June 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I would like to visit a small Kansas town, or any small town.
It makes me sad for these small towns as younger people move away and the towns dry up. Will big development companies come in, buy the land for a steal and then knock it all down and build condos? And would anyone (except me and the people who formerly lived there) care if they did?
June 29th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
LAUREN-
the US is pooped out, nothing is happening, no production, no services. No fear then that developers come in and use bulldozers to grade the grounds and put up condos. If they did, it would be for a village of zombies.
June 29th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Ellie. No, I have no plans to move to Kansas.
Lauren. People in little towns seem somewhat guarded of strangers but are hospitable and friendly from my experience. I was on my best behavior too. The towns are often too remote to attract the attention of developers (”if we build it, who would come?”).
Nursemyra. Why haven’t I heard of Janet Frame, whose “vividly romantic explorations of madness and language” are described in the NY Times? Thanks!
Zee. The particular part of Kansas I visited seemed conservative and pro John McCain.
June 29th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I love American small towns in general. I would never live there but for a few hours, they provide a pretty unique experience.
After, I just wanna get out.
June 29th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Same size town i live in (well nearest town to me) , Except WOW !!! , It has sidewalks, and streetlights , and is that a bail box i see on the left side of the picture ? Could they actually have mail delivered to the door ?
People in Kansas are spoiled.
June 29th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Do they really? If so, I want a pair. Maybe add a flashlight or bear spray in the other one…
June 29th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Thanks to Zhu, I’ve added the CommentLuv
plugin to the Encore Seraphine comment section.
If you have a blog, it should find your last blog
post and display a link to it with your comment.
Thanks Zhu! => http://correresmidestino.com/
June 29th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Seraphine: I love this piece and re-read it over and over. This is fascinating writing and instills the beauty of wondering!! Good stuff!!!
June 29th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Just testing the plugin :;-)
Will provide support if needed!
Zhus last blog post..Blogging Etiquette (10/10)
June 30th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Flip Flops with a bottle opener. My god that is awesome and pointless. Too bad about the declining population! Looks like by 2010 they`ll only have 350 people.
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