Yesterday.. Dave Zink. Lincoln Land.. 3-Legged Dog. Convenience store on North Main..
The folks who walk that same route.. I’d seen them…never been one of them.
One lady wearing several overcoats asked me if I Obama. I said I did. She said, “You like Sara Palin?” I said, “She’s funny.” She said, “She’s crazy woman.” A man on the square mumbled something about fish and trash.
Drummy Sutton
ec·cen·tric Greek ekkentros : ek-, out of. See ecto- + kentron, center adjective Departing from the norm or pattern. 2. . Having the axis located elsewhere than at the geometric center.
I was born at the tail end of the age of eccentrics in Perry…. the 1940’s and 50’s.
A few examples… Pop Van Pelt (Earl)… stone gravestone.. State Police Bugsy… black snake Lappy Six… Perry Hotel, grave digger. Mrs. Wilson
If you lived in St. Louis or Chicago, you would see these people, but you’d pass by them. You wouldn’t know their names. You’d probably try not to make eye contact. In a small, rural community they are our neighbors.
Archie Moore drove team by our house.. Gunshot… looked out, team coming to a halt.. dead rabbit
My current town: Arenzville. Franky Meyer. Shack. Long underwear. Hank Williams.
We have fewer today… technology (flattening) and social restructuring.. perhaps we’re even curing a few.
A guy who grew up around here …in a town of 100 people. His schoolteacher failed the state tests for teachers. The town was a mix of people from the south, New England, and Great Britain. This was nearly 200 years ago but many of the 100 people had college educations. His best friend: Jack Kelso.. hunter, never had a job, had much of Shakespeare memorized. The guys he hang around with were called the Clary’s Grove group and every Saturday night they’d ride into town, get drunk, tear it up, then pay for the damages on Sunday morning. Had two business partners…both died of booze. One fell in the Sangamon river and drowned in four inches of water. Sounds rough, but Abraham Lincoln didn’t do badly for himself. He learned how to accept people who were different, how to be tolerant.
Man from Brown County..funerals.. walked.. painted feet.
Dave Zink said I need new tires. Went across town to an unnamed place.. (Can’t mention out of respect for Sam Walton). Couldn’t find anyone to wait on me. When they finally did I was briskly told I’d have to wait three hours. Can I make an appointment for later? I guess so.
Went to men’s dept.. suspenders.. lady on phone… social call. Excuse me.. Just a minute. They’re in the men’s department. I know. I’m in the men’s department.
And it hit me… everyone on my stroll of the square was nicer. They were weird, but they showed a little compassion… a little friendliness.
Today is the beginning of Lent. If you want to know the meaning, skip Walmart. Take a cold walk up north main. Christ lives on both ends of town.
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