GO CRAZY!!!

I've never seen him, it's like Alice Cooper fucked Skip Bayless.

Both dear friends of mine

Been sitting here for the last 45 minutes watching a Frontline show (PBS) on the struggle of the American farm & farm families.

And immediately am reminded of the same issues of the neighborhoods around here and the collapse of the steel mills on the southeast side. Same economic pressures cutting their throats, same bullshit promises about protecting the little guy with new training in the same dying professions from a bullshit guy like earl butz. And the same argument that their way of life was the American ideal.

And then the local businesses died and the holdovers began to rely on the pulpit pimps and the politicians that enriched their own golden nests.

And then the truly wealthy came in with new marketing schemes based on foreclosure prices.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Been sitting here for the last 45 minutes watching a Frontline show (PBS) on the struggle of the American farm & farm families.

And immediately am reminded of the same issues of the neighborhoods around here and the collapse of the steel mills on the southeast side. Same economic pressures cutting their throats, same bullshit promises about protecting the little guy with new training in the same dying professions from a bullshit guy like earl butz. And the same argument that their way of life was the American ideal.

And then the local businesses died and the holdovers began to rely on the pulpit pimps and the politicians that enriched their own golden nests.

And then the truly wealthy came in with new marketing schemes based on foreclosure prices.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Some of these towns/areas got hit from both directions too. You look At Kewanee which had all of these foundries back in the day and them closing with the emptying of the countryside and towns all over are basically devoid of small business. It’s all before my time but you see the abandoned home sites and store fronts or talk to the old timers about the 50’s and 60’s and it’s changed and it’s not ever coming back.

Obviously the communities have some significant differences and some insignificant ones as well but I pretty much agree with you here. Of course I’m an optimist who tends to think if people in general focused on commonalities things would be a whole lot better. But perhaps I’m the fool when it comes to that.

See the funny thing is that knowing a Dr. Ken and having exchanges with you and others here, I, an urban liberal is now sincerely interested in the economic issues affecting the farming communities.

And giving a damn.

I've never seen him, it's like Alice Cooper fucked Skip Bayless.

Ever driven through Elmira? I’m not sure it’s still standing but the town seemed to consist of a run down church and a half burnt down church and a cluster of homes that have seen better days.

Driving back from the Deep South this spring my wife wanted to go see fort Cairo as my middle son has been on a General Grant Kick and we had stopped at Vicksburg and a few other sights during our chase if warner weather (it failed, I’m going to the damn equator next time). Anyhow, nothing left of the fort in Cairo but that town.. Well, has seen better days.

Had an old timer that told me of how Kewanee was going to have a Purina plant back in 70s or early 80’s. The city was basically run by the steel foundries who made boilers and pipes and they colluded to keep wages down. Purina said they were going to pay 10-15% more and all of the sudden there were zoning problems and permits and all that. Purina pulled out, foundries are closed. Old dude tells me it killed the town. I’m not sure the town is dead or would have survived the steel plants closing but might of weathered it better.

It’s the towns that are taking the brunt. Neighbor told me he could stand on his front porch and count 12 homesteads that no longer existed within his eye sight. These people went to schools, showed st stores and so on. when people tell me mineral Illinois had an ice cream place, two diners and two gas stations before the interstate system I find it hard to believe.

I don’t think I would have cared much before moving here. I was unaware, maybe it was because I didn’t know the people I know now, maybe it was because I was a jackass suburban kid who needed to work on himself a bit. The more you know people, the more you understand them and generally, the more you care for them.

That being said.. there are some things I’ll ever understand. Like the truck brand loyalty fights.

Cairo is fucking devastated. That was a good-sized town, too. Really depressing. I don't even think anything is open in Mineral. I love going through there and taking photos, but there's nothing. It's a two-minute excursion.

I guess things change. And it's not like they were perfect before. Still, it's unsettling, because everything gets chewed up and discarded.

Addressing the commonalities between the communities is probably the last best hope for the country. Starting with a frank discussion of the real economic problems that hamstring both sides.

Been sitting here for the last 45 minutes watching a Frontline show (PBS) on the struggle of the American farm & farm families.

And immediately am reminded of the same issues of the neighborhoods around here and the collapse of the steel mills on the southeast side. Same economic pressures cutting their throats, same bullshit promises about protecting the little guy with new training in the same dying professions from a bullshit guy like earl butz. And the same argument that their way of life was the American ideal.

And then the local businesses died and the holdovers began to rely on the pulpit pimps and the politicians that enriched their own golden nests.

And then the truly wealthy came in with new marketing schemes based on foreclosure prices.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Driving through rural Illinois these days can be depressing, personally. Many of the small towns are dead. I think back to when I was really young and driving through some of these older "downtowns" was really neat, and there was activity, and there were other kids in the street. When I worked for a rural highway dept. even 15 years ago, you could still see some remnants of these places every day as we drove through the small towns, but it's really bad now. It actually makes me pretty sad to see some of them and think about what they used to be. Galesburg in particular. I had a lot of fond memories at the mall in Galesburg... it was relatively small, but it was always filled with people. I think it might have one store left open now.

Then again, I don't know that there was any stopping a lot of it. Globalization was taking hold, and this seemed to be one of the inevitable effects. I suppose we just have to appreciate rural America for what it once was and accept what it has become. There are still some pockets that are doing okay through agriculture or other industries that haven't been hurt, but I don't think it will ever be what it once was.

The town of 200 people I grew up in will be dead in another 30 years. There aren't many people under 60 living there.

Driving through rural Illinois these days can be depressing, personally. Many of the small towns are dead. I think back to when I was really young and driving through some of these older "downtowns" was really neat, and there was activity, and there were other kids in the street. When I worked for a rural highway dept. even 15 years ago, you could still see some remnants of these places every day as we drove through the small towns, but it's really bad now. It actually makes me pretty sad to see some of them and think about what they used to be. Galesburg in particular. I had a lot of fond memories at the mall in Galesburg... it was relatively small, but it was always filled with people. I think it might have one store left open now.

Then again, I don't know that there was any stopping a lot of it. Globalization was taking hold, and this seemed to be one of the inevitable effects. I suppose we just have to appreciate rural America for what it once was and accept what it has become. There are still some pockets that are doing okay through agriculture or other industries that haven't been hurt, but I don't think it will ever be what it once was.

The town of 200 people I grew up in will be dead in another 30 years. There aren't many people under 60 living there.