From Goldballoon …He has been busy 🙂

One of the main excuses behind my taking this last road trip was interesting. The governor of Oregon is a woman, and she’s fucking crazy. The governor of South Dakota is a woman, and she’s right on. In terms of how they govern, these two women are at opposite ends of the spectrum, as are the bulk of their respective constituents. I wanted to go to SD to meet and talk with people, to see what they were like.

Most of my friends are so far left that it’s impossible to have a friendly discussion with them about anything related to politics, and most of life seems like it’s related to politics in one way or another. So, I went off on this trip with a plan to go to South Dakota, to meet some of the people and ask them about life with a sane governor who trusts her citizens. What transpired on the the trip was amazing.

Although conversing with people in South Dakota was a loose goal, it was really about putting myself out there to connect with people in rural America all along the way. I traveled almost exclusively on backroads Once I got to Wyoming, then for the rest of the trip, through South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and back to Oregon. My interaction with locals really began in Wyoming, when there was an issue with my van. A breakdown in Bumfuck, Wyoming at 6PM on a Friday was happily taken care of by a local mechanic. The repair required his driving 20 minutes to the town that had the $25 part that broke, then back, and 20 minutes to replace the broken part. He only asked for $100! I gladly gave him more.

He asked me why I was in Wyoming and I basically told him what I wrote above. This led to our talking for more than 2 hours after he made the repair. This man was a salt of the earth type guy, with no end to real problems, but no end to dealing with real life in the best way he could, with friends and family and community. He was the first of a steady stream of people I talked with who simply couldn’t understand WTF was going on in the cities, why the elected officials put up with or even encouraged the breakdown of society. It was through many interactions like this which led me to believe that rural America is alive and well.

There are too many stories to tell, but one I will tell is about a town called Hot Springs, SD. One night, instead of sleeping in the van, I decided to get a hotel room so I could do some things on the computer. Upon my arrival at the Hills Inn, I went into reception and started the process of checking in. As in most rural establishments I went to, the man in the office was not wearing a friggin’ mask. I asked him why not and he just about burst out laughing, saying “You don’t need a mask!”

Because of his accent, I asked the man where he was born. Poland, but he and his Polish-born wife have been in the US since the 1990s. “Wally” and his wife owned and operated the hotel. I asked, in light of his having lived under an oppressive communist regime, what he thought about what was happening in the US. This, of course, led to our having a spirited conversation!

Wally asked me why I was in South Dakota, and I told him the story about the governors of these two respective states. He had much good to say about his governor, in contrast to what I said about mine.

During the course of our conversation, a few guests and friends came into the office. I noted that one guy who was registering as a guest also had an eastern European accent, but not from Poland. He asked where I thought he was from and I said Russia, which was correct. In fact, he said, the week before he had flown from Moscow to New York City. I wanted to know how things were in Russia, what the flight was like, and how it was to enter the US at this time. That was one of the many interesting conversations that took place in reception.

At one point, a woman walked in to register for her room. Wally noted she was from Michigan and asked if she drove all the way to SD from Michigan. Two days straight she said. Wally asked why. She said almost word for word what I had told him when asked the same question. She said, “The governor of Michigan is a woman, and she’s fucking crazy. The governor of South Dakota is a woman, and she’s right on. These two women are at opposite ends of the spectrum, so I wanted to come to SD to meet and talk with people here, to see what they are like.”

Upon hearing this, Wally and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Wally pointed at me and said, “This guy is from Oregon and he drove here for the exact same reason!” The woman, Nancy, is now my friend. We’re kindred spirits in many ways.

Wally ordered a pizza for dinner and said I must stay and join him and his wife to eat it, which I did.

In a rack in the office, I noticed a brochure for balloon flights. I told him I was a balloon pilot and asked if he had ever flown in a balloon. Wally had not only flown many times, but he sponsored a balloon each year at the local event.

A few minutes later, Wally’s friend Cal came into the office. Wally introduced him as a guy who is a crew chief for another friend who is a balloon pilot. Wally told Cal I’m also a pilot, so on the spot Cal called Rodney, the guy he crews for. Rodney said, “We must take Bill for a flight while he’s here.”

The bottom line is I was in the hotel reception for more than four hours and didn’t get to my room until after 9:30! Of course, I didn’t get anything done on the computer that night. Instead of staying one night, I ended up staying three, went ballooning twice, met a number of fine people and did some other fun stuff. The people there were incredibly friendly, healthy and hospital, yet a common sentiment they expressed was that too many city folks are moving in. They feel the exodus from the cities.

Here’s a joke I heard a while ago:

If the lawn signs I see are a good indication, Biden is in distant third, behind Trump and yard sales.

That is what I actually witnessed everywhere I drove. Trump signs are virtually everywhere in rural America and Biden signs are almost nonexistent, definitely fewer than the yard sale signs. Here’s a taste of some of the more elaborate signs I saw during my travels:

On another note, my brother sent me this one-liner the other day:

Wearing a mask to go into a restaurant makes about as much sense as having a pissing area in a swimming pool…

All for now. Wishing you all the best, as you keep fighting the good fight.

Bill