PrairyErth book/Strong County, KS (Winfield: home, live, military)

[j_k_k]

The nice things were well earned. That day, they certainly made a proud showing for the Volunteer State. It's one of those memories that sticks with one. You remember most the ones who showed up when you'd just gotten bodyslammed. The twister left a quarter mile path in which basically nothing remained standing. Anyone who came that far to help was sure to be memorable.

I base the observation about manners and accents on my own style. I was raised with definite notions about how one spoke to one's elders. My grandfather was an executive with a chain of nursing homes, and Kansas has an enormous amount of elderly people anyway, so I got a lot of practice. The result is that when I am back home, I see how people react to this style, even though I'm now in my early fifties. If it opens doors for me, I predict it would open them for you. (It has an even more amazing effect in Canada, but that's another story.)

Reckon you'll enjoy it there a lot. Some Kansans are kind of taciturnly gruff, but they would almost all help you find something, or otherwise steer you right, even if they weren't otherwise chatty. They often are smiling inside but aren't demonstrative about it.

[elkotronics]

Reckon you'll enjoy it there a lot. Some Kansans are kind of taciturnly gruff, but they would almost all help you find something, or otherwise steer you right, even if they weren't otherwise chatty. They often are smiling inside but aren't demonstrative about it.

I have met some fantastic people in Kansas, indeed.

[SPonteKC]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

I base the observation about manners and accents on my own style. I was raised with definite notions about how one spoke to one's elders.

I don't really think saying "sir/ma'am" is universal in Kansas, certainly was strongly discouraged in my household, where such verbiage was regarded as unctuous and insincere at best, lightly offensive at worst.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by SPonteKC

I don't really think saying "sir/ma'am" is universal in Kansas, certainly was strongly discouraged in my household, where such verbiage was regarded as unctuous and insincere at best, lightly offensive at worst.

Nor do I think it's universal. I don't think much of anything is universal except, for example, that we are all human beings. But I was raised that way, and I find that it brings mostly positive reactions when I'm back home. If that wasn't your experience, okay.

[Tennessee Jed]

[mshultz]

Originally Posted by mshultz

It has been a number of years since I read it. I will have to dig it out of one of about a dozen boxes full of books and reread it.

I found the book, and just finished reading it today.

[Tennessee Jed]

mshultz--How did you like reading it the second time?

[mshultz]

Originally Posted by Tennessee Jed

mshultz--How did you like reading it the second time?

I have mixed feelings about it. I would have preferred more emphasis on current events, and less on history. I also think it would have been a better book had he selected a Kansas county that was growing in population, instead of shrinking. The overall tone of the book is too negative.

While I like to read books about traveling (I am of the Bilbo Baggins school of thought about traveling; Travel is full of unpleasantness and missed meals), I find that I cannot really relate to the authors of these books. I would be better able to relate to travel authors who visit the local churches, rather than the local bars.

[Tennessee Jed]

I liked the book, but found it a long, at times difficult read. I'm glad I had the patience to stick with it, though. It did make want me to travel all the way from my home state of Tennessee to spend some time in the Flint Hills. I've had a thing for all things Kansas since (1) I saw the Wizard of Oz; (2) I visited my uncle who was in the Air Force and stationed at Forbes Field in Topeka in 1966-67; and (3), I passed though the state a couple of times on road trips and spent a couple of nights and did a little sight seeing there. I'd love to take some trips around the whole state. Say what you will about Kansas--good or bad--but to me its the middle of the middle of America, the heartland of the heartland, and I can't get enough of grain elevators, silos, looking as-far-as-the-eye-can-see horizons, small towns, and rural pastoral scenery. I've had a hard time finding good books about Kansas, novels set in Kansas, etc. If anyone has some recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

[popcorn247]

Originally Posted by Tennessee Jed

I liked the book, but found it a long, at times difficult read. I'm glad I had the patience to stick with it, though. It did make want me to travel all the way from my home state of Tennessee to spend some time in the Flint Hills. I've had a thing for all things Kansas since (1) I saw the Wizard of Oz; (2) I visited my uncle who was in the Air Force and stationed at Forbes Field in Topeka in 1966-67; and (3), I passed though the state a couple of times on road trips and spent a couple of nights and did a little sight seeing there. I'd love to take some trips around the whole state. Say what you will about Kansas--good or bad--but to me its the middle of the middle of America, the heartland of the heartland, and I can't get enough of grain elevators, silos, looking as-far-as-the-eye-can-see horizons, small towns, and rural pastoral scenery. I've had a hard time finding good books about Kansas, novels set in Kansas, etc. If anyone has some recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

I loved the book. So much.... that I found Marci Penner. Marci has spent much of her life visiting every small town in Kansas and written books about places to visit, etc. in small towns scattered across Kansas. She is on Facebook. You can 'follow' her for more information. I hope to take a road trip to the Flint Hills and other parts of KS. I am now living in my home state of Indiana after 40+ years in south Florida. I love the Midwest.