It may come as a surprise to many of you, but I am really
quite shy. I don’t generally
engage strangers in conversation.
That is why I covered my van with bumper stickers. That way, I can get my point of view
across without have to talk to anybody.
But this trip, I want to do it differently. And I got a chance in Hermiston,
Oregon. It wasn’t actually my
first conversation of this trip, but I don’t really count the one at the fruit
stand, which was just “oh-yeah-it’s-hot-will-those-peaches-make-it-to-Missouri.”
So, I stopped at the Hermiston welcome center, knowing there
would be a good bathroom there. On
the entrance door and in the bathroom were signs that said “Even if you are
just here to use the bathroom, please sign our guest book.” It seemed directed at me, so I went to
the desk and put my name and city in the book. It also asked where I was going. I thought about this, since I have several destinations, and
ended up writing, Democratic National Convention. The woman attendant came out from behind the desk and asked
if I needed anything. Well, I love
maps and took ones for Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana.
She was pretty funny.
One of the maps had a picture of Bear Grass. She told me about the first time she saw Bear Grass. She was with her husband and pointed to
it and said to him, “It looks like…you know.” Yes, it does look like “you know”. Here is a link to a photo of it:
We had a good laugh over that and I turned to leave, still
perusing some of the information racks.
Before I reached the door, she hurried over to me and exclaimed, “You
are going to the Convention!?”
I grinned and nodded. She
was so excited and started talking about how the republicans were going
overboard on so many issues, citing the comment about “legitimate rape”. I took the opportunity to campaign for
the 28th Amendment, saying that corporations are not people. She sort of guiltily said that she
worked for a corporation, and I replied that corporations aren’t bad, they just
aren’t people and should be regulated.
She agreed with that and started talking about WalMart. Her husband works for WalMart and she
says they treat their employees like crap. She also said that when WalMart came into town, the local
business knew they couldn’t stop it, but instead banded together to provide
something that WalMart couldn’t.
That would be personal service.
A 20 minute delay in my trip, but so worth it. Thank you, Karen. You have given me courage to talk to
others. I have been afraid of
people in rural areas, putting them all into the “red-neck” box and avoiding them. It is not just unfair of me, it is
non-productive. We really need to start building bridges.
Basically, we all
want the same things. Look at
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
It is in the areas of belonging and self esteem that I think
may underlie people’s political views.
If something is scary, then we react, avoid and close down. So I am trying to be kinder and
gentler. I even took off some of
the more in-your-face bumper stickers and replaced them with things like “Where
are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?” and “If you are having fun,
then you are doing it right.” I
left the big print “TV is a Drug” on the hood, but added the sticker “Heavily
Medicated for Your Safety”. I put
that in front of the passenger seat, so folks wouldn’t think I was DUI.
One source of entertainment is my traveling companion. I have a life-size stuffed German
Shepherd belted into the passenger seat.
I guess he is the one that is heavily medicated. He sure looks stoned.
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