Snippets of Conversations

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about snippets of conversations I had with multiple people that for various reasons were not in-depth enough to write up.  It occurred to me that, even with short conversations, I can look at each of them to see what I have in common with that person, or what the other person has lived through that is so different from my own life experience.

 So, what kinds of life stories have other people shared with me that I have been able to relate to, or that have left me intrigued, envious, or sad?  Here are a few.

 -At Badlands National Park, a family asked us to take their photo, and it turned out that they have been living in Eureka, the next town over from Arcata, where my brother and sister-in-law live. The young couple and their three small children are in the process of moving to New Jersey for the husband’s job.  We, too, moved across the country with young children for a new job, so I could relate to the excitement and anxiety that they must be experiencing.

 -One of our Lyft drivers in Boulder, CO was a chef in Maine but grew tired of the seasonal business and wanted something that would keep her busy year-round. She moved to Boulder and was a chef there, but for some reason it didn’t work out. She’s now in real estate and driving a Lyft on the side.  I didn’t find out whether she’s enjoying her real estate career or having any success with it, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether she misses being a chef.

 -In Hot Springs, SD I was greeted by four friendly teenagers (two hand-holding couples who were high school freshmen) as I was checking the tires on the RV, and I ended up asking them about life in Hot Springs. They all agreed that they feel safe in their town and they like that they can walk everywhere.  When I asked about what politics is like in their town, one young man responded, “This town is very Republican. Trump’s done some sketchy things, but he’s great for jobs and for farms, so I would vote for him.” One of the young women said, “I never follow the news. My dad gets mad watching it on TV and turns it off.” Later, I thought about something that I wish I had said to them, along the lines of: “If I can leave you with one request from a stranger, it would be this:  Be curious. Learn about what’s going on in the world. And, make sure that you get your information from solid, reliable sources that research facts, not ones that just spout rhetoric.”

 -At a campsite in Minnesota, we met a couple traveling across the country from upstate New York to Alaska, with a stop in Oregon first.  We chatted about our families, and they had two sons, too, so it was starting to feel like we had some things in common. Then, I learned how different our lives had turned out.  One of their sons had fathered a daughter while in high school, and it was clear that their granddaughter, now in high school herself, is a bright light in their lives. They mentioned that her father, who was the older of their two sons, had died of a heroin overdose when she was little. I was in shock and expressed my condolences.  Losing a child is something that I cannot imagine going through.

There were more short conversations that didn’t make it into a blog post, and I wish that I had been able to have long conversations with a lot more people, but I hadn’t anticipated how much time would be spent focusing solely on each day’s leg of the bicycle ride or how late in the day we would be arriving at our destinations. I’m grateful for the people I was able to converse with who took the time to tell me their stories.

Starting a New Career

When I first encountered Loren at the front desk of a chain hotel in a suburb of Chicago, I was impressed with her helpful attitude and her knowledge about services available in the area. She has worked there for four years. I asked for restaurant suggestions, and she told me about several in the neighborhood.

Loren is an Illinois native. She told me that she hates the winters, especially scraping ice off her windshield, and she would love to move to Texas where there is no snow. When I asked her what keeps her in Illinois, she said that she lives with her family out of economic need. She just graduated from a technical school where she learned how to do MRIs. Loren has completed 500 of the 1,000 MRI training hours that she needs in order to take an exam and get certified.  She’s looking forward to that career.

I asked Loren how she feels about the current political climate in the country.  She does not like the racism that Trump has stirred up in his supporters. Her parents moved to the U.S. from Mexico 23 years ago, and she is seeing too much anti-Mexican sentiment.   She has gone through the sorrow of seeing the deportation of two uncles whose children are all still here in the United States. 

Her boyfriend, who is also of Mexican heritage, feels very differently about Trump. He thinks that Trump is doing a great job as president. I asked if it’s difficult to be in a relationship with someone who has different political beliefs.  That is apparently not the only topic on which they differ, as she is Catholic and her boyfriend is an atheist. They agree to disagree on many topics.

I’ve seen first hand how two people with vastly different political views or religious views can have a long, successful relationship, although I don’t think I’ve known a couple who has had BOTH of those differences. I wish Loren the best in her career and in her love life.

Where Would We Be Without Farmers?

I’m not sure that I’ve ever met a farmer before. 

Betsy and Rich Sadlon

When Roger was planning the route for the XCBR (our shorthand for the Cross- Country Bicycle Ride), he was chatting with our friend Elizabeth, who was delighted to hear that we would be going near the town in upstate New York where she was raised. She was sure that her parents would love to have us spend the night at their farmhouse if we could route the ride there. After Elizabeth contacted her parents, Rich and Betsy, and put us in touch with each other, we received several warm, welcoming emails that resulted in plans for us to stay there, as well as some advance menu planning where Betsy and I would get to cook in her kitchen together. 

We arrived in Cazenovia, NY, a town of lush, green farmland and rolling hills dotted with houses.  A tall, shiny blue silo with the family name on it told me that we were in the right place as I pulled into the driveway and Roger rode in on his bicycle.  Betsy and Rich came out and greeted us with open arms. Their daughter Pamela (Elizabeth’s youngest sister) also showed up to give us welcoming hugs. 

We had a delightful evening in which we cooked and ate dinner, then I took a short walk up and down the road while Roger stayed back to work on his blog post. It was a peacefully quiet evening, and all I could hear were several different kinds of birds singing their songs, each with different notes, timbre and tempo, yet creating a beautiful choir.  

I spent some time swapping stories with Betsy and Rich in the living room of their 150-year old farmhouse. They proudly showed me the framed photos of their children and grandchildren (Elizabeth is one of four children), and several aerial photos taken of their farm over the years.

Betsy and Rich have been married for 55 years, and for 48 of those years, they were active dairy farmers. In its heyday, their property (located near Cazenovia Lake) measured 547 acres. They also rented another 200 acres from other farmers.  They had 100 cows and 100 heifers (young female cows not yet ready to produce milk), and once their dairy farm was established, they produced 2 million pounds of milk per year.  On their farm, they also grew corn, soy beans, oats, wheat and barley. They grew hay to feed their dairy animals and sold the surplus to other farmers.  They harvested about 30,000 bales of hay per year, some of which ended up feeding the horses at Belmont Horse Track.  After they retired, Rich and Betsy sold some of their property and now rent out much of their land to another farmer.

The next morning, Betsy went to the trouble of making an early breakfast so that Roger could get started on the day’s ride, and we were joined by Pamela and her husband, Chris. I was talking with Rich and confirming some of the farming facts mentioned in the previous paragraph, and he made a wonderful comment:  “The most important crop on our farm was our kids.“  Their kids and grandkids are everything to them.  Elizabeth and her husband live the farthest away, in Southern California. Daughter Rebecca lives in Albany, son John and his husband live in Manhattan, and daughter Pamela and her husband live near the farm.

When we get back home, I can’t wait to talk to Elizabeth about what it was like for her to grow up on a farm.

A Conversation with Avid Trump Supporters

When we came up with the idea of talking with people in various parts of the country to find out what life is like where they live, Roger and I decided that, when discussing politics, our role would be to ask questions, listen respectfully to the answers, and not try to change anyone’s mind. We didn’t want confrontations, we wanted to learn what people were thinking. 

We had our first “practice” conversation last summer with a shuttle driver who was taking us from a hotel to the airport.  After asking him what he thought about how Trump is running the country, we listened to him tell us about what a genius Trump is and how good he is for trade. As we got out of the shuttle, he asked what our political leanings are. “Oh, completely opposite of yours,” I responded cheerfully. His jaw dropped, and he said, “ I’ve never had a conversation with someone whose politics are different from mine that didn’t involve yelling.”  He appreciated being heard.

All of that is a prelude to my conversation at a campsite in Buffalo, NY, with Dick and Joan, a retired couple from a town about 45 miles away in another part of the state.  He was an electronics technician for Exxon Mobil and did radio and TV repair on the side. She was a math teacher at the junior and senior high levels for 33 years.  They are enjoying retirement and have a large RV that they use for traveling. When they heard about Roger’s bicycle ride, they wanted to know if he was raising money or had a sponsor for his ride. People are sometimes surprised when we say that he is just riding across the country because he wants to. 

I asked them about how they feel things are going in our country, and, because they had a Trump sign in the front window of their RV, I asked them what the phrase “Make America Great Again” means to them.  Dick said that Trump is making America great with his tax breaks. Dick’s investments are earning him more money than ever with the cut in his tax rates.  (I did not ask any questions about his income level.)  He also thinks that Trump is doing great things for the economy. 

Joan expressed concern that people want everything for free nowadays, and that liberals want to see the U.S.A. become Socialist.  She told me the story of a friend of hers who emigrated from Ukraine and told her that under Socialism, they weren’t given any choices.  Any benefits they received from the government were decided for them. Joan does not want to see that happen in the U.S.

I did some research, and it’s unclear whether Ukraine is categorized as capitalist or socialist, or something in between. However, it seems to me that the troubled economy and corruption there should not necessarily be an indicator of what would happen in the U.S. if certain socialist types of government assistance, such as free healthcare for all, were to be adopted.

The last comment Dick made before they headed back to his RV was that he doesn’t like that the country is moving away from Christianity. I didn’t get a chance to ask follow up questions, because they had other things they wanted to do. I might have asked whether he meant that religion should have a bigger role in political decisions, or that he feels threatened by people whose religion is not based upon reading the Bible, or something else. 

At the end of our conversation, Joan pressed a ten dollar bill into my hand and said that she wanted to make a contribution toward Roger’s bicycle ride. I was very touched by her kind gesture.  Whether or not people have similar political beliefs, it’s important to be remember that we can be civil and downright kind to each other. 

From India to Indiana

We checked into a Best Western in Kendallville, Indiana, and the very friendly man who checked us in volunteered that he is the owner of the hotel.  I didn’t know that many chain hotels are individually owned franchises.  As he started telling me more about his journey to the hotel business, I became very interested in his story.

Dev and his wife Meera are from the state of Gujarat in India.  Dev convinced his parents to let him date Meera, even though arranged marriages were the norm at the time.  In 1991, Dev sought to attend graduate school in the U.S., and a family friend who was living in the U.S. agreed to sponsor him.  When he got his visa, Dev called Meera and told her that he wanted to marry her before he left so that it would be easier for her to get a visa when she finished her studies and was ready to join him.  They married fifteen days later, and four days after that, Dev left for the University of South Florida, where he began his studies for (and later earned) his master’s degree in electrical engineering.  Unfortunately, Meera had problems getting a visa, and she wasn’t able to come to the U.S. for another year and a half.  It took the help of a Congressman and a Senator to get her visa application approved.

The couple ended up in San Jose, California, where Dev worked in software engineering.  They have two kids who were born there, both of whom are currently attending Cornell University. Their daughter will be a senior in the fall and is in New York for a summer internship with Morgan Stanley, and their son, who will be a sophomore, hasn’t decided on a career path yet. 

Dev and Meera eventually decided that they wanted to own their own business.  The couple decided on a hotel franchise because they knew so many other people who were doing it (there are about 23,000 hotel/motel owners in the U.S. who are from the Indian state of Gujarat), and they liked the idea of starting a business where they would have a lot of support and ideas from friends.  They moved from San Jose to Fort Worth, Indiana in 2009 and have operated their hotel in Kendallville ever since. Dev said that they’ve been able to get help from their network of hotel owners with every aspect of the business, from what is the best credit card processing software to which carpet cleaner is the most effective.

I asked Dev whether he misses anything from his days living in India.  He said that he misses being in social situations with family or friends where he can speak Gujarati, his native language. When he tries to tell a joke in English, it doesn’t always come out the way he wants. He also misses some aspects of Indian culture.

When asked what he does NOT miss about India, Dev was quick to say that it is difficult to get a job because (1) there are 1.3 billion people there, so competition for jobs is intense, and (2) there is favoritism and prejudice associated with a person’s caste and state of origin that can affect a person’s ability to get a job.  He loves the U.S. for the freedom to be able to study hard and get a job as a result of your hard work.

Because we’re trying to find out what people around the country are thinking about the current political situation, I asked Dev if he was feeling positive or negative about the direction the country is heading.  He said that he is a capitalist like Trump, but that Trump has crossed over the line in the way he treats people and doesn’t care whether his actions are ethical or not.  Dev is sad that people have become so polarized.  

Roger mentioned in a recent blog post that he has found the people we have met across the country to be proud and kindly.  Dev is a perfect example of both, from the pride he takes in his accomplishments and his work to the kind way he treats his customers.

Ellie and Sam Lend a Helping Hand

Ellie and Sam are two really wonderful kids, ages eleven and nine respectively, who live in Burnsville, Minnesota. OK, full disclosure here - They are our great-niece and great-nephew.  But they really are wonderful kids. They attend an elementary school that is big on service projects, and with the help of their service-minded parents, they are making a difference in the world. 

At the start of the school year each September, students, parents and alumni can sign up to grow their hair all year long and cut it the following May for one of several charities that take hair donations to make wigs for children and adults with medical hair loss issues. Ellie just had her hair cut last week at the end of fifth grade and donated it to Pantene’s charity, Beautiful Lengths.  This was the third time she has done this, as she had previously donated her hair in first and third grades. 

Sam donated his hair a year ago, and he is now in the middle of a two-year cycle to grow his hair long again so that he can donate it next May.  He is one of a handful of boys who participate in this project.

Sam is a Cub Scout.  He participated in Scouting for Food, where he and his troop members dropped off grocery bags to homes, asking people to donate canned food items.  A week later, the scouts returned to pick up the donations and delivered them to a local food bank. 

These kids are also big fans of charities that promote animal welfare.  When Ellie’s Girl Scout troop was choosing a project for their bronze award, they decided to educate their community about pet adoption and reducing the stray animal population.  They created a flyer that they handed out at the city of Savage’s Service Day in April, an annual event that brings together charity groups and the broader community with activities that show how anyone of any age can help others.  The troop members also made blankets and cat toys and delivered them to a local shelter. 

Ellie and Sam’s parents, David and Sarah, are also animal lovers and frequently foster puppies for an organization called Pet Haven until they are old enough to be spayed or neutered and adopted by a loving family.  The kids learn about the responsibilities of taking care of a pet and have fun playing with them. When we went to their house yesterday, I got to hold the two puppies they are currently fostering. There’s nothing like a little lick on the nose to bring a smile to your face.

It gives me hope to see children working on service projects that benefit people or animals in need.  I am so proud of David, Sarah, Ellie and Sam for their family’s selflessness and commitment to helping others. 

Sharona's Experience in the Nepal Earthquake

When I learned that we would be spending some time in Boulder, I immediately thought of the one person I know who lives there, my high school friend Sharona Fein.  We’ve stayed in touch through the years but haven’t seen each other in awhile, so it was a joy to see her. Sharona was free for lunch on the day we arrived in Boulder, and after deciding on Thai food, we went to a restaurant called Aloy Thai Cuisine.  Aloy is a variation of the word “Aroy,” which means “delicious” in Thai, and it was appropriately named. As we shared tasty shrimp spring rolls, pad woonsen noodles with tofu, and red curry with chicken and vegetables, we talked about many things, one of which was her career. 

Sharona describes herself as a serial adventurer. She has worked as a teacher, business owner, corporate trainer, community builder and leader, and healer. She practices Thai bodywork, which she describes as “I do yoga to you.”  In Thai bodywork, her clients are fully clothed, and she uses her body weight to gently relax, stretch, and open muscles and joints. 

I asked Sharona about her experience when she was in Nepal during the April 25, 2015 earthquake.  She was there with a group of fourteen healers and three Nepalese guides, walking into remote hillside villages in the mountains near the Tibet border, with a mission to set up clinics and offer Thai bodywork. The group was on their way back down the mountain, about 7 days out, when the earthquake struck at around noon. They were in the middle of a wide valley and felt the ground shake.  They were transfixed as they watched boulders the size of cars crash down the sides of a distant mountain. Fortunately, they were far enough away that they weren’t in any immediate danger. 

The group soon learned that they could not go much further, as the trail below them had collapsed. They stayed in a small village of 6 houses where the villagers maintained and venerated a holy Buddhist shrine in the hillside above them. Four of the six houses had collapsed in the earthquake, and one of the two houses left standing was a guest house where the group stayed, not knowing what would happen next. At the end of the third day, they located a satellite phone and were able to call their families. It was only then that they learned the extent of the loss of life and physical damage caused by the earthquake.  As a result of the satellite phone calls, the American Embassy was able to locate them.  After determining that the group members were not injured and had sufficient food and access to water, the embassy told them to wait where they were.  There were many emergency situations in the country that required the use of the limited number of helicopters for rescues.  

I looked up some details of the earthquake.  It registered between 7.8 and 8.1 on the Richter scale, killed nearly 9,000 people, and injured nearly 22,000.  In the Tsum Valley where Sharona and her group were located, there was, incredibly, no loss of human life.

While they waited, they helped repair rock walls and continued to do Thai bodywork. After spending nine days in the village, they were extracted by helicopter by the American Embassy and taken back to Kathmandu, which was devastated by the quake. It was at that point that they were able to use first world problem solving tools to provide help. They used their electronics to work with many other people to raise much-needed funds, using their personal accounts to bypass the bureaucracy and direct money toward the purchase of supplies for the people of Tsum, such as tents, blankets and rice.  Even now, four years later, there is still support coming in, which has allowed for the building of a new school and other structures in the sacred valley, using far more stable construction techniques. 

Her time in Nepal left a lasting impression on Sharona.  The two things she told me she took away from the experience are these:  “Always do what is right in front of me. Make a difference anywhere that I can see to make a difference.”

Wine in the Sky (by Roger)

Make high quality wines at the base of the Teton Mountains in Jackson Wyoming?  It sounded like a pie in the sky idea to me, and at first it probably was for Tony Schroth as well.  But Schroth pursued the idea anyway.

Tony Schroth grew up on a farm a few miles south of the city of Jackson, Wyoming, playing baseball and raising 4H livestock in his dad’s barn.  His love of baseball brought him to Sonoma State University, which recruited him to play ball for them.  A shoulder injury sidelined his baseball career, and a winemaking course taken on a lark set him off in another direction.  Schroth graduated in 2006 with a double major in marketing and wine business, and he started working at wineries in Sonoma.

Schroth first thought of making wine in his home town during a school internship.  In 2009, he made the dream a reality.  The one-hundred-year old barn that used to house his 4H livestock has been converted into a tasting room.  It is still somewhat rustic (the only heat was from a space heater behind the bar), but it fits the ambiance of Jackson Hole perfectly. 

And the wines?  They were remarkably good.  I broke the rule I had set for this trip of buying only a bottle or two at each winery I visit (space is limited in the RV).  I had a half case sent home, in addition to the bottle we took with us.

If you’re into wine, or just want to learn more about this remarkable winemaker and his winery, there’s a more detailed article here.

Bill Ringert: Public Servant and Winery Owner (by Roger)

Bill Ringert is the owner of Cold Springs Winery in Hammett, Idaho, where we stayed the evening of May 11. Cold Springs is a participant in the Harvest Hosts program and allows RV campers on its property without charge (though a purchase of wine is considered appropriate).

We arrived after 5:00 on a Sunday afternoon, but Ringert was still at the tasting room waiting for us, and he gladly poured tastes of several of his wines for us. We started chatting about his background while tasting, and he eventually opened a bottle of one of his favorites and asked us to join him on the porch to continue our conversation.

Ringert got his Air Force wings at the age of 19 on July 27, 1953, the date the armistice agreement was signed for the Korean war. He decided that advancement opportunities in the military were limited and he joined Branniff as a commercial pilot in 1956. In 1962 he received his law degree, and began practicing agriculture law generally and water rights law specifically. In 1982 he was elected to the Idaho State Senate as a Republican, representing a district in Boise. He served until 1988 when he was defeated by a Democrat. During his legislative tenure he worked with Idaho’s two current United States Senators, James Risch and Mike Crapo.

In 1998, Ringert started planting vines at Cold Springs and produced his first vintage in 2002. At 86, he is now interested in selling the property, including all of its equipment, the house on the property, and his inventory of wines, for something over $2 million. Although his son and his daughter are interested in the wine business, it does not make sense for either of them to buy the property.

Given Ringert’s background in politics, our conversation quickly turned to the current political situation. He said that he does not trust Trump and believes Trump exhibits dictatorial tendencies. He even worries that Trump’s actions could lead to the early demise of our constitutional form of government. He believes that Trump is shrewd in his ability to manipulate public opinion, which further worries him.

RIngert expressed disappointment with his former colleagues Risch and Crapo, who are supporting Trump, and he believes they are short-sightedly acting in their own interests rather than the interests of the country and the people they represent.

When I asked Ringert which of the Democratic candidates for President might appeal to Republicans like him who are disaffected by Trump, he bemoaned the current large field. He said that he had recently seen a bit of Cory Booker on the news and thought his policies are sensible, but he is skeptical that many Republicans would support a black candidate.

Toni and I eventually excused ourselves, as I had had a long day on the bicycle, and we still needed to prepare dinner. I left impressed with Ringert’s thoughtfulness and dedication to public service and sorry that he now is enduring a turn of public events that is so disappointing to him. I hope he finds a buyer soon for his winery so that he can relax after a life of public service.

Learning About Mennonites

Today we stopped for lunch at the Snake River Diner in the small town of Grandview, Idaho, population 500.  As we were seated, we could tell from the way people greeted each other that everyone there knew each other. One of the men had seen Roger on his bicycle and talked with him about his ride.  Meanwhile, I noticed that most of the women in the diner were wearing caps on the back of their heads. I started talking with one couple and said, “This is our first time in this part of the country. Can you please educate me?  Are you Amish or Mennonite?”  They were Mennonite, a religious community of people who, unlike the Amish, do not eschew cars and electricity, nor do they isolate themselves from the rest of the world.. 

I did a bit of online research to learn more about Mennonites. They were named after Menno Simons, a Catholic priest who aligned himself with the Anabaptists in 1536 in Friesland, a province of what is now the Netherlands.  “Anabaptist” means “re-baptize,” as they re-baptized church members when they became adults, which was considered heresy by the Catholic church.  The Mennonites stopped the practice of baptizing their children, because they believe that members shouldn’t be baptized until they are adults who have made a conscious decision to follow Jesus.  Instead, they have dedication ceremonies when their children are young, where the parents ask the congregation to help them teach their child the ways of Jesus.  They are a close-knit community and believe in cooperation to show their unity in Christ.  They seek to be communities of grace, joy and peace.

I started talking with another Mennonite couple who, as it turned out, are the owners of the diner. Bob and Mechelle have lived in Grandview since 1977. They bought the building (which had been built in 1926 after the original building on that spot burned down) last year after it had been vacant for awhile. They fixed it up and opened it as a diner on May 3, 2018. Their daughter Tausha runs it. The centerpiece of the diner is a large, ornate mirror with backlit stained glass windows down the sides. The mirror was transported in one piece about 45 miles down a gravel road from Silver City, Idaho sometime before 1945, but the owners aren’t sure exactly how that was accomplished. It looks as though it was originally the backdrop for a saloon, but since Mennonites don’t drink alcohol, the bar at Snake River Diner is a coffee bar.

Bob told me that there are a couple of other eateries in town, but they all serve alcohol.  The diner is open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Saturday and stays open for dinner only two nights a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The owner and the patrons of the diner were gracious and welcoming and most interested in our travels. This small community exemplified the friendliness of small town living and brightened our day as we travelled on through the Idaho landscape.

You Say Potato, I Say Po-TAH-to

We altered Roger’s schedule a bit so that he rode an extra 25 miles on Wednesday, and we arrived in Boise a day early. As a result, we’ve been enjoying not one, but two, rest days here. Our hotel room has a grassy area right outside the sliding door and a beautiful view of the Boise River, with the Boise Greenbelt (a 20-mile long bicycle/pedestrian path along the river) in between.  The river is at a high level, but it is surprisingly quiet for such a fast-moving body of water.  The flow is controlled upstream, and it’s currently rushing along at a rate of about 6,600 gallons per second, with 7,000 gallons per second considered flood stage. 

Yesterday afternoon we met with our Neighborhood UU Church friends Sara LaWall and Michael Alvarado at a bustling pub in town called Payette Brewing Company, which had lots of tables indoors, but also a large lawn and patio with additional tables.  Their family moved to Boise about four years ago when Sara was called as a minister at the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Sara asked a couple of her bicycle-riding friends to join us so that we could include them in our Conversations Across America. 

Sandy is a native of the state who grew up in Moscow, Idaho (pronounced MOS-ko, not MOS-cow).  She is a retired health care data analyst who has lived in Boise since 1979.  Another of Sara’s friends who joined us, Sue, moved from Montana with a two-year old in 2002 after finishing her CPA.  She decided that since she had a new career, it was a good time to make a move, and after researching cities where she might want to relocate, she chose Boise.  Sue is a triathlete.  She had lived in Great Falls and Billings, Montana, and attended the University of Oregon in Eugene.  She said that she prefers Boise to Eugene because of the dryer weather in Boise.

All three of the women talked about the current politics in Boise.  It is a “blue island in a red sea,” as Boise has a liberal mayor and city council members who keep getting re-elected, while the rest of the state tends to be libertarian.  Boise is 98% Caucasian, but it is also a Federal Refugee Relocation City, and refugees from Bosnia, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan have found a welcoming reception here. Sandy teaches an ESL (English as a Second Language) class, and while there are many Spanish-speaking students in her class, well over half of the students are from Iraq or Afghanistan, many of whom had been interpreters for the US military in their home countries.  There is more diversity in areas surrounding Boise, where many Latino agricultural workers live.

Homelessness is an issue in Boise.  The city has been working on an initiative called Housing First that builds housing for the homeless.  The city is growing, and new construction is everywhere.  Unfortunately, the State legislature is at odds with Boise’s mayor, passing laws that cities in Idaho cannot be “restrictive.” These include laws that prohibit Boise and other cities from requiring developers to include a percentage of low-income housing in order to have their projects approved.

The women talked about how Boise has become very environmentally conscious.  No one uses plastic straws anymore, and home waste collection bins now include a bin for compost trash in addition to containers for regular garbage and recyclables.  Local businesses are attuned to environmental and social issues.  The pub where we met has a weekly “Kegs for a Cause” night, where a percentage of sales go to different charities. 

Sandy referred to Idaho’s economy as “chips and chips,” meaning potato chips and computer chips.  Of course, Idaho is well known as prime potato-growing country, but in more recent years, it has also seen an increase in jobs due to Micron locating its computer chip manufacturing facility here. 

After spending two days in this city, I’m impressed with the way that Boise appears to be dog-friendly, bicycle-friendly, environmentally conscious, and offers opportunities for outdoor physical activity, with skiing in winter, mountain biking in the foothills the rest of the year, and lots of walking, bicycling and water sports along the Greenway. If you can handle the fact that the average temperature in winter is in the 20’s and 30’s, Boise appears to have a lot to offer.

Coffee and Conversations in Prairie City, OR

Today was a long day, with Roger riding 115 miles. The first 13 miles, to Prairie City, were so beautiful. A large, snow-capped mountain range was the backdrop to long stretches of lush, grassy land with cattle grazing. 

After we met at a checkpoint in Prairie City and Roger headed on his way, I stopped at the local grocery store to get provisions.  There was a coffee bar next door that was also a gift shop with some interesting items in the window, so I popped inside. I passed a loom and some colorful displays of yarns on my way back to the coffee bar.

Behind the counter at Roan Coffee was Kathy, an Arkansas native who moved to nearby John Day, Oregon fifteen years ago with her husband, a contractor.  When I asked about her life in Arkansas, she commented on the change in weather patterns over the years. In Arkansas, March used to be considered tornado month. Now, the weather can get bad any time of the year and tornadoes can occur in other months. Kathy has been through three tornadoes and is glad she’s living in a state where they are not a threat. 

Prairie City has a population of 900, with 147 kids in the town’s one school that includes grades K-12.  As Kathy made my latte, I noticed a box on the counter containing a few dollars with the words, “For school library books.”  As I paid for my coffee, I told Kathy, “Here’s a $5 bill for my coffee and a $5 donation for books, because books are important!”  She thanked me and proudly told me that her kids love to read.  I let her know that I was impressed by that, and I bemoaned the current culture among youth who spend their free time on their electronic devices instead of reading books.

I asked about the basis for the town’s economy, and like many towns in this part of Oregon, the economy is based on ranching. The owner of the coffee shop, a friend of Kathy’s, is a rancher with her husband.

I’ve heard from several people along this journey that many cyclists pass through these towns on cross-country bicycle rides. It is after all, the main east-west highway across Oregon that is not an Interstate, and it is designated as an Oregon Scenic Highway. What I didn’t expect was Kathy’s news that, last year, thousands of people converged upon the town all at once, because it was at the center of the total solar eclipse viewing area. Many people who came for the eclipse have returned to vacation in the area because they loved it so much. 

Rebecca, who works at the grocery store next door, stopped by to get a beverage. She heard what Kathy had told me and mentioned that the preparations for the eclipse-viewing crowds were two years in the making.  Many ranchers rented out their property to visitors. I later read that the preparations by Prairie City and other nearby towns in the eclipse-viewing area relating to traffic, store provisions, and land for tents and RVs all paid off, as there were no major problems.

I asked Rebecca about the political leanings of the town, wondering if it primarily leaned toward liberal or conservative. She said that the residents are mostly Republican, but the teachers are primarily Democrats.  She also said that people don’t necessarily vote along party lines if someone from the other party has a really good idea.  Then she said some things that brightened my day.  She said, “You never meet a stranger, because we are all in this together. We all need to get along. Even if people in town disagree, we work together on solutions.“ The last thought she left me with before heading out the door was this:  “The town’s most important focus is the kids.  They are our future.” 

Yes, they are. 

Toni's Conversations in Mitchell, OR

Today we travelled from Prineville to Mitchell, Oregon, a town of fewer than 150 people with no other towns nearby. We walked over to one of the few places to eat, Tiger Town Brewery, and sat down for a late lunch. We started chatting with one of the waitresses who, we discovered, had moved from San Diego to Mitchell nine years ago and thinks it’s a good place to be raising her six-year-old daughter. I asked about the economy, and she said that jobs are plentiful because there are so many ranchers who hire help.

As I was asking questions, another woman started helping customers, and she caught our attention because she was wearing a Tiger Town Brewery t-shirt that said on the back, “Buy our beer or we’ll punch you in the face.”

Christy

Yes, we did buy their beer. It was quite good!

Christy is about 65 years old and has lived in Mitchell for 35 years. Her mother was born here. Christy was an Army brat and moved around a lot, and when she was 29, she decided to come back and settle down in Mitchell. She lives in the home her great-grandparents built! She said that’s not uncommon in this town. We had seen a sign for the local school and asked how many students attend. Christy told us that there are about 45 students at the school, which covers grades K-12.  Talk about small class sizes!

I was curious about whether people in town go elsewhere for entertainment, and she said no, that everyone pretty much stays in town. When I asked if there are any events where the entire community gets together, Christy lit up and told us about the Halloween and Christmas festivities, which include coffin races at Halloween and sled races at Christmastime. She talked about Tiger Town, a celebration held in June at the Brewery, with a stage set up out back for live music. Someone else mentioned the Painted Hills Festival in September with live music and vendors from around the county.

Christy likes the quiet and calm of her small town. Everyone is friendly. Sometimes she goes to larger towns to go shopping or to visit her kids, but she can’t wait to get back to the peace and quiet of home. I asked if she missed anything about living in a larger town, since she had lived in so many different places when she was growing up, and, with no hesitation, she said that she doesn’t miss anything. It was nice to talk with someone who is so satisfied with her life and her town.