The rural population has dwindled from the time of our country’s beginning. Fewer and fewer farmers are able to meet the needs of larger and larger populations. Many of our rural young people had to go to urban areas in order to follow their career dreams, but for many of them, the saying is true: you can take someone out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of that person.
In recent years there was a small influx of urban people who wanted to buy rural land for the peace and solitude it seemed to offer in comparison to the fast-paced city life. I worked as a dispatcher in the sheriff’s office for many years. Around 5:00 a.m. one morning I received a call from a very upset lady. There was a crop duster disturbing her sleep and wondered if we could do something about it. I asked if she could see letters on the body of the plane? She could not. Did she know whose field was being sprayed? She did not. She didn’t know her neighbors. She was mostly wanting to vent her frustration and I was unable to help her out. She complained, It was quieter in New York City where I came from!”
I saw an article in a local paper about that time saying that the smells of rural life are not always what idealistic urban dwellers expect. The article suggested that urban dwellers might want to spend a couple of weeks in a rural area first before making such a drastic life change. Maybe you can take someone out of the city, but maybe you can’t take the city out of the person.
Tags: country dweller, peace, quiet, urban dweller
