Terry Pruitt's Blog

Some of my observations from spending a few days in a small town in the Midwest. 1. There is a lot of kids just out and about in free exploration. There is nothing wrong so they don't need to be coraled. 2. There are a lot of small parks in the neighborhoods. The town expects kids to be out and about. 3. There are a lot of people out walking. It is a village. People can walk to the services that they need. (See points one and two) 4. There are A LOT of church and A LOT of bars. There is also a Masonic lodge, but I am not sure whether I should group that with the church or the bar. There is also an American Legion, I think that one gets grouped with the bars. 5. Every one waves. 6. Every one is genuinely friendly. They don't care that they don't know me. 7. Though there are several business properties that are unoccupied there seem to be a lot of healthy businesses. Even though there are only 4,000 people in the village, there is a car dealership. 8. There ...

Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio often speaks of Wendell Berry. I have begun to read some of the interviews referenced in the Wikipedia article on him. I was surprised the variety of topics addressed by just one man. Of course the interviewer is asking questions he or she perceives is of interest to the reader of that publication. That drives the subject matter and the tone. His assessment of Wal-mart's negative influence on American local economics may be one of the better known ideas I have heard touted often. However, I find more resonance in his thoughts on work. He describes how in days gone by small farmers produced their own food and that production helped people survive in hard times. Economic problems did not cascade into the family meals if the family produced their own food. I actually saw this in operation as my grandparents and great-grandparents raised their own food, cut their own wood and worked to produce what they also consumed. To a lesser degree this was ...