The Country Folk and the City Folk

The other night Kent and I went for a drive on the way home from his brother Spencer's house. As we drove through the mountain region at dusk Kent was able to see many deer. Of course he would stop and look to see if any had antlers. One group of deer happened to be on the sidewalk right next to a group of homes. Kent enjoyed watching these deer for a moment and then started up the road. As he was staring to pull away he saw three people walking up the sidewalk. In all his deer excitement Kent shouted out the window to these walkers that there we "three head" just ahead of them on the sidewalk. As we took off down the road I saw one of them look back as if wondering where this crazy man came from.

I looked at Kent and laughed as I told him how crazy these city people must think he was. I imagined them thinking of three heads lying on the sidewalk and finding great concern with how twisted this sick man must be. It took me back to a day when Kent and I were first married and had quite a huge argument. The argument that would only exist between a country guy and a city girl (I may be down to earth, but I cannot truly be considered a country girl even if that life could suit me).

Kent and I were out helping his friend herd cattle. I was quite excited to assist in being a cowgirl. At some point Kent asked me to drive the truck and trailer down the dirt road to the oil road. Now I had laughed at him multiple times because of the funny words he used for things only because I thought it was so cute. Apparently Kent had not appreciated that because when I asked him what the oiled road was he got very irritated thinking that I was making fun of him for the way he spoke. In the end I finally was able to help him understand that I TRULY did not know what the oiled road was. I thought it might be a paved road as in asphalt, but I didn't know for sure.

I laugh when I think about the differences between these two very different groups of people. The country folk and the city folk think as differently as any two groups can think. It only takes time with my in-laws to know just how different the two groups are. Don't get me wrong. I love that everyone of Kent's family asks me how in the world we can live up here every time one of them ventures up to visit. I've also been told we live in the heart of the city (as if to say that we are located in the center of all the crime). While I may be surrounded by dangerous criminals I still can't believe that I am any less safe than they are being surrounded by all kinds of dangerous animals...and sometimes just as dangerous people.

I think back to the days when I used to visit my small town cousins and poked fun at them for knowing every person in town, or calling the Creek a Crick. Then I recall the laughter as they would poke the same fun at us. Back in the "city" we would pull up at the light and my one cousin would say of the car next to us, "Don't look at them or they're gonna shoot you." The best comment to sum it all up was when my cousin said to me, "When I drive down the road the only thing I'd better stop for is a horse."