City vs Country

Story ID:	2318
Written by:	Betty (BJ) Roan
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	Toledo IL USA
Year:	2007

I tried to ignore the woman at the counter and concentrate on clearing some of the work off my desk, yet her words distracted me. She was from the city and was here to pay a speeding ticket deservedly received while traveling through our fine County. The woman wasn’t happy. After paying her fine, she made one final, disgusted comment, “Get me out of this small town and back to civilization.”

That woman’s words reminded me of the vast difference between city and country. We live in a country where there are two totally separate worlds, the world within the city limits, and the world outside. I have lived the majority of my life in a large metropolitan city, yet always kept this small community close to my heart.

I have known people from all ethnic and social groups. I have traveled from New York City to San Francisco, Chicago to Houston, and places in between. After many discussions concerning the differences between country life and city life, it seems most people inside the city limits do not understand those outside. Urbanites believe their world is the only worthwhile place on earth. They seem to think farmers and their families should be pitied. After all, farm people are not smart enough to figure out their mistake, they chose to live in the country.

While living in Raleigh, North Carolina, a still wet-behind-the-ears college graduate had the nerve to say to me, “I’m proud of you for getting out of there.” The indefinite “there”, meaning the farm where I grew up. I had to bite my tongue to keep from giving him a verbal thrashing. Then I reminded myself, he was from Philadelphia, he didn’t know any better.

Many urbanites believe country people dress as if they are cast members on the long-running television show, Hee Haw. They seem to think farmers only wear bib overalls, and their wives cotton print house dresses, their feet stuffed into heavy work shoes with thick socks folded down over their ankles. They believe instead of doing their hair each morning, women still tuck their uncombed locks under a garden hat or wrap a scarf around their head. They think all farmers chew on wheat straw or tobacco, spitting brown liquid out of their pickup truck window, uncaring whether or not they miss their target and spew the disgusting fluid onto an unsuspecting pedestrian.

I would like to set the record straight. First of all, where would America be without farmers? The shelves in the grocery stores would be empty. I can see it now, men in their Gucci suits, women in their designer gowns, standing in long lines, waiting for their government supplied food rations. Think about that, you city folk, the next time you start feeling superior to your country cousins.

Farmers don’t wear stylish suits and shiny leather shoes to work. Suits are not washable and farmers do get dirty. It isn’t the dirt you see on the unwashed bodies of people who don’t care about their appearance, but honest dirt, dirt earned from a long day of hard work. Farmers are up at dawn and often in the fields late into the night.

A farmer’s paycheck isn't based on how high they climb up the corporate ladder in their freshly shined shoes, but whether or not it rained too much or too little. Then there is the seed rot, stalk rot, gray leaf spot, Asian soybean rust, bacterial blight, and the multitude of other diseases that can ruin a crop. We mustn’t forget those destructive little insects: soybean aphids, rootworms, cutworms, leaf beetles...I could go on, but surely I have made my point. If it’s a good year for crops, the market is saturated and the price goes down. If it’s a bad year for crops, the market price goes up, but the farmer doesn’t have enough produce to sell. Often, after paying the high cost for seed and fertilizer, farmers barely break even and sometimes finish the season in the red. Do you know any bankers or stock brokers who didn’t get paid because it rained too much or too little?

But what about the wives you say? The majority of the women are not at home in their aprons, cooking, doing the laundry, or cleaning the house. The wives are respected members of a diverse mix in the work force: doctors and nurses, administrative assistants and clerks, lawyers and factory workers. These women work hard to keep their way of life alive; because they know the best place to raise a family is in the country. A large number of small farms would have gone under long ago, if not for that extra paycheck.

Farmers are the backbone of this great country. Without them, we couldn’t survive. Remember that the next time you hear jokes or see a television show making fun of farmers.

The next time you city people drive through farm country, pull off the interstate, drive by some of the farms and enjoy the beauty of a field of corn or soybeans, row after row of bright green as far as the eye can see. And while you’re there, don’t be surprised when the people wave. Go ahead, wave back, we still believe in being friendly, it’s the country way…and if you’re not driving 91 mph in a 55 mph speed zone, you won’t get a ticket!