To confirm or dispel a few rumors, yes I have moved from the city limits of St. John, but not from the pages of the St. John News.
Hudson needed a home. For a short time Theo and I needed a home as well. Through this network of great readers of the News a nice placed isolated farm house away from “the city life” became available that suited us all.
I’m not a farmer or a rancher by any means, but I do enjoy the solitude of a hidden country home. I enjoy the peace and quiet when I go home at nights, and the fact that the only dogs barking are the ones I can tell to shut up.
Like I said I’m not a farm boy though. I know wheat because I drove for a cutting crew once. I know corn because it is really tall, and looks like what I see in the grocery store, but other than that it’s all greenery to me.
My previous stint at country living was at Kanopolis Lake. I spent six years living there and commuting 45 miles each way to work in McPherson. The drive was a drag, but a quiet evening at the lake when I wasn’t on the road some place was worth it.
In the wintertime it was pristine, and peaceful. In the summer, not so much.
I lived next to the boat storage building. By the end of August I, like most of the other year-rounders, was wearing a shirt that said, “Why do they call it tourist season, if we’re not allowed to shoot them?”
However living in the country also had its drawbacks.
Nothing is worse to a smoker than getting home at 10:30 at night and realizing you only have two cigarettes left in your pack and the nearest store is 20 miles away.
“Do I go to bed now so I have both in the morning, or one and one?” Life is full of too many decisions already. But you learn to adapt.
My new location isn’t quite 20 miles to the nearest store, but it’s still a fair bit from town. I’m keeping the location secret, but let’s just say if Pelican Pete was still around, he would be a distant neighbor.
One thing I do remember about living in the country, and my time on the “farm” near Timken, is contrary to common beliefs, even though I don’t farm, there is never a dull moment.
But that my friends is another Two Cents Worth.
