No vitriol, no politics, just America.
A farm town, some 14 miles west of Twin Falls, by GPS, prepares for a Friday night ritual. There is a lot of things happening in the Magic Valley tonight competing for attention. A game in Filer, and the big draw, the Twin Falls County Fair. A carnival, lots of foods, and a rodeo. A small town, and a small high school.
The bleachers on the home side are wood planks, with the paint peeling. The floors are planks also, with most of the paint gone. An outdated structure, but filled with fans. A band, too small to perform a half time show is set in the middle, as a pep band. Two trumpets, one being the band director, a handful of clarinets, and flutes. a trombone, 6 saxophones, from alto to bari. Small town America, on a Friday night. Where else would you be?
Of course, many would read that, and think that it is an America that is gone. I would tell you that I have never seen a more diverse crowd than tonight. Ethnic diversity, racial diversity, and, in such a small town, how times have changed. Yet some things don't. At least the thin skinned, afraid of one's own shadow political correctness, hasn't arrived.
The mascot for Buhl High School is the Indian. They refer to themselves as a tribe, and the band is. appropriately enough, called, "a Band of Indians". One of the cheers the cheerleaders did was to do the old school war whoop, including using your hand to block and unblock your mouth as you do it. Do they do this to mock the American Indians? I would say, that just like the vast majority of teams with Indian names, it is done to honor the heritage. I mean, except for teams named Trojans, who names their teams after a bunch of losers? Utes, Illini, Fighting Sioux, Seminoles, I could go on and on. (Yes, even the Redskins, named to honor an American Indian head coach, with a logo designed and approved by a large number of tribes.) They were so named to honor the spirit of the warrior.
It is good to see people uniting to support a team, even though it was vastly outmatched. There was no obvious segregation of race, no us vs them, (except the other team) Some of the kids looked like they had gone home, and worked on the farm before coming to the game. Some seemed like they went home to study, or more likely on a Friday night, to hang out. Parents, grandparents, teachers, and many members of the town have gathered just like all over this country. True, the fervent, almost religious following of HS football in Texas isn't existent here, not even the passion for the game in Kansas. That is something that I just have to get used to.
I think it is the fact that just being there helps one feel part of the community. That we are sharing in this together. Frankly it made me want to go buy paint, rent a pressure washer, and start on the bleachers. We recognize our differences, but when you are in a small town, it is probably too hard to try to segregate yourself based on the usual differences. We are all in this together, and while we may feel uncomfortable around people that are different, we know that those differences are only superficial, or perhaps cultural. We move on, because we accept the situation, and hopefully we learn from others, and they can learn from us.
The Rockwell picture definitely doesn't look as it once did, If painted today, the faces are different, the clothing is different, but the ideals are the same.
The bleachers on the home side are wood planks, with the paint peeling. The floors are planks also, with most of the paint gone. An outdated structure, but filled with fans. A band, too small to perform a half time show is set in the middle, as a pep band. Two trumpets, one being the band director, a handful of clarinets, and flutes. a trombone, 6 saxophones, from alto to bari. Small town America, on a Friday night. Where else would you be?
Of course, many would read that, and think that it is an America that is gone. I would tell you that I have never seen a more diverse crowd than tonight. Ethnic diversity, racial diversity, and, in such a small town, how times have changed. Yet some things don't. At least the thin skinned, afraid of one's own shadow political correctness, hasn't arrived.
The mascot for Buhl High School is the Indian. They refer to themselves as a tribe, and the band is. appropriately enough, called, "a Band of Indians". One of the cheers the cheerleaders did was to do the old school war whoop, including using your hand to block and unblock your mouth as you do it. Do they do this to mock the American Indians? I would say, that just like the vast majority of teams with Indian names, it is done to honor the heritage. I mean, except for teams named Trojans, who names their teams after a bunch of losers? Utes, Illini, Fighting Sioux, Seminoles, I could go on and on. (Yes, even the Redskins, named to honor an American Indian head coach, with a logo designed and approved by a large number of tribes.) They were so named to honor the spirit of the warrior.
It is good to see people uniting to support a team, even though it was vastly outmatched. There was no obvious segregation of race, no us vs them, (except the other team) Some of the kids looked like they had gone home, and worked on the farm before coming to the game. Some seemed like they went home to study, or more likely on a Friday night, to hang out. Parents, grandparents, teachers, and many members of the town have gathered just like all over this country. True, the fervent, almost religious following of HS football in Texas isn't existent here, not even the passion for the game in Kansas. That is something that I just have to get used to.
I think it is the fact that just being there helps one feel part of the community. That we are sharing in this together. Frankly it made me want to go buy paint, rent a pressure washer, and start on the bleachers. We recognize our differences, but when you are in a small town, it is probably too hard to try to segregate yourself based on the usual differences. We are all in this together, and while we may feel uncomfortable around people that are different, we know that those differences are only superficial, or perhaps cultural. We move on, because we accept the situation, and hopefully we learn from others, and they can learn from us.
The Rockwell picture definitely doesn't look as it once did, If painted today, the faces are different, the clothing is different, but the ideals are the same.
Comments
Post a Comment