Bringing home a bit of Thermopolis

People who study cultures have often written and maintained the “territoriality” of groups they study. That seems to me to be a very elitist way of saying there’s no place like home. That was brought “home” to me by a recent visit by my sister-in-law and my niece. They were very pleased with themselves for having driven nearly the width of the country from their home in Georgia to California to Oregon to here from whence they would continue their travels on the way to Minnesota and home again.

While I admired the energy of my eighty-year-old sis to undertake such a journey, it was a question as they were leaving from my niece that renewed the idea of how much our local area dominates our thinking.

“Uncle Rex,” she asked, “are you and Aunt Barbara going to go somewhere to watch the eclipse?”

Fortunately, she had asked me before I could foolishly ask her the same thing. I opined that we were in a prime area to observe the phenomenon.

She looked puzzled at that, and shared, “Our paper said that we were in the perfect place to see it. There are a lot of people coming to our town, and we’re having a problem figuring out how to provide services for all of them!”

I probably should have shared with her how proud of our local community I was for the planning and concern shown for those coming here to witness something that they may have only one opportunity in their lives to experience.

I’d very much like to think that they would return to their homes not only impressed with the awesomeness of the natural universe, but also the character of their hosts in a small Wyoming town. Many of us will no longer be in this life the next time something of this order comes this way, and this was our chance to deal with strangers as other than economic windfalls, so I hope a visitor gives witness back “home” of the warmth of a greeting received from a resident of Thermopolis, Wyoming.