The Heartland

So, today’s painting is a first for me. It’s the first time a story and a sentiment inspired a painting. My beautiful home state of South Dakota has been in the national news the last couple days and some of the coverage has not been very positive and some of the mean memes on social media just make my heart hurt. While it’s ok to have discussions around differing views, it is just not nice to be mean. Anyone who knows me knows that I follow politics and my leanings are to the left of center. To be clear, I am not a fan of the current Administration. I think my conservative friends think I’m a communist – ha – and my liberal friends say I’m nuts to think that anyone who supports the current Administration can have any redeeming qualities. But, they do and I know they do. You see, I hail from a little farming community in South Dakota and the politics there tend toward the right, generally. But, this post is not about politics – it’s about people. Generally it’s about South Dakota people and specifically about two of those people. You see, I love South Dakota and when someone says something negative about my home state, I have a visceral reaction. Now, I don’t mean to romanticize too much because there are knuckleheads in South Dakota too, as there are everywhere in the world. But, there is still, to this day, a sense about the place and the people that makes me feel lucky indeed to have been raised in this type of environment.

There is a reason they call this area the heartland – these people are some of the best in the world. They tend to be rugged individualists with old-fashioned values that center around family and honesty and dependability and helping others. They live by a code that is foreign to people who have only lived in a city setting. Farmer’s lives and their livelihood depend on the weather and that is just something that those who haven’t experienced this could ever fully understand. I’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve lived in big cities and nothing can compare to the feeling I get when the plane lands in Sioux Falls or Rapid City and I smell that air and know that I will be around my people. It’s just home.

Now let me tell you about the two people in my painting. They truly are the best of the best and the salt of the earth. I know because one is my little sister and the other is her husband of nearly 40 years. They live on a farm west of my little hometown of Winner, South Dakota. Meet Jack and Ellie. They are just good people. And, they raised good people, all three of their children are talented and centered and giving and genuine, like their parents. Jack is never as happy as when he’s got one arm outside his truck window and he’s driving through a field to check on cattle or crops. And, my sis, she’s just happy when her kids are happy. These days, she is happy because she has five grandbabies who fill her life with joy and, hopefully again soon, with basketball and baseball games and piano recitals and ….

But, what’s a painting with out a story and some humor? So, one time I was visiting my sister’s farm. Jack was in the field and Ellie was in town working and the Schwann man came to the house. He walked right in the house and proceeded downstairs. In my most dignified but indignant voice, I said, “May I help you?” He looked at me and said, “Oh, I thought Ellen was at work. I didn’t know you were here. I’m just gonna see what she needs and get it from the truck and I’ll be right back. I just stood there trying to process this information. So, I watched as he came back up the stairs, went out to his truck, retrieved some items, and then went back downstairs and put said items in my sister’s freezer. I’m still trying to figure out how he would have a clue what my sister needed. Maybe she left him a note, I wondered. When he came back upstairs he wished me a good day and I asked him if I needed to pay him or if he would send her a bill. He said, “Oh no, thank you. We’re good. She just left me a blank check on top of the freezer. I left her a note with the amount I wrote on the check.” I just stood there. Yes, this really happened. This is South Dakota. At the time I was living on the 12th floor of a townhome in Washington, D.C. and it felt like a culture shock but comforting at the same time.

Another time, my husband and I flew into Sioux Falls and, as always, my sister picked us up. This trip had us staying at a hotel in town because it was a big family reunion to celebrate my Mom’s 90th . So, my Mom’s house was full and my Sister had hunters in from Minnesota (pheasant season, you know). On the drive to Winner it occurred to me that it would be after 11 pm when we got to town. So, I asked my sister if the office at the hotel would be open. She indicated they would not and that it closed at 8 or so. I wondered how we would get the key to our room. My sister said that the person at the hotel had put our key in an envelope with our name on it and had placed it in a mailbox out on the highway. Yup, this really happened too. This is South Dakota.

I hope you like my little painting. I’ve also included a picture of the real barn at Jack and Ellie’s place.

Sending hugs to all my people and warm regards to those I don’t know yet. L’Chaim ✨