hangin' w/ my homies

had to get my car registered in nevada & get a nevada driver's license as well, this morning. i've been back for about 8 mos., so i think i may have broken some laws or something. such is the life of transition (another topic).

before going into work, i planned to go to the fallon/fallabama dmv. the place opens @ 8 am, so i figured i'd show up a little early & do some reading. i parked right in front of the main door- in hopes of being the 1st in line, so i could get out of there & get to work. i know that sounds crazy, but i'm still knee-deep in governmental inspections. anyway, back to hangin' w/ my homies.

as i'm reading, i do the peripheral vision thingy & start to notice that people are lining up @ the door & my dumb ars is sitting in the car watching it get huge. i denied the feeling of feeling stupid & kept reading. i did this w/ hopes that the people saw me sitting there before they got in line. this grand idea of mine was IDEALISTIC, to say the least. i mean, come on, how many people honor "line etiquette" any more? most people nowadays don't even acknowledge that other people inhabit the earth w/ them.

something i observed from my reading post in the car, is the commonality/similarity of those in line. they are, what i believe, the most prominent demographic/culture/sub-culture of fallon. they are hard-working cowboys, farmers & ranchers. i also noticed that my little hyundai elantra was a midget amongst giant, killer trucks. on both sides of me were trucks that i could only see the tires from my viewpoint.

so, as the line got to a place of discomfort for me, i got out of my car fully expecting to walk to the end of the line, but secretly hoping that somebody would be a stand-up character. i got about half way down the line & the first 4 people, separately, said that i was there first & to go ahead of them. yes, my homies had my back & made sure i got to the front of the line. i thought that was so cool. there's still a lot to be said about country hospitality. black is black & white is white w/ them. a man/woman is only as good as his/her word. if ya don't work, ya don't eat. i help you & you help me. i enjoy these parts of their culture. of course this list is not all inclusive of their values that i like or dislike.

as i'm waiting, first in line @ that, i had this idea to interact/engage w/ my "homies". do you ever remember the sesame street shows that had the, "one of these things is not like the other"? my homies were talking about pulling power, engines, brakes, cab size, mechanics, of farm/ranch trucks. it's pretty dorky, but here's what i said (i didn't know what to say), "you got plenty of room in the cab"? this was the beginning of numerous "non-responses" from my homies. here's another question i asked, "how long do the brakes last on these bad boys"? okay, here's another one (i can't resist), "how much hay can ya haul in that monster"? always the same response from my homies: pretend the weird guy didn't say anything & keep on talking like he's not there.

i didn't receive this as rude (i would have in the past), but chalked it up to comfort zones & commonality. the first picture i got in my mind standing there was the little song, "one of these things is not like the other". after that picture i asked myself (not out loud), "well, i'm a country dude, too, right?" it was @ this moment that all past thoughts of being "country" became comical. both sides of my family are from arkansas & were cotton farmers. me, however, grew up in lemon valley (trailer park), then lived over by king's row in the nw. i'm afraid of horses. i don't know anything about cars, trucks, or the mechanics of either. i don't care for working outside & don't know how to "hitch" anything up to a truck. i just learned how to change the tires on my cars- don't laugh. the smell of poo/manure makes my gag reflex go off & cows are scary. i don't know how to fix fences, brand animals, or anything like that.

i guess what i'm tryin' to say is this: i'm about as country as most of you- & that's not very country (w/ the exceptions of mindy & duffy). i felt like a fish out of water w/ these guys. i don't blame them for our lack of commonality, because we all have our peeps. in thinking on all of this in the 15 mts. i was waiting- another thought came: there's no way we (Christ-followers/hillsiders) can be everything to everyone. even if we tried, our effectiveness would be minimal @ best. in remembering a book i read called, The Purpose Driven Church, by Rick Warren- he made many points relating effectiveness with regards to demographics. ultimately, we affect/influence people like us. we can relate to them & they can relate to us via numerous aspects of life: socioeconomic, location, etc.... in re-visiting this concept, i realize the need to focus on whom i'm most effective w/ & investing my time on them.

i've found that the hungry bird is often much like us- that's why they're asking "us" to feed them. today, i consciously stop trying to be everything to everybody & start working on my demographic. it became crystal clear, today, that i'm not effective w/ cowboys, farmers, or ranchers. they looked @ me like i was a quirky nerd-boy.

keep truckin', partners!