The Marines made him an 81 mm mortarman which means, obviously, that his job is to fire the 81 mm mortar. In the 2d LAR the mortar is carried around in an eight-wheeled light armored vehicle called (as you can probably guess by now) an LAV.
Mike is happy with his assignment for several reasons. First, he does not have to carry the 81 mm mortar which is a one heavy son of a bitch. Second, he gets to ride rather than walk. Third, even though he has an infantry MOS (military occupational specialty), his job does not, in his words, involve breaking down doors to enter buildings which may be filled with bad guys. Instead, his job is to blow up the buildings containing the bad guys and thereby save everyone time, effort and danger. His mother and I like that, and I agree totally with the concept. Why use rifles when heavy artillery or a B52 carpet bombing will do the job? My philosophy is that in war and litigation, there is no such thing as overkill.
Our chance to spend a few days with Mike fits in nicely with the theme of this post—family. It should be obvious to anyone reading this blog that I love living in a rural area and believe that the world would be a better place if everyone lived in a small town. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what makes rural, small town life so different from life in the city or crowded suburbia, and I’ve concluded that it’s due to many factors.
I’m aware that I’m basing my conclusions on limited data. I grew up as an Army brat moving from one Army base to another. I attended college at a small liberal arts school in Pennsylvania and graduate school and law school at the University of Florida. Clearly, none of that exposed me in any meaningful way to life in the country or in the city or suburbia. Thus, all I have to go on in comparing urban/suburban life with country/small town life is 37 years living in crowded Pinellas County, Florida, and the last two years living in Fannin County in rural southern Appalachia. Even so, my gut tells me that that my experiences and observations here probably hold true for most rural areas and small towns.
One thing I’ve noticed is that family is very important to people around here. I’m not talking simply about parents and children; I’m talking about extended family—grandparents, cousins, second cousins, nephews and nieces. Sometimes I get the impression that everyone around here is related to everyone else either by blood or marriage. It also seems like all or most of this extended family has not strayed too far from the roost; they all seem to live in or near Fannin County.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that people around here tend to have deep family roots in the sense that they know their genealogy, who their grandparents and great grandparents were, and who their extend kin and distant relations are. One gets the impression that their family roots are important to them. It is not uncommon to see a notice in the local paper that a family is having a “homecoming.” This is where extended family members—old and young alike—gather for the weekend. In many cases this involves a visit to spruce up the old family cemetery. When I first read about homecomings I was reminded of the practice of ancestor worship which prevails in some Asian cultures.
By contrast, my sense is that extended family ties and family roots are less important to folks in urban areas. For one thing, I suspect that urban families are more likely to be dispersed with family members living in different cities and states.
I believe that the strong stress on family is one of the reasons that living in a rural area with a small town feels different than living in a highly populated place. There is a greater sense of connectedness, community and shared values. The people seem more grounded and rooted. There is less division and more consensus. Because they are comfortable with who and where they are they have less compulsion to separate themselves from the maddening masses through bizarre dress, different lifestyles and aberrant behavior. We all have seen the email pictures of weirdly stressed wackos in Walmart. I guarantee you will not see anything like that in a rural Walmart.
I know I sound like a limp-wristed, corduroy jacket-wearing, liberal sociology professor, but I really would like to figure out what it is that makes me perceive that there is a difference between country folk and city folk. For one thing, I’d like to know whether there is any objective basis for feeling the way I do or whether I’m full of beans and engaging in a giant romantic fantasy.
But do not fear. I promise that I will not go soft and academic on you. As tangible proof of that, I am trying to find out whether it is possible to buy a working 81 mm mortar on the black market. You see, I have this deer and mole problem in my garden that I would like to take care of…
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