I had an interesting conversation yesterday. Thursday is my usual day off since I tend to work on Sunday’s. So, Thursday I was doing tasks around home. I noticed a car that was slowly making its way down the street but on the wrong side of the road. It was going really slow and stopping in front of a lot of houses and just looking at them. I’ll admit it made me think of some of the video’s I’ve seen about porch pirates stealing packages placed on the front steps of the home. As the car slowly made its way down Thunderbird, I walked down the sidewalk to see what the occupants might be up to.
Just then the car in question pulled onto Sawgrass…my street. They pulled into one of my neighbor’s driveways and one of the people got out. Since they were right by me, I asked if I could help them, since they looked like they were looking for something, or that they were lost. The woman who got out of the car showed me what she was holding, campaign material, and told me that they were talking to people about the upcoming elections.
The other person also got out of the car so I visited with her a bit too. She used the opportunity to ask if I was going to vote in the upcoming election. I told her yes, I would be voting, but I generally didn’t tell people who or what I was voting for. She asked me what was most important to me in the upcoming election. And I told her I wasn’t a one issue kind of guy. I could tell she was a bit frustrated with me because I wasn’t clearly answering her questions in the way she wanted or that fit nicely into her form.
She and I continued to have a good conversation about things. She told me that she wasn’t from South Dakota but grew up in Mississippi and her car license plate said Texas. Since I lived here, she asked me what the little animals are that run across the road. I told her I call them gophers. Some people call them ground squirrels. She wanted to catch one, to which I replied, “Good Luck!” She made the comment that there sure was a lot of corn here in South Dakota. I took that opportunity to ask her if she’d seen the Corn Palace yet. She looked at me rather confused. I told her you’ve got to go downtown and see the Corn Palace; it’s what Mitchell is known for.
The conversation turned to people. She admitted they were obviously different, she and her coworker were black. She said the police had been called on them once since they’ve been in town. They’ve had a few doors closed in their faces. But then she paused and said, “But you know, of all the places we’ve been, South Dakota is definitely the friendliest.” She said people have generally been friendly and talkative and have mostly treated them well. My thoughts immediately jumped to what we call “Dakota Nice.” Yes, it is a real thing!
You know, it was really great to hear that comment from someone who was an outsider to our neck of the woods and who looked different than me. Yes, this is a nice, a good place to live. That message was a great reminder. Is ours the perfect community or the perfect state? Of course not. There are certainly plenty of challenges and issues to deal with, which is why it is important to study up on issues, candidates, and to vote!! But still, to hear from someone who doesn’t live here, that this is a nice place to live, well, that is a wonderful affirmation about who we are as South Dakotans. I have a feeling we all, and I know I do at times, tend to get caught up in the negativity of the day and age in which we live. But I’m going to hang on to the message these women brought to me. We do live in a great place. And working together and living into God’s Kingdom each and every day…it will only get better. Let that be our aim!
Pastor Keith