how boring must indiana be to think of this as fun

The Grain Belt isn't sinister, it's just really, really boring.

idk, all those Tom Raper billboards on I-70 are pretty creepy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9D2-sC8wus

The Grain Belt isn't sinister, it's just really, really boring.

― it's not that print journalists don't have a sense of humour, it's just (Laurel), Friday, July 29, 2011 10:33 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

I had thought that Indiana was a Klan stronghold. Also, my car broke down there in the middle of the night during a snowstorm along with an Indian and a Korean friend of mine. We hitchhiked and eventually got picked up by a man who told my friends that they were going to hell for their religions.

The last part is standard for everywhere in at least a 3-state radius. The Klan thing I don't know about.

(*If you count Western PA as its own state, I guess)

My own mother probably believes everyone who hasn't accepted Christ as their personal savior is going to hell, that's not really news.

Southern Indiana (where Petersburg is) is really Appalachia, & so quite different from what's north of Indianapolis. I lived in Northern Indiana for six years, just south of the Michigan border, & that's really part of greater Chicagoland. It is Klan Kountry though, & ICP, & the 70s never ended. I call it the armpit of the USA. I would live there again, though.

I've only got two Indiana experiences - ate dinner at a Shoney's in Evansville one night. I had never seen so many striped polo shirts in my life. (Later I realized that Garth Brooks had played in town and it was 1994, after all.) Also stopped at a country store that had canned vegetables way past their expiration date from the first Bush administration and a sunglasses rack where all the lenses were coated in dust.

Now. I know what it's like to live in a state that offers awful first impressions, but Indiana was just a different beast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTsuhJCW5RY

my gf is going to Indiana today for PIEROGIFEST

http://pierogifest.net/

3 Floyds' Brewing is in nw IN too, one of the better beers in the region

I've seen Amish/Menonite-looking people piling into minivans after stocking up on snacks at a gas station...maybe they were a rogue sect, who knows.

We used to see them eating at Pizza Hut once in a while, and that's going back about 20 years. Which is why I say they may have been Mennonites.

There are lots of Mennonites in northern Indiana who, aside from dressing kinda old-fashioned (bonnets!), live more or less normal Indiana lives.

so really they're just hipsters on some other shit

The Amish can ride in a van, if they have to, they just can't drive. There was a recent fatal accident that involved the Amish.

I used to see Mennonites all the time at the hospital I delivered sandwiches to. Also remember a truckstop in northern Missouri where a guy would tie his horse to a pole and sell pecan pies to travelers. They'll take Yankee cash, if you've got it.

I drove thru IN on tuesday. I stopped at a Stuckeys!

Growing up in central Indiana and having just spent a week there, I'll agree you really have to look to find good restaurant food. Especially anything that is not fried (pork tenderloin anyone?). And it might be nearly impossible to find in a smaller town. When the sweet corn starts coming in though, and the tomatoes, I do miss living there.

It was a huge Klan enclave when I was living there (until 1990) and it wouldn't surprise me if it still is.

The Klan was originally a Southern organization, but the 20th Century revival started in Indiana, where blacks were "migrating north" and "taking jobs" from whites. (sound familiar?)

Indiana may suffer the same Midwestern fate as St. Louis when it comes to cuisine: worst of the north with the worst of the south. Fried sheep brains, anyone?

bunch of aristocrats

Okay, so I have now been to Vincennes and got a whole different feel. I love the old buildings downtown and met this really nice Robert Mitchum lookalike at a record store who was super sweet and nice. We ate at Guppy's and it was the best food I have had in the state. Really not bad. So things started to look up. Driving back to Petersburg though, my depression returned. It's this small town. It doesn't matter what I do here, this particular place is just rank, has a sleazy vibe, racist vibe, I am not myself here at all, I don't even have my usual thoughts. I can usually deal with a bad situation watching TCM but the motel doesn't have that channel. Very challenging.

Yesterday we went to Terre Haute and Bloomington. Loved both places! Bloomington reminded me of Austin circa 1989, maybe even 1986. I was a big fan of Breaking Away and this sweet bartender was patient enough to put up with me geeking out to the film and asking him where the different scenes from the film played out. Had a great glass of wine from Argentina there too, lots of friendly smiles, there were bookstores, nice restaurants, cool buildings really enjoyed the day.

Back to Petersburg where I have just woken feeling blehk despite the awesome day long excursion yesterday. We are here till mid-August. I am planning on spending time out of Petersburg during the week with trips to Vincennes. I have never had such an aversion to a place. I have felt uncomfortable in some places, temporarily, maybe just for a moment, but never like this, where I loathe to wake up here.

Interesting gossip: This Hispanic waitress at a Mexican restaurant in Washington told me the "gringas" like to go hang out at the Mexican store at the edge of town and pick up Hispanic men. I had just been to that store and was impressed with their sundries. It's like little Mexico in that store, they even sold nopales. Anyway the place was packed with men, I figured it was a day labor site. They were polite and friendly, told me where I could find more of my people and liked that I was from Texas asking me about the work there and all. The waitress said that in Washington, IN, White men are not interested in Latina women and so there is a lot of animosity towards the White women because they take the Latino men. The waitress said it's because they are just so bored. I couldn't help but think, yeah, day laborer site for sure.

There are good beers here... that is for sure.

bamcquern: I apologize. I sincerely never want to insult anyone's nawnee. It isn't the whole state, it's this town. I wish I could even say only a few individuals in this town, but it is the whole town.

BTW: Every little town we passed from Bloomington back to Petersburg last night had a library. I really liked that.

growing up in Louisville, Ky right on the border there was an ambient dislike of Indiana that was a kind of civic pride, plus lots of basketball rivalry, no real outcome other than corny / nasty remarks about the Hoosiers on the wrong side of the river- since KY has an identity crisis about whether it is the MidWest or the South, I guess the Hoosiers helped us to feel more Southern maybe?

Oh Kentucky, sweetie, you're the South.

I admit though, it weirds me out thinking about states that are part of Appalachia where the mountains are to the East.

Kentucky's not the South. They're the pie crust for Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Sounds like tera* is writing a Shirley Jackson book.

Teeheee....

I <3 Indiana so much

Was this already posted?

Guy lives in a Wal-Mart for 3 Days.

In Iowa, so it's sort of relevant.

Actually, this thread is more about IA than Wal-Mart, so I will go away.

Had a great conversation with a third generation farmer at the laundry mat this afternoon. It is unfortunate that we were interrupted just when he was getting into stories his grandfather told him about the Great Depression here in Indiana.

This 84 year old man came in and was sweet, telling me all about his life here in Indiana and how he can never find shoes. Then out of nowhere he told me that I could find more Mexicans in Jasper and Washington. I thought, hey, he is 84 and maybe wants me to be happy here and thinks being with my own people will make me happy. I did after all ask the waitress the other day if there was a good dance place in town that played cumbia, ranchero or tejano music.

Anyway, he quickly followed that with how those places have poultry farms and lots of poultry business and I could find myself a good paying job working there. Hmmm, was it my blue and white checkered dress that inspired thoughts of poultry work? I do love chickens. How did he know that? I just thanked him and said I wouldn't be in town long. When he left he told me to take good care of myself. All and all I would say it was a nice day.

what is the opposite of sb?

Agreed! I don't dream about Indiana any more after 21 years in the Pacific NW, but I used to when I first moved here, for years even. *tera your posts are great and very evocative of the strange slow vibe that this region has.

there is something of a Mexican population in Dubois county, around Jasper and huntingburg. My people are there. It is indeed grim but French Lick has these two super cool Edith whartonish turn of the century resorty brain tonicky hotels that are worth seeing. West Baden is one. Don't remember the name of the other.

*tera are you a writer? Cause if you ain't, you should be. These are some damn engaging posts :)

Than you, I am not a writer.

I did once write a piece for Para Mi Magazine on childhood trips to Los Mochis. I have done real cheesy freelance work for Demand Studios but I am not what I call a writer. I haven't written for Demand Studios in two years because I didn't think I was very good at it. I am just experiencing something right now and my girlfriends are all back in Texas so I write to feel better.

Every morning I wake up at 6am Petersburg, IN time, that is 5am, my old, home time in Austin, TX, to make breakfast and lunch for my Sweetie. I will then watch four episodes of I Love Lucy back to back and just hover over falling back to sleep. Around 8am I hear the theme song to The Golden Girls and wake up. I will clean up the top of the desk that doubles as my kitchen, straighten up the motel room then shower. There are some days when I have a list of errands to run, other days I will leave the room only to throw out the trash. I am happier in the room listening to music, television on but muted and face to face with my new best friend, my Mac. Lately I have been feeling I need more sleep. I usually drift off around midnight and it just isn't enough. So yesterday I didn't watch the Ricardo's or the Mertz's and was able to pick up three hours of sleep. I was in much better spirits the rest of the day.

This morning I was looking forward to the same. Around 8am there was a knock at my door and I thought it might be room service so I called out that I was okay today. They usually come around 1pm though. I heard a man and two women saying something about me being in here and how one of them heard me say something. I fell back to sleep before I could figure anything out and dreamt about my friend's wig shop. In the dream this old rotary phone was ringing and I kept picking it up but my hands were just going through it. I finally woke up and realized it was the motel phone across the room. Across the room! So I got up and answered it and caught the time 10:12am. I barely said a word assuming it was going to be a wrong number because no one would ever call me here. This lusty female voice kept repeating , "I'm sorry, hon, were you asleep?" I kept saying yes, yes, mmmhmmm, and couldn't make out who this was and what they wanted. Before I could ask the woman who she was or anything, she said she wondered if I wanted to make $15 and run to the Wal-Mart for her. I then realized this was the motel caretaker. It is not like we have become friends or have even had a conversation beyond weather chit chat. I wondered why she was asking me to do this. She said she was sorry for waking me and hung up.

I am left a bit baffled. Maybe it bothers her I don't leave the room until 12pm on those days I do leave. They don't pick up the room until 1pm and yesterday it was 2:30pm before they ever got here. The room is usually clean anyway with little two little tidy corners, one that holds luggage and the other a bag of dirty clothing. I did laundry yesterday so that corner is clean. There is a tote filled with yarn and knitting needles, a yoga mat and girly weights neatly tucked under the desk/kitchen. I would feel odd running an errand for someone I don't know anyway. I mean someone I haven't really had a real conversation with. She has a vehicle, a child and a husband. She is in her early 30's and she is friendly with a few other women I see around here during the day. Wal-Mart is in Washington, IN, 13 miles from this spot. No, today I do not feel like making $15 running to Wal-Mart.

I can't help thinking that she might think you need the money?

I wear a different dress every day. Though she may not see me every day. I packed for the duration when we came here not knowing when we could get back to Texas. I don't need the money. I still have a tiny bit of my divorce settlement still in savings...

Tera - these are interesting to read esp since I've never been anywhere near Indiana and am sort of fascinated by these sorts of towns. May I ask what you are doing there? My apologies if you've already said as much and I missed it. I mostly read your long posts and skimmed the rest in an attempt to catch up.

Indiana - The Too Long; Did Not Read State

The idea of staying in a "motel" -- almost by definition something small and crappy and occupied by drifters and the temporarily homeless -- in small-town Indiana in the summertime makes me need to go lie down and cry. There must be a reason you couldn't/didn't find even the smallest rental property with its own KITCHEN?? At least that way you could make some tea and look around you and be ALONE during the day.

Um. People who take vacations stay in motels all the time.

Motels? Or hotels? Maybe it's just because of the small town and the "caretaker" at the front desk that I'm imagining it like some ramshackle one-story thing with rooms you walk to outside, and bed spreads dating from 1979.

Like this

http://www.lake-landmotel.com/parklot.jpg

The inside: http://www.lake-landmotel.com/room1.jpg

That's about all there is out in the boonies!

I love those kinds of places. & I have a friend who travels the nation in search of those places; he's a kind of amateur photojournalist of that lost America, without irony.

xp I know! Those pictures are from a motel in my home town.

Laurel, Jesus. For family vacations, my dad used to drive a few hours out of town, register at a motel with a pool, and call it a day. And it would be awesome. If there was an arcade nearby it would be doubly awesome.