Somewhere in Time

Seven Things

I have had almost a year living in Tennessee, during which time I have noted many differences between here and Wisconsin, some minor, some major.

Overall, I can tell you that I much prefer Wisconsin and am so thankful that I was born and raised there, and spent 71 years of my life there. Other than saying people may be kinder down here, there is little else that endears itself to me.

It is a good thing that at my age and with my health issues, I am slowing down, or I am not sure I could stand the slow pace here.

I find myself literally, "passing" everyone in the grocery store, on the sidewalks, and of course, on the roadways.  People down here walk slowly, talk slowly, drive slowly, do everything slowly!  Not only are we much "quicker" in Wisconsin than down here, but I was quicker than most of my Wisconsin friends!  There were a few I could barely stand to shop with because they dawdled.  And I do not mean window shopping— mean actually walking!  My mom was fast and Daddy was too and so us kids picked that up.  We move along quickly with whatever we do. NO ONE is that way down here and it drives me nuts.  I guess it is just another way of God teaching me to slow down and have patience, always a trait of which I possessed little.

Appreciate Wisconsin, all my peeps there.  That state has the best seasons, the most diversified areas (The eastern coast along Lake Michigan, Door County, the northwoods up to the U.P., the Mississippi River on the west, taking you down to the Driftless Region, great small-town cities and of course Milwaukee, if you want really big city, and so much more), and great people.

Wisconsin has so much more than TN in every way but one.  They have more fast food joints—if that is your thing!  It is not mine. Pals, Bojangles, Mr. Dees, Sonic, and many others, plus all those (except one) that we had in WI. And you cannot go far at all without seeing a McDonalds over and over.  Same with Bojangles and Pals.

Which brings me to the big seven things I miss the most down here . . . besides the snow, family and friends, and flat straight roads!

1. I miss Culver's.  These people would not know how to act if they had a Culver's!  Probably every other fast food restaurant would close down.  They just think they have good ice cream here.  They would not believe Culver's custard or the ice cream at Rudolph Cheese House. And yes, I really miss the Rudolph Cheese House, but basically vegan, they would offer me little now.

2. Menard's!  Oh my goodness, why doesn't Menard's expand down south!  They have a Dollar General every mile down here. They would love Menard's and even Fleet Farm.  Tractor Supply is a poor substitute, as even people in Rapids found out when one came to town.

3. Pizza Ranch!  What can I say?  It was a one-stop restaurant.  They have a place down here called Pizza Inn.  Joey and I stopped and it was a joke.  It looked nearly the same on the outside, but was half the size and even the pizza they made up for us was not that great, not to mention the small, poor offerings on the buffet.  I am loathe to even call it a buffet.  Ugh.  Never will we go back. Now, let me add that Portessi Pizza always will be my favorite pizza, but I am trying to stick with chains here.

4. Fleet Farm.  Again, why are there no Fleet Farms down here?  I can tell you these backwoods people would love one! They would line up with their whole paycheck in hand. There were things I bought at FF that you could find nowhere else, not even Amazon.

5. Rivers and lakes.  Trust me, they have a couple of lakes here, like Wautauga, but they really do not have a clue about lakes.  And rivers?  They call a creek a river!  Some of them are maybe two feet wide and they barely move and when they are a bit larger, they are really just brown slush.  There are a couple bigger rivers over by Chattanooga I know, but not here. Growing up with the Wisconsin River right there, I took it for granted, as did I take for granted all the lakes around central WI, not to mention when you head north.  Yes, there are mountains here, but if I had to choose, I would take the water.

6. Woodman's!  I so miss that store.  If one of those popped up here, never again would anyone go to Ingles, Krogers, or Food City. Forget the lower prices in Woodman's, the never-ending choices alone would blow away these people.  I can recall the first time I went and when I got to the back and started past the endless meat counters, I was all the way into dairy when I realized I SILL could barely see the other end of the store! If you do every aisle in there, I am betting you walk at least two miles, as just hitting where we needed to be was always more than one mile! That store is employee owned.  Why not bring that concept down south.  I grant you, my metro area of about 140,000 would not be the first place they would bring one, but I would drive to Knoxville!

I guess I should not complain.  I am in a city big enough to give me pretty much everything else, except the main thing I miss.

7. The Marshfield Clinic.  People, people, people . . . you have no clue what a gem that place is in comparison to health care facilities down here. Now, I am sure a few of you prefer Rapids doctors and hospital, but coming from me who has had multiple surgeries and many serious illnesses/ongoing medical issues, let me tell you, there is nothing like that Clinic. We were so spoiled thinking we could go anywhere and get the same care.  Nope. Every test I have needed, I am sent to a different facility in the area.  Nothing is done "in house" so to speak, not even a simple x-ray.  It is a pain in the butt, not to mention some places you are sent seem pretty "iffy."  In an area this size, we have three or four hospitals, but they have all been swallowed up by Ballad Health, and when you check what their rating is, it is not very good. There was nothing like the "one-stop" services at Marshfield Clinic. I always said the only thing better was living close to Mayo, and I knew people who went to Mayo and could not get the right diagnosis or care and came to Marshfield and found it! Right there in small town central Wisconsin.  You are very, very fortunate. Trust me on this one.

As I said, I miss a lot of what my home state and small town had to offer, but after nearly a year here, those are the things I miss the most. Just goes to show you that you should take nothing for granted, not even the grocery story you love or the wonderful custard from Culver's.  And certainly not your favorite doctor (Dr. Ruta Pakalns) and the Marshfield Clinic.

14 Dec 2019