Kirjahaku

The Midwest...thoughts of long country roads, fields of corn, red barns, white picket fences, and a simple life that is happy and peaceful. Maybe. Small town people are there for each other. Sharing stories in the grocery story, after church, at the barber shop, or over the fence in the backyard is a staple of the culture of the Midwest. Maybe. You see, there are some stories that no one will share...not with acquaintances, neighbors, friends, or even family. Those secrets are what you'll find when you read about four small Midwestern towns: Steubenville, Ohio has a steel mill graveyard; there is a very bizarre bazaar every year on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Mackinaw City; Dyersville, Iowa is famous for the Field of Dreams, a baseball field created for the 1989 movie starring Kevin Costner; however, no one speaks of the real ghosts in the town; and finally, you'll learn more about Udall, Kansas than how it was destroyed by an F5 tornado. What the tornado left behind, and the scathing mysterious corruption in the town is the worst disaster imaginable. You decide. If you live in the Midwest, you know the untold stories. You don't talk about them. If you live elsewhere, decide for yourself because these are the stories no one shares...until now.

Six years ago, I interviewed my father to share his experience as a sailor during World War 2. He was in his eighties, and I wanted to have a memoir to share with family and friends. As he talked, he began sharing stories and memories that no one, not even his wife of 60 years remembered. He taught me the meaning of "the greatest generation," what it meant to him to take care of others, and how important a lesson we all should learn regarding a generation that is slowly fading away.