Some personal business and a desire to see old friends and colleagues in New Mexico was sufficient reason to leave the Wisconsin winter for a few days.
I get to Des Moines and my phone rings. It's Kris Wisnefske. "Hey John, can we get the Turner Hall for early morning, March 25? It's the only time we can get Justice Abrahamson down here."
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is being challenged in the forthcoming election. Wisconsin has a terrible system for seating Supreme Court justices. Millions of dollars from out-of-state sources have made for some nasty campaigns for the court.
There seems to be widespread support for a reformed system. The Republican-leaning Wisconsin State Journal favors a merit system. The Democratic-oriented Capital Times favors publicly financed elections for the court. Even The Monroe Times, not otherwise a fan of publicly-financed elections, favors them for state Supreme Court Justices. Either change would be a vast improvement.
The next day, traveling west of Emporia, Kan., home of the Emporia Gazette and iconic journalist, William Allen White, I make the calls to Turner Hall, and connect them with Kris to arrange for March 25.
Although my Swiss ancestry genetically predisposes me to favor hills and mountains, I enjoy driving across the Great Plains with its sparsely traveled roads and wide-open spaces. Instead of the usual U.S. 54, I opt for U.S. 56 for a change of pace. Those open spaces and broad skies are conducive to reflection, mental restoration and seeking the answers to life's persistent questions.
How come there is something instead of nothing? And if there were nothing, what would it be? Darkness? Space? But that's still something.
And if the universe started with the big bang some 15 billion years ago, what preceded the big bang?
And if a year is measured by the time it takes the Earth to encircle the sun, how do astronomers estimate time between the beginning of the universe and the formation of our solar system? I suppose it was as if the solar system was formed and the Earth would have been orbiting the sun. Next time I run into an astronomer or astro-physicist, I'll ask him or her.
I suppose one always can take comfort that God has the answer. But as my classmate, Susan Blumer, once questioned our Sunday school teacher at St. Johns UCC, "If God made the Earth, who made God?" I don't recall our teacher's answer to Susan's logical question.
Then there's Einstein's assertion that man will never be able to travel faster than the speed of light. I don't know about you, but I'll settle for the hideous prospect of something less. It's a practical matter - I'm approaching Dodge City.
Some years ago in September, Sherry and I were traveling through western Kansas - at considerably less than the speed of light, but too fast for the exacting standards of the Kansas State Patrol. The patrolman was very amicable. Easy for him - I was the one being written up.
The summons directed me to appear in court in Dodge City in October, on my birthday, no less. That would have been inconvenient. And Dodge City has a storied history of taking a dim view of lawbreakers. Besides, my case was weak. The authorities of Dodge City would have been unimpressed with my haste to get back to Monroe's Cheese Days celebration. So I exercised my option of sending a check for $80.
Since that brush with the law, I have crossed Kansas many times, successfully evading the long arm of the law.
Kansas is an interesting state. In his book, "What's the Matter With Kansas?" Kansas native Thomas Franks seeks to explain why a state once exemplified by "prairie populism" has turned so conservative, and why, especially, low-income Kansans vote against their economic interests. Franks contends Republicans have successfully united economic conservatives of the financial establishment with the social conservatism of Kansans. In particular, he asserts an affinity for God and Guns, and an antipathy toward gays, has trumped economic interests to put Kansas in the Republican camp.
While his thesis is interesting, it cannot be the entire story. Kansas has elected a female Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, clearly demonstrating Democrats can win in rural America. Even as I'm passing through wheat and range country, Kansas Public Radio informs us that President Obama has tapped Governor Sebelius for secretary of Health and Human Services. I think she's a great choice.
I pass through Elkhart on the southwest corner of Kansas, and across the western part of Oklahoma's panhandle, into the high range country of northeastern New Mexico. In another hour I'm in Clayton. It's a nice town. When I made my living as head of New Mexico State's agricultural economics department, my duties often took me to Clayton. I head for the Ecklund Hotel and some green chile stew. Don't let the Swedish name fool you - they have excellent Mexican food there.
After enjoying green chile stew and coffee in decorous, tasteful territorial ambience, I head down the lonely stretch of state highway 402 to connect with U.S. 54 at Nara Visa. It's a peaceful, idyllic scene. The late winter afternoon sun casts long shadows across the dry range. Hues of brown and gold blend with the cloudless blue sky. The windmills and water tanks are nostalgic reminders that, however economically precarious, some vestiges of the romantic old west are still with us. And we're thankful for that.
I'll soon be in Tucumcari, fabled stop on old Route 66. I'll check in with Michael and Catherine at the Historic Route 66 Motel - a squeaky clean room for thirty bucks, including tax. And tomorrow, head for Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley on familiar, lonesome roads traveled many times before.
- Monroe native John Waelti is former Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota; and Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University.
I get to Des Moines and my phone rings. It's Kris Wisnefske. "Hey John, can we get the Turner Hall for early morning, March 25? It's the only time we can get Justice Abrahamson down here."
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is being challenged in the forthcoming election. Wisconsin has a terrible system for seating Supreme Court justices. Millions of dollars from out-of-state sources have made for some nasty campaigns for the court.
There seems to be widespread support for a reformed system. The Republican-leaning Wisconsin State Journal favors a merit system. The Democratic-oriented Capital Times favors publicly financed elections for the court. Even The Monroe Times, not otherwise a fan of publicly-financed elections, favors them for state Supreme Court Justices. Either change would be a vast improvement.
The next day, traveling west of Emporia, Kan., home of the Emporia Gazette and iconic journalist, William Allen White, I make the calls to Turner Hall, and connect them with Kris to arrange for March 25.
Although my Swiss ancestry genetically predisposes me to favor hills and mountains, I enjoy driving across the Great Plains with its sparsely traveled roads and wide-open spaces. Instead of the usual U.S. 54, I opt for U.S. 56 for a change of pace. Those open spaces and broad skies are conducive to reflection, mental restoration and seeking the answers to life's persistent questions.
How come there is something instead of nothing? And if there were nothing, what would it be? Darkness? Space? But that's still something.
And if the universe started with the big bang some 15 billion years ago, what preceded the big bang?
And if a year is measured by the time it takes the Earth to encircle the sun, how do astronomers estimate time between the beginning of the universe and the formation of our solar system? I suppose it was as if the solar system was formed and the Earth would have been orbiting the sun. Next time I run into an astronomer or astro-physicist, I'll ask him or her.
I suppose one always can take comfort that God has the answer. But as my classmate, Susan Blumer, once questioned our Sunday school teacher at St. Johns UCC, "If God made the Earth, who made God?" I don't recall our teacher's answer to Susan's logical question.
Then there's Einstein's assertion that man will never be able to travel faster than the speed of light. I don't know about you, but I'll settle for the hideous prospect of something less. It's a practical matter - I'm approaching Dodge City.
Some years ago in September, Sherry and I were traveling through western Kansas - at considerably less than the speed of light, but too fast for the exacting standards of the Kansas State Patrol. The patrolman was very amicable. Easy for him - I was the one being written up.
The summons directed me to appear in court in Dodge City in October, on my birthday, no less. That would have been inconvenient. And Dodge City has a storied history of taking a dim view of lawbreakers. Besides, my case was weak. The authorities of Dodge City would have been unimpressed with my haste to get back to Monroe's Cheese Days celebration. So I exercised my option of sending a check for $80.
Since that brush with the law, I have crossed Kansas many times, successfully evading the long arm of the law.
Kansas is an interesting state. In his book, "What's the Matter With Kansas?" Kansas native Thomas Franks seeks to explain why a state once exemplified by "prairie populism" has turned so conservative, and why, especially, low-income Kansans vote against their economic interests. Franks contends Republicans have successfully united economic conservatives of the financial establishment with the social conservatism of Kansans. In particular, he asserts an affinity for God and Guns, and an antipathy toward gays, has trumped economic interests to put Kansas in the Republican camp.
While his thesis is interesting, it cannot be the entire story. Kansas has elected a female Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, clearly demonstrating Democrats can win in rural America. Even as I'm passing through wheat and range country, Kansas Public Radio informs us that President Obama has tapped Governor Sebelius for secretary of Health and Human Services. I think she's a great choice.
I pass through Elkhart on the southwest corner of Kansas, and across the western part of Oklahoma's panhandle, into the high range country of northeastern New Mexico. In another hour I'm in Clayton. It's a nice town. When I made my living as head of New Mexico State's agricultural economics department, my duties often took me to Clayton. I head for the Ecklund Hotel and some green chile stew. Don't let the Swedish name fool you - they have excellent Mexican food there.
After enjoying green chile stew and coffee in decorous, tasteful territorial ambience, I head down the lonely stretch of state highway 402 to connect with U.S. 54 at Nara Visa. It's a peaceful, idyllic scene. The late winter afternoon sun casts long shadows across the dry range. Hues of brown and gold blend with the cloudless blue sky. The windmills and water tanks are nostalgic reminders that, however economically precarious, some vestiges of the romantic old west are still with us. And we're thankful for that.
I'll soon be in Tucumcari, fabled stop on old Route 66. I'll check in with Michael and Catherine at the Historic Route 66 Motel - a squeaky clean room for thirty bucks, including tax. And tomorrow, head for Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley on familiar, lonesome roads traveled many times before.
- Monroe native John Waelti is former Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota; and Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University.
