Hutchinson is the hub of the most conservative district in a very conservative state. I remember watching primary results come in for Kansas, and observing that many Democratic districts were decided by the one person that showed up, if any did at all.
Still, I was surprised that our hosts dedicated two radios - one in the living room and one in the garage - to playing praise music 24/7. I was surprised again to see a nearby dentist's office with an LED billboard dedicated entirely to declaring Obama to be the antichrist. I had to get closer to even tell what the business was. Also, I was surprised at the lack of Trump signs, though some were certainly present. Apparently Hutchinson is as conflicted as the rest of the GOP over being represented by a blowhard reality TV star.
I don't mean to disparage our amazing hosts. Listening to praise music is no offense, it just gets to me after growing up playing it in church for years. I also don't know our hosts' political beliefs. More importantly, I feel that the specifics of one's beliefs shouldn't matter more than overall intent if we're going to judge people. That doesn't mean that well-intentioned beliefs can't be harmful or counterproductive, of course, but it's at least useful to approach that harm as a consequence of ignorance rather than malice. It's much easier connect with someone and show that their beliefs don't match their larger intent than it is to actually confront someone who totally opposes your hopes for the world.
Anyway, all of that is a terrible way to introduce some wonderful people. We stayed with Sonia's friend Zach and his family, whom she knew from school. Zach described himself as a bit of a black sheep among his family when it came to politics, which I could identify with. Zach's mother provided basically a buffet of amazing Mexican food, and it was really great to pig out after trying to eat cheaply for the last few weeks. Zach's father did our laundry for us and did everything he could to make himself available to help if we needed him. They both were extremely helpful and I'm really thankful for everything they did.
We went out to a couple bars with Zach's older brother and sister-in-law. We were advised to avoid politics, which I decided was good advice when I read the brother's shirt, which commanded the reader to make him a sandwich using the same malfunctioning-typewriter font that all edgy shirts are apparently required to use. The bars were fun, though. First, we had some kind of uninteresting beer while surrounded by the class of eighty-something from a local high school. They started playing music from what was quite honestly the worst professional sound system I have ever heard, so we left. The next place advertised some good cans from Firestone Walker, but apparently no one ever actually ordered them. The bartender had to search for something like 10 minutes before she found some in back, officially making me "that guy" despite my repeated offers to take something else. Finding it became a matter of honor to her, though, so I only felt slightly guilty. Several rounds of shots happened purely because Sonia is from Boston. I got repeatedly destroyed at pool. At some point, I made friends with a very loud construction manager who was there with two of his employees. Privately, his employees told me in very direct terms that it sucked to work for that guy, but they didn't mind getting some beer out of it now and then.
Back at home, Sonia showed Zach the TV show Lost. I fell asleep while we made fun of the fact that nearly every character around Jack existed solely to make him look badass by comparison.
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