"Nobody Really Cares": The Rural Voter Problem

[Buckeye_Democrat]

39. I went to Wilmington as a kid in the late 70's and early 80's to see the Bengals practice.

I think that was at Wilmington College. The people in that area seemed pretty normal to me. My parents would stop at "Duff's Smorgasbord" later, and about the only unusual spectacle at that place was the HUGE size of some of the patrons.

A few years later, when I could drive, I traveled to Paint Creek Lake to camp and fish. That was in Highland County, I think. It reminded me of Deliverance (without actual violence or rape)! I didn't fear anyone there, but my friend was scared because of the unfriendly glaring we encountered at places like a small gas station and a bait shop. Perhaps some of the locals thought we sounded like "Yankees" or something, but we were from the Dayton area not too far away! Another odd thing... they didn't seem to want to point at anything! I'm aware that pointing at people can be considered rude, but the locals seemed to wave their arms with such a wide sweep (when we asked for directions) that we honestly couldn't tell where they were pointing! Even when I asked them if we should take the left or right fork in a road, they'd do the same sweeping motion that encompassed both sides and say something like, "It's over that way!" (Maybe they didn't know the right answer?)

Then a few years after that, I saw an article in the Dayton Daily News about that area. It was from 1992 because it was about the upcoming Presidential election between Bush Sr. and Clinton. If I remember correctly, there was barely a majority of them who knew that Bush was President and MOST of them hadn't heard of Clinton at all!