Old Man Hot Dog Recession

Keep It Rural — What's That Mean?

Oh, the pleasures and pains of rural life. But what is rural? Has the definition and concept changed from 20, 30, 50 or even 100 years ago to now, rural life in 21st century? 

Are there a rural heaven and hell? What if we lived our lives entirely rural and then transplanted to city life; will St. Pete hold that against us at the Golden Gate?  Will he know we remained rural in our hearts to the end? 

And what-in-the-world is The Daily Yonder talking about with that phrase, “Keep It Rural”? Could it be the Yonder’s thinking politics, running on the farmers’ platform? That was awhile back, in 1892 when some farmers tried to launch a new political party, the People's Party (or Populists)? Or is the Yonder implying we head off to D.C. dressed in our bib overalls, barefooted and wearing straw hats to meet our Congressional rural representatives?

These mind-boggling questions may be a bit too much for the farmers already hit with record drought/flood and loss of subsidies or the farmer’s housewife holding down a full-time job and trying to shop for groceries or pay college tuition on a strict budget.  Rural-ites don’t need the extra burden of trying to “keep it rural” without guidelines of what living a rural life means in this 21st century.

 Somebody out there in-the-know can clear this up. A general definition would be suitable. One that doesn’t involve Wikipedia or Prozac. A snapshot shared by a reader could be the best answer of the idea of rural life now or in the past.

We ought to be able to find an answer somewhere. There are rural policies, rural healthcare, rural transportation, rural schools, and rural columnists like Verlyn Klinkenborg who writes for the New York Times — countless resources to draw from  -- but more importantly there are life experiences that tell the tale.

I would like to offer a recent account of what I believe is rural life in the past and in the present. I was hoping to have photos to share from this venture, but unfortunately my digital camera had to be returned to the factory and I resorted to my conventional camera to capture the moments. But when I took the film in for developing I was told the results were 24 white images on white paper. The technician went on to say, helpfully, that he felt the problem was either the film or the camera. So I will attempt to draw you the pictures with my words.

Articles 20VN | Retail Customer Service and a Hot Dog Stand ...

There's opportunity in the air. Can you feel it? Here's what I mean. I'm beginning to notice many stores have already cut down on staffing, this I'm sure, in reaction to the economy's woes. Several store managers I work with have told me that their business is good, but even those managers are beginning to consider recession-spawned management techniques. Recession-spawned management techniques include things like cutting advertising and paring staffs. That's OK for them, but it spells opportunity for those who remain aggressive. The whole thing reminds me of a story I heard a long time ago. It went something like this:

An old gentleman owned a hot dog stand. His hot dogs were famous for blocks and blocks, maybe even miles and miles. People loved his hot dogs. He had a couple of people working for him and advertised in all of the local papers. He hired kids to put signs on poles and he even made calls on groups of people to encourage them to stop and try his hot dogs. Once people tried his hot dogs they were hooked. Business was good, so good in fact that he was able to open a couple more stands and put his son through college.

One day his son came home and begin to talk to his father about what he had been learning. "There's a recession on out there pops." The young man said. "You'd better stop spending so much on advertising, and let some of your help go."

"But business is good son." The old man defended.

"Sure it is now, but you'll see there's a recession on and you'd better get ready." His son replied.

The old man considered what he had heard and considered the amount of money he had spent for his son's education. Finally he decided that perhaps he should cut back and wait for better times. After he stopped advertising, cut some of his help and closed one of his stands his business began to pull back dramatically. In reaction to the downturn he cut advertising even more and tried to run the stand by himself. To make matters worse, one of his old competitors built two new stands in the old man's territory. "Lucky I had my son to warn me", thought the old man. Eventually his hot dog business failed. His son had been right--there was a recession on.

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