What do you do for fun if you live in a small rural town, dauntingly far from the nearest city's plentiful amusements? Upon what resources do you draw to spice up your existence? Letters From Wheatfield provides the answer - and it isn't always pretty.
The fictitious town of Wheatfield is a tiny island in a vast sea of wheat fields and cattle ranges. Its nearest neighboring towns, similarly small, are well over the horizon. But its isolation has no effect on its inhabitants. Theirs is a society of mirthful, blithe, spritely wags - a condition abetted by the presence of not a few eccentric individuals.
In Letters From Wheatfield, two transplants from Manhattan write to a cousin back home about the remarkable community that has assimilated and transmuted them - much to their amazement and great pleasure.
Chapter 1 The Talk of the Town
TO: Mrs. Amelia Kashfloh 29 Bentley Tower Park Avenue New York City, NY
Dear Amelia:
I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say in my last letter. Of course Sarah and I are thrilled that you want to write a book about rural life in Montana, and yes I will send you all the information you want about our little town. It’s just that . . . well, what I was trying to tell you is that I don’t know if Wheatfield is typical of the rest of Montana. You may get a very skewed view of things. You see, this place . . . the people here . . . well, they’re . . . special.
It’s not just that our material environment is different from yours in New York—you know, no Rolls-Royces; our only high-rise buildings are grain elevators—that goes without saying. You may live in the Big Apple, but we’re in the “Big Loaf.” The major difference is that, here in Montana’s Golden Triangle, our towns are at over-the-horizon distances from each other. They’re like little islands in a vast sea of wheat fields and cattle ranges. And this situation forces people to rely on their own resources for entertainment; to focus more on what’s happening in their community than on the outside world; to concentrate on other people’s business. Here, among our 2,000 merry souls, this has been elevated to an eccentric art form. So when you read what I send you, please keep in mind what I’m about to say.
Amelia, this place is . . . oh, what’s that word from the movie I saw? “Pixilated!” That’s what this place is, Amelia, “pixilated.” Most of the people here are of Scandinavian and German heritage, but I’ll swear there were Irish pixies at work in the stories I’m going to tell. Sometimes Sarah and I get a little exasperated with it, but I have to admit it certainly isn’t dull here. Actually it’s kind of fun.
About Patrick Shannon
Patrick Shannon, author of the young reader's book, Viva Cisco, currently resides in Conrad, Montana. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, he worked thirty-three years for a major oil company, bringing him rich experiences from traveling in Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. Born and raised in Southern California, Shannon attended East Carolina and Oklahoma Universities and UCLA. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi scholarship society.
What do you do for fun if you live in a small rural town, dauntingly far from the nearest city's plentiful amusements? Upon what resources do you draw to spice up your existence? Letters From Wheatfield provides the answer - and it isn't always pretty.
Patrick Shannon, author of the young reader's book, Viva Cisco, currently resides in Conrad, Montana. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, he worked thirty-three years for a major oil company, bringing him rich experiences from traveling in Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. Born and raised in Southern California, Shannon attended East Carolina and Oklahoma Universities and UCLA. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi scholarship society.