Give Me the Midwest

I readily admit I am a country bumpkin But I am no buffoon I am in this to build others up To help others win To raise up my neighbors and my friends We hear about the coastal towns Both east and west coast have terrific reputations Their people are more sophisticated, more stylish, chic. It is fashionable at both coasts to be less hands-on. To be less community oriented. In the big citiies of the coasts, people on the streets do not speak. They do not smile. They do not say “hi”. They walk past each other, like trotting lamp posts. Not noticing faces or inflections. Not noticing humanness in each other. I am in New York City today, trying to figure it out. Where is a guidebook to help me unlearn social niceties? How can I immediately become less human? Less caring? How do I not say “hi” to everyone I pass? Is there a manual? A cheat sheet? A U-tube video? Too late. I am already here, feeling miserable. Wishing I was back in the Midwest where it is okay to care about strangers.