Hot Glue Guns and Poster Frames

Before moving west, I had heard several fabrications, exaggerations and crazy things about it. Every little thing that happened was fabricated and plastered on the news as if this was the worst place on Earth you could live. I heard about the insane ratio of women to men, the extremely high prices on everything, the overcrowded schools, the housing market that was beyond inflated, the long lines at any store, the emptiness of shelves when you needed just about anything, the violence due to the influx of people from all over the county, the large number of trucks, and the list went on and on. I heard. I saw people's faces when I told them "I'm moving to Dickinson" and I received several comments such as "why would you do that" and "are you crazy".

Although I have only been here for a little over a week, I can already say that all that you hear fits into two very distinct categories: absolutely, positively untrue and hit the nail right on the head. The dangerous town and violence and crazy people that are depicted on the media are certainly not anywhere near what they make it out to be. I went for a run this morning (equipped with my cell phone and a husband at the other end who was waiting to come rescue me if anything went awry) and it was beautiful. It was peaceful, it was an awesome route, I didn't get yelled at or hassled once (that's more than I can say about Fargo/Moorhead), and I felt like I was in a beautiful small town North Dakota. It's not all that bad people, it's really not that bad.

In a little over a week I have met some amazingly friendly, welcoming people. People who are opening up their city to outsiders, welcoming them in, and treating them as if they've always been a part of this place. It's pretty neat to witness. And don't get me wrong, I have not had any heart-stopping, dangerous feeling experience where I felt out of my comfort zone, and for that I am so incredibly happy.

However... When you hear people say that you can't buy anything you need- believe it. Just believe it. I have gone to Walmart (yes, it is my only choice) several times over the course of this week trying to set up my classroom and our house. I've run for several items, and I've gone for more specific items, and every time I have found empty shelves. It's the weirdest feeling in the world. Extra sheets for the guest bedroom, none. Duct tape, none. Certain brands of toothpaste, none. A frame for a poster, not a chance. So today when I realized I needed a hot glue gun to assemble some banners I had made for my classroom, I headed to where else but Walmart. "They won't be out of hot glue guns" I thought "who buys hot glue guns anyways? There aren't thousands of oil workers running around with hot glue guns". After parking my hot wheels car amongst a sea of very large trucks at Walmart, I made my way into the store, and to the craft isle where I was certain I would grab my hot glue gun and some sticks and be on my way. Instead, this is what I found:

See all those empty hanging spots. Yep, every single one of them was marked with "hot glue gun".

I guess there are many, many men driving their big trucks around town with poster frames and hot glue guns, so I should be on the lookout for that.

The adventure continues.