Muncie, Indiana

Muncie Indiana: It’s a place of little consequence to anyone, I must admit. Little consequence except of course, to the people that live there.

Many counties, cities and towns along the windy bracelet that is the Midwest claim to be ‘America’s hometown.’ In my opinion, however, Muncie, Indiana is the only place in the world who can brag on that particular fact. This comes from the fact that it is a college town, built mainly around the illustrious Ball State University. This also comes from the fact that Muncie, Indiana doesn’t have much else to brag on.

It’s a small town, with little excitement and yet none wanted. The busy world of the 21st century matters little to the people there. They allow the college students to come and go like a bubbling river while they sit comfortably in haggard easy chairs which each predate the birth of America.

It is a place where a girl such as myself can be born, be married to a man (inevitably also a Muncie-dweller) raise a houseful of children and die in her bed—all in Muncie. It is a place where yellow lights mean ‘slow down’ and not ‘speed up.’ It is a place where a woman saying: “I had Starbucks coffee today” is parallel to a Chinaman saying: “I drank tap water today” or John Kerry in his Presidential campaign: “I have discovered life on Mars.”

There are a few legends and fewer ghost stories, but it takes a lot of air to issue a ghost story so most people have forgotten them.

I hope someone from Muncie, however, will read my story and think it the queerest thing anyone from Muncie should be writing a story longer then two paragraphs.
And that is the greatest justice I can do to America’s Hometown.

Bethany D

Submitted: Monday 17th May 2004, 1:30 PM

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