Small Towns and the passing of an Archtype

John Wilder recently posted an essay about how modern economies-of-scale have resulted in a culture of spectators.

He followed up a few days later with another essay where he looked at the spectator culture from a different angle: The Lighter side of dating

If you seek lions, go to the Serengeti

A trained biologist can look at an ecosystem and make some accurate guesses as to the kinds of animals he might find. If he looked at the Serengeti Plains or the Thar Desert he might predict large cats. If he studied Baffin Island, he might predict ground squirrels, Arctic Fox and migratory raptors.

The environment shapes the inhabitants and the species that are a key-in-lock fit thrive in that environment. And those same species can be totally absent in other environments where their characteristics become a cost instead of being a benefit.

Gary Wichman passed away two weeks ago.

While we moved in different social circles and we had very different personalities, his youngest daughter participated in several activities as my oldest daughter so were were "bleacher buddies".

Obituary HERE. Part of the obit:

Gary was a tremendous athlete throughout his life. He played basketball, softball, and golf long into adulthood. He completed the Chicago Marathon and 14 years of the Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinac bicycle ride, better known as the DALMAC. Gary shared his love of sports on and off the field. He coached youth football, basketball and t-ball for many years.

Gary was a strong community advocate and had great passion for Eaton Rapids. He was instrumental in securing funds for Eaton Rapids downtown revitalization, creating the riverwalk and bringing new business to the city of Eaton Rapids. Gary served as Vice President of Eaton Rapids School Board and started the Eaton Rapids Education Fund, Eaton Rapids City Council, Eaton Rapids Community Alliance-Teen Space (Board Treasurer), Founder of Eaton Rapids Development Corp., DDA-Downtown Development Authority, Eaton Community Health Alliance, First United Methodist Church Finance Committee, Kiwanis Club, Kiwanis Spring Brook Nonprofit Housing Association, City of Eaton Rapids Planning Commission, Eaton Community Heritage Foundation, Eaton Rapids Historical Foundation, Michigan Main Street Community, and Founding member of SOM. Gary worked for PNC Bank/National City/ First of America/ American Bank & Trust for over 40 years.

(Gary) was known for his hard work ethic and strong integrity, while also creating humorous skits at company meetings. Gary was a music enthusiast and was a gifted accordion player, air guitarist and air drummer. He loved spending time in the Eaton Rapids Paddle Club, coordinating over 40 years of euchre tournaments and spending time on Michigan's lakes and shoreline. Gary purchased many kayaks for his 12 grandkids to enjoy at their family lake house. He loved swimming across the lake to visit his life long friend, and playing instruments around the bonfire. 

While some might dismiss Gary as a large fish in a small pond, it is impossible to imagine a person as connected as he was existing in a large pond. Large ponds have too many cross-currents and hidden agendas (and hidden loyalties) to produce people like Gary. Large ponds have too many distractions and while people like Gary are never common, but I think they even less common in large, "process dominated" environments like big cities.