Joe Drape

I enjoyed having Drape in class last week. It was nice to meet the face behind the writing. After reading the book I could tell the connection that Drape had made with the town and the people of the town but after listening to him talk about his time there and all of his experiences I can tell it meant a lot more to him.

The way he talked about the people there made it sound like Drape spent a lot more time there than he actually did. He talked about how amazing they were as neighbors and how a simple knock on the door turned into an afternoon of cooking out.

Although I personally have no desire to live in a small town he made his experience seem entertaining. I think it would interesting to get to do what he did. Get the chance to meet these people and understand what it means to live in a community of people that not only care about you but treat you like family. I have grown up going to Maize and there was nothing small about it. I have grown up being surrounded by people and even graduating with people that I had never met before in my life. I think it would be a great experience to get to spend a little bit of time in a small town where there's not a lot going on. It would be fun for awhile but I don't think I could do it for very long. For that I give Drape great respect for going from the big city of New York City to a small town in Kansas and making the best of it.

I enjoyed reading the book and after meeting Drape I enjoyed it that much more. After hearing his stories it made it more than just a story, it made it come to life.