Copeland, KS - Sublette, KS

[kerosene]

My BF and I have decided to get out of the city and go live in his family's farm house in Kansas. It is somewhat close to both Sublette and Copeland. When we go to this area, I realize once again how enormous the sky is, and appreciate the magnificent beauty of the Earth.

Copeland has the population of about 400. Sublette is about 1200. That counts all the college students that come back to see their families there in the summer. We are planning to add another 1% to Copeland's population. My BF knows everyone in this town, as he grew up here, and left at 18. Much of this town is centered around agriculture. Most jobs in the area are having to do with agriculture. The people are kind and unassuming. The kids have a swimming pool in town, where swimming lessons are taught. The adults have one bar in town (owned and operated by a couple who also own the small liquor store). At the bar, there are 2 drinks served: Bud Light and Coors light. This is the only place to go hang out in Copeland and it is open until 2 am. The bar walls and ceiling are lined with a multitude of beer posters, featuring airbrushed almost-naked women. I have heard countless stories from my BF about the different people he has known in the area and every story is interesting in some way. If it isn't a story of someone finding happiness in their individuality, it is a story about some obscure trajedy or a story about someone who just lost their way and either went to jail or left and made an interesting story for some other town. Everyone is different in these places. Most of them live in farm houses, dwarfed by neighboring feedlots and fields of corn or wheat. Some live in small houses with carefully manicured lawns in town, down the street from the small market or the restaurant. There is a person known locally for his exceptional dedication to his job as a postman and his kindness. There is another known for his ability to create tools out of stone. There is yet another known for her constant attention to your beer mug. All of them have an interesting story and each individual is different. Nobody cares what kind of car you drive or whether you went to church on Sunday. Nobody minds if you decide to have a campfire in your backyard, if they even know about it. The newspapers are covered in stories about someone making a difference in the community. The streets are not all paved. It is a peaceful community and I look forward to our life out there.