There are reasons to want to live in Casey, Illinois. There are reasons not to want to, too. This entry is for those of you who know no details about true small town life, and while I personally can't claim to know much, Clint grew up in this town, and he has drawn me in.

Let me start with Clint's immediate surroundings - his home and farm. Clint's dad farms corn and soybeans, and Clint's mom helps run the family propane business. She also homeschools Clint's brother Lucas, and his sister Jenna lives at home while she's going to nearby Eastern Illinois University. Their house is outside of Casey proper, and at night, outside, you can hear the wind and see the stars. There's not a sound except crickets and frogs, and the sky is black velvet.

Behind the house is a manmade pond on the edge of the woods, with a tiny cabin with a porch swing. Imagine what you can do at a pond in the summer: lazily swing at sunset, swing on a rope over the water, sleep under the stars in the back of a pickup, ride fourwheelers through the trees. The old quarry (now filled with water) that his family owns is the same way: when I visited last summer, the kids (Clint's cousins) brought their floaties and lounged in the warm water. That's another good thing about home: family lives near. Clint's lucky enough to have both sides of his family within a couple of miles, and family gatherings are always crowded.

Now, into the town. The town of Casey (population: 3000) has two dollar stores, one grocery store, one stoplight, and more churches than you can count. While there are occasional idyllic scenes, there are also run-down houses and stores such as Casey Snacks and Smokes. The high school (consolidated with a nearby school district) has recently been condemned, and classes for the rest of the year have been held in locker rooms and stairways. As they're saying around there: there's no money for the schools, but the VFW hall (complete with bar) is brand new.

I've saved the best for last: Moonshine, Home of the Famous Moonburger. This is a single house out in the country, and also it's the smallest town in the world: population 2. Moonshine was featured on one of those morning shows, and they've now had guests from all over the world (once we met a couple there who had driven from Ohio JUST FOR THAT, and they've had visitors from Japan and elsewhere farflung). They serve all sorts of burgers (alas, none meatless), and a few minutes in here will leave you smelling like grease for hours. One of my biggest life regrets is that I didn't get a picture of the inside (cowardice!), so I'll just say that you must visit it yourself to see.

To summarize the good and not-so-good points of small-town Illinois: Good - family nearby, seeing the stars, close to nature, not constantly surrounded by material temptations (e.g., a mall), knowing everyone. Not-so-good: family moving away if needing a job or more education, distance from resources (few organic veggies!), education issues (having to consolidate schools and have kids travel hours every day to school), few jobs and low income potential. Like I said, there are reasons to live there and reasons to not, but, I suppose, I could make a similar list about Arlington, Texas, or Evanston, Illinois. It may be enough for you just to know that places like Casey, Illinois exist.