People sometimes ask me what it’s like to live in Cleveland. Back home no one can imagine living in Mississippi. Even other folks I’ve met in the South can’t imagine living here. Mississippi in general, and the Delta in particular, have such a reputation that people just can’t picture themselves here. That the local culture…
Cleveland has a lot to offer for a small town. There are restaurants, shops, bars, hotels, a university, even museums. Given that the population is only about 13,000 people, it’s very impressive. Furthermore there is a strong community. The people seem genuinely happy and the problems of the world very far away. Cleveland is a…
The Mississippi Delta does not rank very highly in a lot of things. Those include health care outcomes. Rates of obesity, diabetes, and cancer are very bad around here. The same goes for life expectancy. There are many causes of which poverty is likely nearthe top. However the agricultural chemicals farmer use probably don’t help….
One of the first things I noticed about the Delta was how isolated it is. The nearest large city, Memphis, is over 100 miles away. It is also here that ones finds the closest national airport. The only chain stores around are Kroger, Walmart, and various fast food resturants. Even the major internet service…
Since moving to Mississippi I’ve spent most of my time around Cleveland, only venturing out when travelling to Jackson or Memphis. But there’s a lot of land in between those places. Sometimes I’ll be driving down Highway 61 and see a plume of smoke in the distance and wonder what it’s all about (more on…