Rapid City, SD was an opportunity for the Empowerment Tour to experience classic Middle America. We were set up at the Central States Country Fair, surrounded by a full range of game booths, carnival rides and food. The pig racing was a highlight for me. I was surprised at how I actually got into rooting for “my pig” to win. She didn’t, and it was still OK. We gain some, we loose some; just like getting a job. The important lesson though, is to fully participate and give it your all. On the way to Rapid City , we stopped off at the Corn Palace in Mitcell, SD. Rather than being “corny”, it is an example of amazing ingenuity and patience. Although it was clear to me that the façade of the Palace was created with corn cobs, I didn’t get it at first that what I thought were fabric wall hangings was also created out of corn. I was also impressed with the ingenuity of the people in Rapid City , in how they transformed a dingy alley into Art Alley. Local artists fill the walls with all sorts of colorful images and statements. They even painted the trash cans – every conceivable space was covered with art. As part of Summer Nights in the City, one can find a variety of musicians performing in the alley, as well as on the streets which were closed off for a variety of crafts, food and performances. It also takes ingenuity for people to create meaningful work for themselves: A young woman plans to create a blog on beauty, to create credibility for herself to move into the beauty field. A former journalist will use his journalism skills to write articles on trends in the health care field, as a step on his way to apply his communication skills to this field. An IT Consultant, who was laid off from a group practice, will create presentations to give to Executives on innovative ways to use technology to impact productivity. As I travel throughout the country, I am impressed with the ideas that the people have for developing jobs and businesses for themselves, as well as improving our world.
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