By Erin Fuhr | Echo
Tom: You went on a vacation and you chose Muncie, Indiana?
Jerry: My wife and I have a timeshare.
Tom: In Muncie?
Dear "Parks and Rec,"
You have given us a reason to celebrate Muncie. You've caused hundreds of people to point to their Netflix screens and yell, "I live there!" You've made the rest of America understand what it's like to live in the cornfields-and almost made them jealous of us. You have given us pride in small-town diners and an identity in Midwestern waffle binge-eaters.
There's a lot to love in a show about people living solely off steak and incorporating marshmallow shooters into their daily lives. But the real reason we kept clicking the "next episode" button on Netflix was that, deep down, it felt like we were watching parts of our mundane lives spiral out of control into a tornado of miniature horses, greasy burgers and trivial town issues. We loved JJ's Diner like our own Ivanhoes, because we understand harboring a restaurant obsession to the point of buying specialty items like mugs and T-shirts. We booed Eagletonians and their fancy polo fields because we know what it's like to have a rivalry against our swanky neighbors. Like true Pawneeans, we tell ourselves, "IWU can keep its student union with vaulted ceilings and a movie theater. It's the people that really make a school." We cheered for MouseRat just like we cheered for our local school bands, packing into coffee shops and trying to sing along to the words of its best-known songs.
Now, the theme song has lodged in our heads for the final time. We've wiped the last tears from our eyes because of the cuteness of April and Andy's son, Burt Snakehole Ludgate Karate Dracula Macklin Demon Jack-o-lantern Dwyer (Jack for short). "Parks and Rec," our time together is over, but that doesn't mean our unconditional small-town pride has to end. You made us love our own Pawnee a little bit more, and gave us a reason to be proud of a town with not much going on (except maybe Ivanhoes). None of us were thrilled when we drove through Upland for the first time and saw about nine buildings, but we've all developed some sort of loyalty to it.
"Parks and Rec," you have made living in an Upland seem endearing and heartwarming. Long live Pawnee, Upland, Sweetums, Lil' Sebastian, Ivanhoes, Circle K and Ron Swanson.
Sincerely,
"Parks and Rec" fans and small town dwellers everywhere
