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I have heard my hometown expressed as all of these names (and there are probably a few I have missed). Regardless whether I refer to Medicine Lodge with a demeaning title or a more favorable name, I cannot deny that it is my home. 

As I was sitting in church this morning (my first time ever at 7 AM mass I might add) my mind started to wonder. There are only two places in my little secluded world that I feel safe, at ease. Those two places are in church and in Medicine Lodge. While my mind is still meandering away from the sermon, I started to wonder why. 

I don't doubt or wonder why I feel safe and at ease in church, in fact I am pleased that I do, and I hope that I can always turn to the church and God when I need a safe place. But to me, ML and the church seem interconnected in my life somehow. 

First of all, even if I go to a church I have never been to, with absolutely no one I've ever seen in my life before, the atmosphere, the proverbial service, and the conformity is somewhat comforting. I feel connected with everyone in the church. Everyone in His house at that time is there for the same purpose. 

When I'm at home, I get the same sense of conformity. I may sound naive when I say this, but to me, Medicine is like one of those towns you read about in novels, the ones that are a couple decades behind the rest of the world, yet no one seems to mind. The familiar faces, the memories at every corner, and above all else, my family. 

Yet the reasons I love my home are the same reasons I find myself returning less as I grow older, apart from my family. Where the familiar faces and memories are comforting, in a conflicting way, they can also be extremely overwhelming. In the same sense, the way everyone seems to stay the same is refreshing, but at the same time, I have spent three years now away from the monotonous, phlegmatic life in ML. When I do return home, I feel out of place, like I don't belong somehow. 

Whether I belong or not, I love my hometown. Being raised in Medicine Lodge sets me apart from all but 1500 people in this world, and like the Montgomery Gentry song, "I'm pretty damn proud of where I come from." 

Peace, Love, and Indians