Five O'Clock with Theral Timpson

Theral Timpson

It's Five O'clock. The work day's behind. You're looking to unwind, but still have your mind. www.fivewiththeral.com

  1. "Didn't Feel Like a Creeker Boy." Courtney Tanner on Queer Life in Polygamous Border Town

    09/13/2024

    "Didn't Feel Like a Creeker Boy." Courtney Tanner on Queer Life in Polygamous Border Town

    Some of us groove out on life in the country.  The city has its congestion and myriad problems: crime, high rent, noise.  There are so many things one has to think about in the city—for example, a parking space and, oh yeah, clean air.  Gone are the myriad stars at night.  But country life has its challenges.  In Sinclair Lewis’ 1920 novel on this topic, Main Street, a girl from St. Paul, Minnesota marries a boy from the country who is now a doctor.  He wants to settle in his hometown.  When she first walks down its Main Street after unpacking in her new house, a certain Stephen King-like horror envelops her.  But it will only get worse at the first dinner party she throws.  Yes, she sees a life of boredom ahead.  She also feels suddenly dulled by the local prejudices. Main Street is one of the great American novels.  We have all felt what it is to be Carol Milford—a strong young personality who comes into conflict with the small town mentality of Gopher Prairie.  Still, if we live long enough, we might come around to the importance of towns like Gopher Prairie—having a small house with your own tomato patch out in the backyard of our broad expanse— in defining what it is to be a happy American.     So what is to be done about that small town mentality and those prejudices which lend themselves so well to satire?  They are very real and must constantly be questioned and expanded. Rural towns ultimately benefit from characters like Carol Milford.  Which brings me to today’s podcast.   Courtney Tanner is a journalist in Salt Lake City who has covered the polygamous towns of Colorado City and Hildale on the Utah/Arizona border for The Salt Lake Tribune.  Last month she attended the first drag queen show to take place in the town, staged at the town’s first bar.   She wrote up a marvelous article weaving the history of the town—my hometown—with one of the performers at the drag show, Violet Vox.   This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fivewiththeral.com/subscribe

    19 min
  2. Do Polygamists Have Minority Status in America? with Shirlee Draper, Former FLDS Member

    05/10/2024

    Do Polygamists Have Minority Status in America? with Shirlee Draper, Former FLDS Member

    How do you define minority in the political sense?  Is it merely a group with fewer than half the population?  Are polygamists minorities in America beyond the simple math with all that the political term confers?Shirlee Draper is a former member of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints community.  When the group was taken over by Warren Jeffs, now jailed for life, she bailed.  It wasn’t easy.  She says that she wanted to leave the community for six years, but it was less friendly out “with the majority.”  Shirlee and Theral come from the same town on the Utah—Arizona border, which for a hundred years or so offered a romantic and religious reprieve from modernity. Both of them left the town and the religion. Shirlee is now the Director of Operations for Cherish Families, a nonprofit offering assistance to those in her hometown setting. Is it only for those who are leaving? No. It is for anyone and everyone.Much has been written about the polygamists in Colorado City.  The FLDS religion has been a magnet for sensationalist news stories from all of the major American channels.  Perhaps the most famous book on the town and culture was written in 2003 by former outdoor journalist John Krakauer, entitled Under the Banner of Heaven.  Neither Shirlee nor Theral are fans.   Many books have been written by former members who often talk about “escape.”  This word holds no meaning for Shirlee or Theral.  Escape from what?  A vibrant strong community that served as their home “village?”In his book, Krakauer relies heavily on the term “cult.”  Shirlee says the word has little utility for framing her hometown and is harmful, pushing away the healing possibilities of integration and societal cohesion. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fivewiththeral.com/subscribe

    49 min

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It's Five O'clock. The work day's behind. You're looking to unwind, but still have your mind. www.fivewiththeral.com