Conversations Overheard at Hotel Breakfast

"In 1975 when I worked as a manager at UPS, we had to have a certain amount of minorities on staff. Keep in mind, these two would be part of that, as minorities. . ."

He motions to the two women at his table of five.

"We HAD to have at least one black guy on staff. Can you believe that? We HAD to! I would have rather have 5 white women working for me than one black guy."

The entire table nodded in approval.

"I saw my first black when I turned 18 and took a trip out of Minnesota," the woman said.

"Yeah, yeah, I was nearly 21 when I saw my first one. . . " another replied.

Talk went on to discuss the weather, Harley Wide Glides, tree huggers, what's in the barn, and that cheatin' Mexican man that Martha married.

"For some reason our John Deere had dirt all over it. Like someone had dumped dirt on it."

"I was watching this thing on TV about the Hells Angels last night and Sturgis, and how his own gang was trying to kill him for stealing drug money, and about these women who rode Harleys back in the 1970's and their role in the gangs. . . " she went on and on.

Welcome to South Dakota.