LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: BENTONITES TREAT GUESTS LIKE FAMILY

Spending a morning drinking coffee and eating doughnuts with the good people of Benton is just the sort of thing to put some sunshine into a rainy day.

The county seat of Scott County, just east of I-55 and a 15-minute drive south of Cape Girardeau, was the location last Tuesday morning for a "Meet the Press" morning with some of us from the Southeast Missourian. This was the first of what will be several such get-togethers around our coverage area, and we couldn't have picked a friendlier place to start.

The idea is simple: We want to expand our regional coverage, particularly in the counties surrounding Cape Girardeau County. So we decided to go to these counties and talk to the folks who live and work there. Mainly, we want to listen to what they have to say.

A lot of what people have to say in a small cafe on a rainy morning is what you would expect. Much of it is just good-natured joshing. Even the world's weightier problems get lighthearted treatment for the most part.

But all of that is not to ignore the fact that Benton is part of the real world, and the people there are aware, informed, concerned and bewildered just like the rest of us. From time to time, the talk at the County Seat Cafe turned serious.

Crime, politics, taxes, the weather, the new E-911 system just approved by voters, hunting, schools -- all of these and more were brought up throughout the morning. Once in a while someone even mentioned the newspaper, and everyone graciously told the visitors from Cape Girardeau they liked to read the Southeast Missourian. Some made suggestions for improvements, and that was what we were there to hear.

There was even entertainment, thanks to Letcher Bom, who at age 90 is quite a conversationalist and story-teller. It doesn't take much to get Bom to show off a little by placing his cap on one foot, artfully kicking it into the air and having it land square on his head. Pretty impressive, even after you have seen him do it several times. "Been doing it since I was 18," Bom said. See, practice does make perfect.

Even though the Southeast Missourian provided the coffee and doughnuts, the real host -- and a gracious one -- was Wayne Landis, the proprietor of the cafe. Landis helped publicize the fact that managing editor Joni Adams, circulation sales manager Joyce Hinze, advertising account executive Paul Ervin and myself would be there to visit.

More than that, Landis made sure there was plenty to eat and drink, and then he took Joni and me on a tour of the sheriff's office, jail, judicial center and courthouse, introducing us to everyone as we left doughnuts for those who couldn't make it to the cafe.

If you think good manners and hospitality are hard to find, you don't have to look any further than Benton. By the way, if you're looking for a good lunch, stop by the County Seat Cafe. I personally recommend the kettle beef.

With the good experience at Benton, we are looking forward to more "Meet the Press" mornings in other counties around us both in Missouri and Illinois. Can you think of a better way to spend a rainy day?

~R. Joe Sullivan is the editor of the Southeast Missourian.