Small Town Living

There was a time in my life when I would have sworn that I’d never live in a small town. I’ve never been one of those who complain that there’s nothing to do; I always seem to have more than enough on my plate. But provincial attitudes bothered me, and I perceived entrenched views that often were at odds with what I thought was right and proper. And it seems that everyone knows everyone else’s business, and that they tend to mind it instead of their own. It’s also very difficult to change your social status in a town that you’ve grown up in. You’re always somebody’s son or daughter, you’re always “from” over there or out yonder, and you keep that stamp on your forehead no matter what your education level, choice of occupation, or even annual income. So much for the stereotypical small town ways. About the only thing I’ve learned that I think is worth repeating is that there are always two sides to every story. We often don’t stay for the flip side of an issue, but I finally have experienced first hand the good things about small town life. Granted, I moved into the community as a stranger, so that the preconceived notion of where I fit into the town’s fabric was not an issue, but at first I was wary of what I expected to be small-town small-mindedness. There is some of that, but then there has been some of that in all the places I’ve called home, and they span the country and a little bit of Europe. Now I’ve found some things that I thought had gone away from our society. I really enjoy walking into a store and having people recognize me and call me by my first name. That makes me feel like I belong. Getting packages is easier, too. I used to have to go to the post office to retrieve anything large. Now I’m likely to find a note in my mailbox saying “Package in your truck”, and I’ll go find something on the front seat of my farm truck. Talk about home delivery! I have arrived as a member of the community. Kids I coached in junior league soccer, and then high school soccer show off their kids to me, and I may coach that generation, too. Being a member of the community is a great feeling. I recommend it. I read about a town like mine in an old National Geographic this week. When everyone in town turned out for the local high school baseball game, and it was rained out, everyone stayed to watch the storm. When you are a community, you have time for things like that, because you are home, and that’s the best place to be.