Small Towns
The sound of lawn mowers cuts through the air. It is Memorial Day and there are a lot of people mowing their lawns. I think it is everyone who didn’t mow their lawns over the weekend. In the morning on the weekend, the lawn mower is a the dominant sounds. Families as groups work on their front yards. Clipping bushes and planting plants. Some of the neighborhood kids have set up a lemonade stand and later there will be a parade for Memorial Day though the town streets. Americana at it best.
For most of my life I have lived in larger cities. Now I live in a town and on a street where everyone does know your name or knows someone who knows who you are. The neighbors look out for each other and their neighborhood. You have to be careful when driving since the kids rush around on their bikes. There are some nice parks with in walking distance of the house. It is slower and with a little less urgency than living in a big city. If I want to experience the big city, there is one not far away. But right now I like that the local farms are starting to set up their farm stands. I like that the pet store owner always asks off the family. I like walking into a restaurant and being asked “the usual?’ and if I say yes my order is in to the kitchen. The local hardware store closed down because the owner retired but it is suppose to reopen with a new owner later this year with the same set of guys that you can go to with a part for a left handed widget and if they don’t have the part, they have another way to fix it. The video/DVD store may cost more than Best Buy or Amazon, but they know what we like and put stuff on hold for us and order other things we want. They also have a kickass selection of videos slanted towards cult movies and TV. Life is not as frantic here. People have time to talk to each other. Shopkeepers know their clientele by name.
There are pluses and minuses for living in a small town. For me the pluses outweighs the minuses. I like it here and am glad I am raising Caroline in this sort of environment.
For most of my life I have lived in larger cities. Now I live in a town and on a street where everyone does know your name or knows someone who knows who you are. The neighbors look out for each other and their neighborhood. You have to be careful when driving since the kids rush around on their bikes. There are some nice parks with in walking distance of the house. It is slower and with a little less urgency than living in a big city. If I want to experience the big city, there is one not far away. But right now I like that the local farms are starting to set up their farm stands. I like that the pet store owner always asks off the family. I like walking into a restaurant and being asked “the usual?’ and if I say yes my order is in to the kitchen. The local hardware store closed down because the owner retired but it is suppose to reopen with a new owner later this year with the same set of guys that you can go to with a part for a left handed widget and if they don’t have the part, they have another way to fix it. The video/DVD store may cost more than Best Buy or Amazon, but they know what we like and put stuff on hold for us and order other things we want. They also have a kickass selection of videos slanted towards cult movies and TV. Life is not as frantic here. People have time to talk to each other. Shopkeepers know their clientele by name.
There are pluses and minuses for living in a small town. For me the pluses outweighs the minuses. I like it here and am glad I am raising Caroline in this sort of environment.