I live near a great little town. I have lived here all my life. Saturday evening was just another example. We had a "Ham Bingo" to support our community center, however about 45 minutes before it started, the power went out due to very high winds. People rounded up flashlights and candles and decided towait it out. Cale ran home for more lights and to check on our neighbors. The wind was just awful with hail also. Some of the fire department members decided that they would go to the fire-house and bring back the generator and large flood lights. By 7:00pm they had then set up and the games were able to continue. It is nice to live in a small town! The evening was a big success!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), March 11, 2002

Answers

You didn't mention how small towns are so close that everyone knows everything about you. There are no secrets. Once when we were getting a new pastor, he was complaining about some information that had gotten here before he did. I told him that we all knew what size shoes he wore before he moved in and he thought I was kidding. Not! And most of this "nosiness" is kind, concern for the village-family members. Our little town gathers around when there is tragedy, supporting physically, financially and with prayers. It is good.

-- Rosalie (Dee) in IN (deatline@globalsite.net), March 11, 2002.

Hello Melissa,

My home town WAS Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I grew up among hippies, bikers, Orange people, Hari Khrisnas, college students, musicians, poets, writers, war protestors, bra burners, and gay libers. It was a wonderful town to grow up in but, over the years technology, and progress took all of it away. Today the town is full of prosperous yuppies, doctors, lawyers, professors, and people with only one thing on their minds.......money!

There was historical significients to Chapel Hill as one of the friendlist towns in the nation. Inspite of the eclectic groups of people there we all got along peacefully. Even war protest were done peacefully. There was even historical reverance for the words STOP THE WAR that someone painted on the alley side of the post office. The words were never removed or painted over even years after the Vietnam War had ended. They were accepted as part of our culture in the town.

Historically, the town was just another college town. But, the people that it attracted were very very passionate about life. We all were quite proud of the "freak shows" on the campus wall that ran along the downtown section of Franklin St. Everyday, you could go along that area and see the hippies playing music, dancing, or selling flowers. The bikers with their Harleys all line up in a row, mingling with the Hari Khrisnas and the Orange people. Every day was a party with people dancing, singing, and just loving.

Two incidents that proved to be reason enough for me to leave were one....the introduction of a bus system. The streets were lined with beautiful dogwood trees, everywhere! After the bus system came, all the trees died. The second incident was actually two incidents over a course of a couple of years. A lunatic climbed of the Bell Tower on campus and started shooting randomly at the students. The other was when someone open fired at the students in front of the post office downtown.

I knew it was just a matter of time before life there would get worse. So I moved away and have only been back to attend the furnerals of my mom and dad.

The aura of the whole town has changed. People live in fear instead of love. Melitza and I went there a few years ago on my Harley Davidson to visit my brother. We parked downtown along the parking area where motorcycles have their own parking space. As we walked down Franklin Street towards the campus, people were so afraid of us that they would literally step in to the street to avoid us. Sad. I grew up there with motorcycles and no one was treated that way then.

I cast the whole presence of Chapel Hill to the wind now as, it it no different that any city.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 11, 2002.

I live about 8 miles from a little town, We had a red bud festival, there were craft booths, and western music, I entered several paintings in the art show, and won first place with my [horses headed to the barn] We ate our way thru the fair, All those things that are not good for you, We have one large grocery store, locally owned. One drug store, a lumber yard, and hardware store. and a dollar store, and thats it. I have to drive 50 miles to closest city for sams or wallmart.No one dresses up here, they all wear levis, and dust on there shoes, mostly pickups for cars. Just a grumby bunch of cattle ranchers. We like it.

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), March 11, 2002.