In My Little Town

There are so many reasons I love living in a small town. Everything is a pleasant stroll or bike ride away from home. We have our own post office, library, our choice of parks, excellent school district (I have to say that; I'm an alumnus), beautiful lakes, a grocery store, video store, pizza parlor..."North Muskegon - We've Got it ALL!" But it goes way beyond just what's in the town itself...

Our next-door neighbors have been out of town for about a week. They're both schoolteachers and they often go on extended vacations during the summer. They've asked us in the past to take care of their house (get the mail, etc.) but hadn't approached us this time. Anyway, this morning Dan noticed that their backyard sprinklers had been running continuously since at least yesterday - an expensive problem as they, like us, depend on city water to run their sprinkler system. Dan had to go to work so he left it up to me to try and break into their house and turn off the sprinklers. I poked around, tried all the doors and windows, dug through the bushes for those fake rocks you can hide keys in - with no luck. Well, we aren't really close with these neighbors and I didn't have their phone number and didn't remember their last name (very unusual, I think of Polish origin) so I called City Hall. Our friendly clerk, Christy, helped me figure out their phone number but all I could do was leave a message. Just as I was debating whether I should have the city turn off their water at the street, Christy called back and gave me the names and numbers of some friends of our neighbors. I had to ask - how did Christy know who their friends were? Turns out she'd called Debbie (the elementary secretary at the school; the two neighbor girls attend N.M.) and just asked who the girls hang out with. SUPER LONG story not so short, I was able to call their friend (who also happened to be looking after the house while they were gone) and she came over to turn off the sprinklers and save their super-soaked yard. That's small-town life. (Of course, we could be better friends to our neighbors and obtain their cell phone number, too.)

Here's one more:

When I was an elementary strings teacher at the aforementioned N.M. Elementary, I took my students on a field trip to the Frauenthal to see "Barrage," a modern string ensemble that incorporates music, dance, theatrics, etc. It was on a Sat. night, I think, and we had about 8 parents besides myself who were acting as chaperones, or who were just interested in seeing the show at a group rate. The show was great, but it ended a little sooner than we anticipated, and we arrived back at the school that night about 30 minutes before the parents were supposed to show up and take their kids. It was kind of cold - too cold to wait outside - and I didn't have a building key. Instead of trying to call each kid's parent, the other 8 chaperones and I just divided up the kids and brought them home - no big deal. Now, how many places in the world would you feel comfortable having random parents bring your kids home? I guess they aren't really "random" parents - everybody at least knows one another's names, even if they aren't friends. But you see what I mean.

Ever since I was a kid growing up here, our neighbors have always become our friends. Some more than others, obviously, but we at least know a little about each other, and there's an unspoken trust here. You don't have to worry, really, about the people around you - It's a comfort. You can go ahead and commit a crime, but everybody knows it's you, and they might call your Mom.

Plus, this place is beautiful. I know it might be suffocating for some people - I have one friend in particular who lives in New York City and says that Chicago is too "midwestern" - but it's perfect for me and a great place for my kiddos to grow up. Come see us!