A view of a small town

I was driving to my dad's yesterday to pick up the kids and although I've driven through this tiny Illinois town many times it always strikes me - "Man this is a tiny place."

There are no stop lights and only one 4 way stop. It doesn't matter. There are never 2 vehicles at the stop sign at the same time. Yesterday, the only other vehicle I passed was a lawn mower. When somebody has something to sell, they plunk it in the back of their pickup truck and leave their truck parked by the side of the road at this busy intersection, waiting for prospective buyers. Nana is serious in her claim that the meter reader for the water company gives her a break based on her having fresh cookies for him. Rather than have a newpaper delivered, people will go to the gas station each day to pick one up just for the chance to get to talk. This chore alone can take an hour a day. There is a row of old theater seats on the only sidewalk for the townsfolk to sit a spell and catch up with each other. The only bank in town is open 3 hours a day and the ATM machine is locked up when the bank locks up for the day. The bank is situated on the only block of buildings where businesses are or once were in town - right in front of the permanent cake walk circle painted in the middle of the street. The cake walk circle is probably the main job of the town maintenance department (Frank) - to keep it painted nicely for all the church bazaars and town gatherings. That's my dad's town - and he loves it.

Originally posted 6/27/05