I Was Born in a Small Town
I drove from Buffalo to Plattsburgh and back in the past couple of days - I don't recommend the trip. The first time I was there I saw the signs for Vermont and wasn't aware that it was the State of Vermont that I was approaching.
Whatever...mile after mile...lots of time to think and plenty of scenery. New York State is actually quite beautiful, but there are a ton of small towns between here and there.
Most of the towns are set up in the usual way - there's a grocery store, a bar, a funeral parlor, and a gas station - all that is needed for life to thrive and prosper.
In between there are a lot of small, broken-down homes, trailer parks, and cars up on blocks. I often wonder what people who live out there do to pass the time.
I passed Bob's Bait and Tackle with a sign underneath, hand-written, that said - "Great Subs and Pizza."
I didn't stop there for lunch - I imagined one dirty-looking guy handing out bait with one hand and making me a sandwich with the other.
There was so much drifting through my mind - the loss of my dog, the miles that clicked on the odometer, wanting to be home, wondering WTF, and passing time...passing time.
I thought of growing up in a small town and knowing all of my neighbors and the neighbors miles and miles away - knowing everyone in our town.
I passed about fifty signs that told me that Jesus Saves or warned me of the 2nd Coming. I wondered what would make a man paint the side of his barn to warn others of God's Coming Wrath.
I passed a roadside flower memorial that told me of the loss of "Bubba" someone or other. I made the sign of the cross for Bubba and his family.
10 hours after I woke, I was home.
Not a wasted day by any means.
Just another day spent in my own head, and a few hours thinking back about the small town where I was born.
Whatever...mile after mile...lots of time to think and plenty of scenery. New York State is actually quite beautiful, but there are a ton of small towns between here and there.
Most of the towns are set up in the usual way - there's a grocery store, a bar, a funeral parlor, and a gas station - all that is needed for life to thrive and prosper.
In between there are a lot of small, broken-down homes, trailer parks, and cars up on blocks. I often wonder what people who live out there do to pass the time.
I passed Bob's Bait and Tackle with a sign underneath, hand-written, that said - "Great Subs and Pizza."
I didn't stop there for lunch - I imagined one dirty-looking guy handing out bait with one hand and making me a sandwich with the other.
There was so much drifting through my mind - the loss of my dog, the miles that clicked on the odometer, wanting to be home, wondering WTF, and passing time...passing time.
I thought of growing up in a small town and knowing all of my neighbors and the neighbors miles and miles away - knowing everyone in our town.
I passed about fifty signs that told me that Jesus Saves or warned me of the 2nd Coming. I wondered what would make a man paint the side of his barn to warn others of God's Coming Wrath.
I passed a roadside flower memorial that told me of the loss of "Bubba" someone or other. I made the sign of the cross for Bubba and his family.
10 hours after I woke, I was home.
Not a wasted day by any means.
Just another day spent in my own head, and a few hours thinking back about the small town where I was born.
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