Categories: Experiences and daily life; Human nature
Word count/read time: 521 words; 2 minutes
Townie (or towny): One who has lived in a small town their whole life, often their birthplace.
Sticksville, East Bumf&ck, The Boonies. Those words usually have a negative meaning,
somehow implying the residents are living in a third-world country or not keeping up
with modern times. It's a misplaced attempt to insult, without appearing to insult,
those places or to stereotype the people without appearing prejudiced.
Opportunities, adventures, the ease of traveling or relocating, and
a host of other factors endanger the townie population.
While some people's lives may not have been
pockmarked by moving from one place to the next, it'd be foolish to pass up a friendship with one.
Modern life
whittles away many people's resilience, ability, or need to live in one
place forever. How wonderful and satisfying it must be to have
everything life offers in your birth town!
Driving through small towns invokes a sense of wonder. What is the story behind
each home: Who lives there, what do they do, how long have they lived there? Small
towns often get shafted during recessions or when a large employer leaves. Greedy businesses
can exploit the area and large corporations can devastate it. Blights and natural disasters have
proven fatal for myriad small communities.
Yet the people are still there. Buildings remain. Schools teach. Garbage gets picked up.
Bars stay busy. Local gossip might be mistaken for daily news. Some are so entrenched
that they literally know everything of their microcosm.
While working at a sporting event about 100 miles from nowhere,
Saturday evening at 5pm, my car wouldn't start.
Stuck at a gas station, I asked someone for a jump.
It was a perhaps the quintessential townie, and I was thankful.
Other locals came out of the woodwork because they knew the gentleman
who helped me, temporarily adopting me into their clan. The universe laid out the red carpet for me big time.
The magic unfolding before my eyes was amazing.
I couldn't have broken down in a better place at a better time, contrary to what every
logical fiber of my being would think otherwise.
They helped me push my truck to an adjacent parking area. Talking among themselves,
they began discussing the local garages.
Still, Saturday night in the middle of nowhere with a non-refundable camping
trip planned and paid for, pop-up trailer already set-up at the fairgrounds for the current
two-day event...it wasn't going to be simple.
Everyone knew the local AAA guy. While I called for a tow, someone called
the garage owner directly and shared my plight. Certainly this carried
significant weight. Go go townie power!
How the mechanic managed to replace the starter by the next morning was remarkable. The price was not inflated
by the rush job, or working on a Sunday, or being in the middle of nowhere, or being the
only trustworthy garage. It had a two year warranty with towing to a licensed facility if
there was a problem, 100% labor and parts included. Naturally, it failed just over two years later
but I was on my home turf and made quick work of the replacement.
Posted by M: July 3, 2019
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