My Nickel’s Worth

There are obviously advantages and disadvantages when living in a “small town.” Most of my life, I have lived in small towns; however, I did spend most of my elementary years in a suburb of Oklahoma City. We lived in a gated community for our safety, my schools were large and impersonal, and at night, I could play catch in the backyard with my dad and hear the traffic going by on the interstate.

Sitting in traffic challenged my patience, and I spent more than one Saturday driving across the city to play sports in a small, cramped baseball complex.

Our neighbors drove into their garages, and sometimes, we didn’t even know what they looked like. I recall going over to a neighbor’s house to invite a kid over to play basketball in the driveway, and the parents didn’t even know who I was—I lived next door. Coming from a small town, I was amazed at the way people didn’t know one another.

Seven years later, we moved to Young County, and I was thankful to be back in a smaller community. Everyone knew everyone, people were friendly at stores and restaurants, and you had more than one set of parents looking out for you. There were backyard barbeques, small town ballgames where you saw every friend you had, and when someone was in need, the community pitched in to help.

If you are fortunate enough to live in a small town, don’t dream about the city life with shopping malls, fancy restaurants, or an exciting nightlife. You can always visit the cityand enjoy the best it has to offer—but then at night, you can return to a quiet hometown, know that people know your name and care about you, and enjoy what’s really important about life—sharing it with others.