Will B.

Lots of grumblings going on in the world of local social media lately about a small country town’s social life.

I believe what is kicking off the latest batch of heated debates center around the recent attempt to make Olney a wet town. By wet I mean to be able to sell alcohol. Some are for it and some against. As well as people who are very passionate for it and against it and well some who could care less either way.

Honestly, if the law changed to let alcohol be sold in Olney it would not affect my life either way. I am no teetotaler. I do have a beer from time to time and even a crown and coke on those rare occasions. I average about 2 or 3 beers a month possibly 4 and rarely drink in social gatherings as I don’t need alcohol to dull my senses to make me feel more at ease. In fact, I usually make it a point as to not drink at social gatherings. To me a beer tastes best after a hot day of mowing the lawn, and Texas has plenty of those days. I generally buy my beer at Sam’s in the Falls and that usually lasts for months.

Back to the point at hand. What does bother me is when people start putting down Olney to try to prove or justify their point or plainly put down small-town living. I moved here roughly two years ago from Fort Worth, Texas. Not as big as Dallas but still big as cities go. Fort Worth has everything every other big city has to offer. Guess what? Since moving to Olney I have never been busier. Socially speaking of course. Some say Olney is dying. The same people say its population has stayed the same for the last 10 years. To me that does not sound like dying. Some would say there is nothing to do. Olney has a rich history of hunting, fishing, a lake, a plethora of school activities to watch and enjoy, a community filled with people who treat one another like an extended family for the most part. Then there are the churches filled with activities too numerous to count. Olney is 30 minutes from Graham for movies and dining and 45 minutes from Wichita Falls (The Falls) as some call it. The Falls has everyhing else you may want. Then after you’re done enjoying what you went to the city for you get the pleasure of returning to a town that lives at a slower place with people who have manners and look out for one another. You can belly ache about this or that but this is your town. If you want something to change one way or another, then get off your keister and make it happen. If enough people like what you like then they will lend a hand. You won’t change anything complaining about it on social media. There is so much more to small town living that is great. I could go on and on.

Now what Olney doesn’t have. Speaking in general terms mind you. There are always exceptions. Olney does not have bad traffic problems, rude people at the grocery store or about town, no high crime rate when you look at the numbers of big cities, a lake that is overcrowded, high tax rates, high cost of living, high property values and I could go on and on as well.

No matter where you hang your hat there is always going to be good and bad if you look hard enough. You can make the place you live into what you want with some effort and imagination.

This is Will B. saying quit worrying about where you buy your beer and go outside and enjoy the day.