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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, population 2000. Like most small town kids, I couldn't wait to move on to a bigger city. But after a few years, I realized that one of the things I came to miss about living in a small community was that people knew each other. They were friendly and they took the time to stop and say hello. If my mother was out in the yard, people walking by would stop and chat, or if they were in a hurry (yes, folks in small towns have busy agendas too), they would at least call out a cheerful "Hi Virginia, nice to see you." Rules of the road were lax in our community, they had to be. If you were driving by Miss Minnie's house and she was out trimming her rose bush, just pull your car over to the wrong side of the road, roll down your window and chat a bit. No honking horns. Other drivers would simply drive around you, and of course give Miss Minnie a wave as they drove by.
Now I live in Sarasota, Florida, population 52,715 and it dawned on me over the weekend, when I was out in my yard deadheading flowers, that I've created my own little piece of small town friendliness. The sidewalk in front of my house is a favorite path for walkers and joggers. I don't know these people, yet surprisingly they know me. Rarely does someone walk by without calling out to tell me how much they love my flowers, or "What happened to the rose bush you used to have here?" Or "Where's the bubble machine? If I come back this way on my walk home are you going to have it turned on?" Our conversation sounds like we're old friends, and I guess in a way we are. Yet it's never crossed my mind to ask anyone's name, where they live, or what they do for a living, because none of those things are important when the friends in my "small town" take a minute to stop and say hello.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/
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