Small Town

I thought I'd share an article in this week's edition of our local paper. (Yes, our paper only comes out once/week.) "Midwest Living magazine recently released its annual list of the 100 Best Small-Town Getaways. No 6.--Nashville (Brown County) According to the magazine, editors looked at 8,500 Midwest towns with populations of less than 20,000." I think that is pretty impressive, our small-town is ranked #6 out of 8,500. Every year I live in this small-town, I like it more and more. Yes, the traffic is horrible in October when the tourists flood the small-town, but we can live with that. I like that people smile and wave while driving by. I like that tractors drive down the highway, the same highway that floods each time it rains. I like that everybody knows everybody. I like the slower pace of living. I like that I can see the stars at night, because we aren't surrounded by millions of lights. I think I could go on and on about all that I like about a small town.

That reminds me of John Mellencamp's song, Small Town. Well I was born in a small town. And I live in a small town. Prob'ly die in a small town. Oh, those small communities. All my friends are so small town. My parents live in the same small town. My job is so small town. Provides little opportunity. Educated in a small town. Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town. Used to daydream in that small town. Another boring romantic that's me. But I've seen it all in a small town. Had myself a ball in a small town. Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town. Now she's small town just like me. No I cannot forget where it is that I come from. I cannot forget the people who love me. Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town. And people let me be just what I want to be. Got nothing against a big town. Still hayseed enough to say. Look who's in the big town. But my bed is in a small town. Oh, and that's good enough for me. Well I was born in a small town. And I can breath in a small town. Gonna die in this small town. And that's prob'ly where they'll bury me.