City girl has small-town heart

 

Last updated 3/20/2016 at 1:59am



It makes me sad when I hear teenagers say things like, “I can’t wait to move out of this town” or “It’s so boring here. I hate Odessa. There’s never anything to do.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard those words. They are likely spoken by every teenager in every small community around the world. Trust me on this, I know because I spoke the same words living in Ephrata just 45 minutes down the road. The only difference was that I thought I knew exactly what I was talking about – because I was from the city. If only I could go back in time and slap 16-year-old Linda, I would happily do so.

Did you know that almost everything you think can only be done in the city can most likely also be done right here in the surrounding area? You may have to plan a little in advance and drive a little further. There isn’t really much difference between driving across the city in stop-and-go traffic, hitting every single red light on the way and taking 30 minutes or more to get to your destination and driving 45 minutes through the countryside with an average of three stop signs or less and meeting only about four cars along the way. Yes, you may drive more miles, but those miles are probably better for your car and your nerves.

City life really isn’t all that great, although looking back now, some of the things I witnessed or that happened to me were interesting. Unless my cousins were visiting, playing outside after dark was out of the question. Halloween candy was inspected every year for any signs of tampering. Some parents even took their children’s candy in to the local hospital and had it x-rayed for sharp objects. When I was doing laundry at a laundromat, someone stole every pair of underwear I had out of the dryer – just the underwear, nothing else. At age 11, I watched as they pulled a dead guy’s body out of the homemade fort that we played in. He had overdosed. I had nightmares for weeks afterward.

When I was 19 and home alone one day, I spent the better part of three hours scared to death, in a corner, hugging my knees, because we were told to lock our doors, close our windows and stay inside until further notice. There were three police helicopters with really bright search lights and police with dogs everywhere. Turns out they were searching for our neighbor who had asked another neighbor to please turn down his music. That neighbor would turn the music down and turn it right back up as soon as the other fellow was back in his apartment. After this scenario was repeated for the third time, the guy walked right back over and shot the other fellow.

Life in the city is always go, go, go – always so busy all the time. Everywhere you go there are always people and lots of traffic. It’s rarely quiet or peaceful. With all the noise, traffic, people and crime, it makes sense that eventually you become more and more desensitized to it. Maybe that is why people from the city seem more indifferent, more calloused.

I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ever love living in a town, but I have found things here that I just cannot get in the city. Here, I have a sense of community and home. Growing up, I went to nine different schools, so I had never had that before. Here, people are usually happy to see me, so I am usually greeted with a smile and “Hey, how are you?” Plus, I’d say 80 percent of the time a hug comes with that greeting. I’m accepted for who I am, and people stand by me. I can walk anywhere I want at any time I want after dark and not have to worry about being bothered.

The best part of living in a small community is the feeling of belonging to a very large extended family.

Here the pace is slower. People take their time and listen to each other, extend a helping hand and are kinder to each other, more compassionate.

While I worked at the grocery store one day, a customer said to me, “Wow, you’re like Odessa’s very own little sister. You know everyone by name.”

You know what? Considering I was raised in the city, I’ll take that as a compliment!

 

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