Small Town America

Seen recently in a small town in America:

1. We were in a small thrift shop recently with this sign in the window: If there is any thing in the store you need, but are unable to pay for, there will be no charge. God Bless You!

It was touching to see the kindness of strangers. In fact while we were in the store a young mother came in stating that she only had $3.00 and her little girl really needed some pants. The thrift store clerk simply said, "Go get what you need". The young mother was able to leave with a bag full of jeans for her daughter. This is a church thrift shop and the clerk asked no questions and there were no strings attached.

2. There is a small country store in the small town I work in that sells fresh vegetables and meat. Its reputation is for selling a lot of Southern type foods. I drove by yesterday and there was a big trailer load of collards with at least 30 people frantically trying to get their Thanksgiving collards. It reminded me of a bunch of ladies around a sale table at a big Christmas sale! I was expecting to see collards flying up in the air any minute!

Now, if you didn't know, collards are huge leafy green things before they are cooked. I'm also told that they are best after it has frosted on them or if we have had a freeze. These people were serious about their Thanksgiving collards. I also saw some turnips.

I am a Southern girl through and through, but I do not like collards or turnips. Just so you know....

3. On our weekend trip to the Smokey Mountains we stayed in a hotel that was touching a town on one side and a cow pasture on the other side. The hotel had a continental breakfast each morning for its patrons.

There was a man eating breakfast one morning that was almost certainly homeless. It was really cold in the mountains last weekend and I was glad to see that he was inside getting a warm breakfast. He ate a lot! Finally, he got up and looked just one more time at the little cheese omelets and turned and went out the front door. He didn't even have on a very substantial coat!

No one who worked at the hotel questioned this and I'm not sure what they would have done if they had known. I would like to think they would let him eat and go on his way.

4. It can be tough getting home from work around here sometimes. Yesterday I couldn't go home my usual route because of a wreck that appeared to involve a large horse trailer being run into! So I took an alternate, even more rural than usual, route home. I got behind two different farming vehicles at different times. It was at the edge of dark and one of them was a tractor with no lights, etc. Farmers do dangerous things sometimes. I followed him for a while and was finally able to pass. Just a few minutes later I got behind a HUGE tractor pulling a HUGE cotton trailer. It took up most of the highway, so there was nothing to do but slowly follow. Oh well, just a part of country living! I'll take it any time over that rush hour traffic in big cities! I like seeing my usual 2 or 3 vehicles a day or 2 or 3 tractors! LOL.

5. The farm vehicle story reminded me of this. When I was about 9 or 10 years old, my brother who was 5 years older, and I would drive the Massey Ferguson tractor down the highway to a little country store. I would sit on the fender which had nothing but air between me and the pavement! The tractor would go really fast if it was in high gear! No one thought anything about it! I would never in a million years have let my children do that! But it was fun and I remember holding on really tight!