Small Town Living

My town is so quaint. Mayberry-esque if you will. I am talking Comer-Danielsville...my haunts. I went in the pouring rain to Danielsville this morning to do some errands. They were small, mundane errands but each moment was filled with charm and small town comforts. As I pulled in to the tiny office complex on the north side of town, I saw that the hairdresser's sign, partially obscured by a high-profile SUV, said "Closed For..." but when I looked below the SUV it said "Renovations. Phew! I'm glad. It's nice to see a business renovating and not closing, in this economy.

At the insurance office I had a nice chat with the receptionist behind the window as I paid my renewal with a $20 bill. I noted that it still says "In God We Trust" on the reverse of the bill. I said t her that while a twenty used to buy more, as long as we adhere to the statement, then it'll buy us everything. She liked that and then we talked about what a shame it was that they took God out of the schools.

On to the library where I wanted to look at the newspaper as it was delivered to be the first to scan the employment ads. I am looking for a part-time job, after school or evenings. I did not find the employment ads as the employment section of the classifieds does not exist. Actually, there was no numbered section on in the columns but there were a a few display ads at the bottom of the page. About 8 of them if I recall. This was the Athens paper, a city daily. The same was true for the weekly that was just out. Oh, boy, things are tough.

I did see on the front page that the layout included a nice photo of two of the Friends of the Library volunteers setting up for the book sale. I love it when the library makes the front page of any paper. And coincidentally on the way out I ran into one of the ladies featured in the picture. We had a short chat about how nice it was for the editor to give that kind of prominent placement to the Library. I wished her good luck with the sale and got in the car for my next destination: the Dollar Store.

I needed a birthday card for the teacher in whose room I subbed as para-pro. She is turning 40 tomorrow! I chose a colorful one, and was checked out by a nice and cheerful gal. We had a nice chat about the weather. It was raining pretty good, and how lovely it is to have this refreshing rain that we need so much. She looked me in the eyes as we talked, rare for a checkout situation, but she smiled and said "have a wonderful day." I believe she meant it. Next stop: next door to the grocery store.

I only needed some creamer for my coffee and some eggs. Hmmm, eggs, which had been a stable low price of 85 cents for most of the summer, has gone up to 95 cents. The checkout gal waited patiently for the elderly lady ahead of me to get her checkbook out, and write out the check in quavery hand. The woman only had one bag containing two items but the checkout gal asked the lady several times if she wanted help out to the car. A nicety that hearkens back from days gone by. When it was my turn, she and I talked about food prices, how "everything is going up."

Last stop was the school, to deliver the card. I had intended that the School Secretary could put it in the teacher's box since school was in session and unlikely that the teacher would be out of class, but she was in the office when I got there! I was thrilled to be able to give her a hug. She said that her colleagues had put up a banner and placed a cane against her door this morning, a not so subtle allusion to being over the hill. LOL, we laughed and hugged again. It felt good to be able to wish her a happy birthday in person.

Since it was the middle of a workday and it was raining, traffic, such as it is in Madison County, was light. I arrived back home from my little errands happy to have made personal contact with some nice folks, done my tasks, and mentioned Jesus in public. I live in a nice place and I am grateful to the Lord for bringing me here.