In September this column will be four years old. It’s been so much fun! When I approached the newspaper editor about writing weekly articles, I was asked what it would be about. “My journey from living in a big city, with restaurants on every corner, to the country where cows and coyotes are my neighbors.” I already had a list of potential ideas on my computer—all I needed was an audience.
There are so many reasons to live in a small town, but four years ago I hadn’t discovered them…yet. We had spent two nights in our new home and I was loving the Green Acres life. It was kind of like a vacation, except for the ridiculous number of boxes we hadn’t unpacked.
The second day I found a skunk in the backyard, and I definitely wasn’t cool with that. The family of rabbits, however, was a different story. Later I saw a fawn in the woods across from our house, and I felt a little like Snow White with all her whimsical creatures.
Our first night in the house a pack of coyotes serenaded us at sunset. I found it charming, more sweet woodland darlings. My Snow White comparison remained solid. By the second night it had taken on more of a “There’s Something in the Woods” vibe,
People have different reasons to switch gears and head for rolling hills and trees. Some people strive to recapture what they’ve lost--time, connection, sanity. Sometimes they question their life choices. Ten miles to the grocery store with pig feet but no steaks. Finding hominy but not jasmine rice. They start to make friends and discover they’re the only ones who think it’s a travesty to drive twenty miles to see a movie in an actual theater.
But if they stick with the plan, people will see their perspectives changing. A skunk in the backyard is annoying, but perfectly natural. Coyotes howling at sunset really are charming. The stars at night really are big and bright, because now we can actually see them. No one’s in a hurry to get anywhere, because they’re all happy where we are.
Next comes the questioning of values--is the opportunity to eat at twenty-five different restaurants worth the traffic, the noise, the stress? Eating at home, with Snow White’s creatures, is so much better—and cheaper. Thus, the transformation is complete. Families eat supper together at night and take walks in their small town neighborhoods or hikes in the woods. They turn off the television and just enjoy the peace and quiet, maybe play a boardgame or two.
Oh sure, on the outside they look the same; but the inside has changed into something altogether different. Something strange and new, yet wonderful. And one day the small town transplants might even think it’s normal to drive twenty miles to dinner and a movie, or retail shopping. And then they understand the magic of small town living.
Jann Goar Franklin graduated Russellville High School in 1985 and lives in Grand Cane, Louisiana. She also writes books, which are for sale at www.jannfranklin.com. You can reach her at jann@jannfranklin.com