My Town...Our Town

I've had a most pleasant experience over the past few days. On three occasions I've been somewhere in public (Wal-Mart, the AT&T store, and a restaurant) and people have come up to me and said, "You're Steve Jackson, aren't you?" All three people were from churches I have served in the past, and in each case the parties to these conversations have, shall we say, changed a bit since we knew one another so well (hence the "aren't you?").

These encounters remind me how much I love living in a small town where you get to know people, and they remember you, even after time has gone by and circumstances have changed. I don't really know how to express this except to say that life in a small town just seems more "human." So much about our lives today has become nameless and faceless, which makes it nice when the people you see at the ballgame or the grocery store are not all strangers. There's a sense of community that evolves; relationships are built, and reputations are won (and lost) in ways you just don't experience in larger cities. Honesty, integrity and character matter more in a small town. Your name matters, your family matters, and people take the time to stop and chat. They look you in the eye when they talk to you too. I love that. I also love it that you know and care about the folks who live around you and they care about you. Last night in our neighborhood emails were flying about a "suspicious car" seen riding around. Everyone got involved because everyone cared and everyone realized that we're all connected. You just don't get that in an urban area.

The small town feel in our town was even more pronounced when we first moved here in the early eighties, but even though the area has mushroomed with growth, the small town feel abides. I'm thankful for that; and I hope that feeling never goes away in "our town." 

I'll close with some lyrics my favorite song about a town, "Our Town" by Randy Newman. The song is from the Pixar movie Cars and James Taylor sings it.

Long ago, but not so very long ago

The world was different, oh, yes, it was
You settled down and you built a town and made it there
And you watched it grow, it was your town

Time goes by and time brings changes
You've changed too
Nothing comes that you can't handle
So on you go
You never see it coming
When the world caves in on you
On your town, nothing you can do

Main Street isn't Main Street anymore
Lights don't shine as brightly as they shone before
Tell the truth, lights don't shine at all
In our town