I just finished watching one of my favorite episodes, "The Class Reunion". It is one of my favorites as I can identify with Andy so much when he and Sharon are debating about what size fish they wanted to be. When I began my teaching career in 1967 I made a very conscious decision that I would never teach in a large town. Growing up in a small village of 560 people I knew that I wanted to spend my life in that type of setting. My brother and sister, however, could not wait to move out of our "hick town" and neither was ever to return to a small town. I, on the other hand, spend my 36 years of teaching in small towns. Although I taught in four different towns, none was larger than 1000 people. Like Andy, I found what I wanted in small towns and I did not need to move to a big city in order to find what I already had. I loved knowing all the people in town. I loved stopping in at the small diners and having coffee with my friends and neighbors. I enjoyed so much going to church on Sunday mornings and sitting among my neighbors and students. I enjoyed the small town festivals, the bizarres ( some with bingo ) and I especially loved sitting on my front lawn and greeting everyone who walked by.
Our car show and parade season has begun and we are getting many invitations to attend various events. Our number one consideration when we decide whether or not to accept, is how big is the town. We have turned down some events at large towns and cities in order to attend a small town festival in a town of 500 people. But that is just who I am. I have nothing against larger towns. Eau Claire is almost 70,000 and it is a great place to live. But my heart is still in the small towns everywhere. At least when I dine out in small towns I don't have to point to the items on my menus hoping to learn a couple of new words. -- Ken Anderson The Mayberry Guru 2906 May Street Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701 www.mayberryreflections.com _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
