Where the Sidewalk Ends

In my wanderings around my Small Town, I have recently come across that elusive place...where the sidewalk ends. I managed to find where the sidewalk ends on accident. I went for a jog, following some directions I had been given, and apparently mistook Left for Right. Happily I went along, until, all of sudden, no more sidewalk!

In case you are wondering, I have found that it actually ends in a cornfield. Not hugely exciting, but surprising nonetheless. It is one of those things that you don't really consider you will ever encounter. For me, I have never lived in a place where the sidewalk just ends. It may skip a house lot, or bypass a park, but it always continues, it is always leading the way, giving you a direction. Here you get to the edge of town, and the sidewalk just ends. As in many Small Towns, people are very nice here at the end of the sidewalk. There is even a sign to tell you to 'Stop' so that you don't mistakenly continue on to become lost in the corn.

Most people are very good, and stop at the sign, take in the view, look at the paved road in front and the gravel road to the side, ponder some thoughts, and then turn back to wander back to where they started. At least, this is what I had to do, as becoming Lost is not something to do when jogging out by yourself, with miles and miles of cornfields surrounding you. As I retraced my steps, I had several things to think about.

One thing was the issue of fire hydrants. I haven't yet figured out is why cornfields need to have fire hydrants? I've now seen several of these in the area, and have not seen them ever before in my life anywhere I've been. Maybe they're a new innovation in farming that I just haven't kept up with?

Although I suppose, seeing as I am, or was, a city girl, innovations in farming aren't exactly my forte. Or even my area of any sort of remote expertise. Another new thing to file away to ask someone later. Hopefully someone with a farm.

Main Street

Here in small town America is where Main Street still comes into its own. On my new Main Street, I have visited the hardware store, 2 of 6 banks, the butcher shop, the pharmacy, the grocery, the Post Office, 2 of 3 gas stations, and walked by several houses. There is also a car repair place, 3 bars, a diner, a furniture store, a jeweler, a random crafty-type shop, a pretentious-looking artsy shop (that also sells wine), a preschool, the tax/CPA person, a realtor, a hairdresser, 2 fast food chains, the Chamber of Commerce (on one end), and the Village Hall (on the other end). There is one of many things and many types of stores on Main Street, but other than the fast food and pharmacy, no major chain stores. It will bear further investigation. Especially as there is also a quilt shop, that is located just off Main Street, but not exactly on it.


I am rather intrigued as to why we have 6 different banks in town, and only 3 bars. This version of that ratio seems a bit backwards when compared to my previous visits to other Small Towns. Not that it is a bad thing - it shows that the people of this Small Town are of a saving type, at least for short periods anyways. One of the bars is definitely the local bar, one is rather scary-looking, and one is nice and clean and delivers breakfast on the weekends. I've recently heard that the food at the nice & clean one is quite good - we'll have to try it soon to confirm the reports. Preferably not the breakfast though - as that may seem a bit odd to have it delivered straight to one's door, particularly in the morning.


It would be nice to have a good restaurant in town. There currently is not one to my knowledge. There is a restaurant that looks rather fancy, but it seems that the parking lot is used to carpool to local Little League games more than people actually sampling the fare. Not a positive indicator.



I am also rather amused that the Village Hall and the Chamber of Commerce are on opposite ends of Main Street. Maybe to ensure that people see the entire town? Maybe the people in charge at each building don't really like each other? The businesses in town are generally spread all along Main Street, so perhaps it is just what buildings were available when. Hmm, maybe something else to investigate!



We also have railroad tracks running right through the middle of Main Street. The train no longer stops here, but toots its horn and heads slowly on its way north. Depending on the day, many trains can go through, all tooting long blasts of the whistle, and delaying the 8 or so cars that have managed to pile up due to bad timing.



Now I must spend some time doctoring all of the mosquito bites I've acquired while wandering down Main Street. Good thing I have ammonia and cotton balls!

Small Town Adventures

Well, this big city girl has now relocated herself to a Small Town. And I do mean small. So far, in my adventures exploring around, you can head about 6 blocks in any direction before you get to either a field (of crops) or a field (just the plain kind) or a farm containing cows. Many many cows. We do have 3 stoplights though - 2 on one end of town, and 1 on the other. Not sure why 3, and not just 2. On the positive side, it's pretty easy to find everything with only 6 blocks to wander thru at a given time. Rather hard to get lost. Or at least one would think.

As a result of this uprooting, I've decided to come back from the unintentional blogging hiatus and see if I can manage to keep things updated with the new adventures to be found in a small town. It is definitely a change of pace. Everything closes up early in the evening, so if you forgot an ingredient for your dinner recipe, you'd better hurry up and get down to the store, as once you get to about 8pm you're out of luck. No more of this 24-hr availability stuff to be had. In fact, I think the local video store even closes at 8pm - no running out to catch a late movie. Especially seeing as that video is the only option. No movie theater unless an Outing is planned. An Outing includes:

• figuring out which movie theater to go to (closest is minimum 13 miles or about 25min of driving),
  
• what time the movie starts (to ensure enough arrival/traffic time),
  
• whether or not dinner will be included (as if you're driving that far anyways, you should make the most of your trip),
• and do you have enough gas?

An Outing does not always include dinner and a movie, however. It can also be to go to the big-box variety store, the gym, to the fabric store, or to pretty much any store that is not a grocery or the hardware store. It usually involves several hours of preparation to make sure you don't forget anything, or anyone who wishes to carpool. It is an adventure.