Every so often I stumble across something that really makes me glad I live in a small town. Random things that one wouldn’t think too much about, unless of course you’re somebody like me who stays up at night thinking about these things. I know, I know, “Get a life” you say. Well, I think about these things so you don’t have to—it’s a public service to save the majority from a life of boredom.
Anyway.
Last weekend I was taking a walk and the Community Band float drove past my house. Random. The County Fair Parade had been the day before. I wondered if they had been driving around town for 24 hours, or just showed up a day late. Either way, they were out and about, and I caught up with them at the Assisted Living Facility where they were serenading the residents with classic selections such as “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?”
How cool is that?
I’m sure such random acts of kindness happen in larger cities. Small towns don’t have a monopoly on nice. In a small town, it’s just easier to notice nice. When people live close together there’s a name that goes with the face and a history and a relationship. Sometimes that helps, sometimes it hinders, but many times there’s an immediate payback in doing good deeds. I know many of the folks in the band, and I’m sure they know many of the folks in the assisted living center—they were their teachers and neighbors and parents and ministers. They helped us, now we help them. We’re all in this together.
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STrib
The Economist