Small Towns and Country Folks. Aren't they great!!

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I just want to share a story about what just happened for me, not to me. I live in the country on 11 acres and have a few animals. One of them is a small flock of Silkie chickens. I have both white and black but I only have two roosters and they are both black. I was hoping that the chicks would have a few white ones mixed in but they are all black or blue. I realized I would need to get a white rooster if I wanted any more white ones. I work in a bank in a small town near here. I was talking to the Mother of a co-worker and ask her if her parents still had any Silkies as I was looking for a white rooster. She said she would ask. She could not remember. This was about a week ago. Yesterday a customer came through the drive-up where I work and ask me if John Doe had called me yet. What about? Why, about your chicken. Huh? What chicken? Well, so and so told so and so who told my wife who told john does wife that you wanted a white silkie rooster so she told John and they went over to OK to the swap Meet and got you one. Hasn't he called you yet? NO he hasn't called me yet but I am sure he will because this is just one example of why I love it here. Everyone is family. Of course, the bad gossip gets around just as fast as the good but thats ok. Its worth the risk. The safest thing to do is just don't do anything to be talked bad about!

-- corky wolf (corkywolf@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002

Answers

That sounds just the community I live in. Everyone knows everyone and there are no secrets. Love it!

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

Don't you just love small towns?!?!?! Nothing happens without the whole town knowing. Someone from a big city just said to me the other day that small town living was more 'moral'. Funny, just the night before I told my husband that are marriage was messed up because neither one of us was sleeping with someone else in town. We just don't fit in! :) Seriously though, there's good and bad everywhere, just in the small towns you hear about both a lot more. You also learn really quick who to trust and who to just smile at and walk on by. Wouldn't have it any other way. :) Stace

-- Stacey (stacey@lakesideinternet.com), April 02, 2002.

We have the greatest "small town community" here. Everyone knows each other and can depend on each other, but we also ignore each others private lives. Best of both worlds.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 02, 2002.

Bren was doing some research on Guineas last year before actually trying to get some. She asked me to pick up a book at the library. I didn't find one so I asked at the desk and they said "No, we don't have a book on them, but Jane in the office has some I think, go talk to her." Long story short-- after twenty minutes yacking it up about the joys and sorrows of Guinea ownership she offered to hunt us up some eggs the next chance she got. Well, her timing was perfect as she got us 5 eggs just as one of our banties went broody. We got three out of five to maturity....(O.K., here's the sad part: all three got et by some nighttime marauder) and we didn't ever get a book on it after all.

Gotta love a small town!

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), April 02, 2002.


small towns are great if you give great into them. lets not forget that!! i love my small town, even with its drawbacks. my kids fit in really well, and half the town knows my littlest. my kids are known everywhere i go-i'm not-but kids adjust faster than adults and it's hard to make friends when you are new into a very close knit community. the people here aren't rude or anything, they just mostly all grew up here and don't realize it's sometimes hard for newbies (we've been here almost 4 years) to find new friends. you get out what you put in, glad you are all so happy with your communities, they are blessed to have you in them. i'm finally starting to make friends here-my fault for not hanging out in town and such, but my farm is so pleasant and this world moves way too fast for comfort. i'm not complaining, just want to point out to you all that new people appreciate established people welcoming them. keep up your good work and good attitudes, the world needs more of us!!

-- laura (okgoatgal@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.


I am 50 miles from Albuquerque & just moved there in January. The remnants of my little railroad town has a post office, a church, a few salvage yards, and a vet clinic. One day a family of 3 drove up to my house and the lady got out of the car and said, "I seen your goats from the highway, and I need a billy, BAD! You got one? I got me a Nubian doe and I'm wanting to make soap." Well.. er, uh, I've got Angoras and yes, I have a buck, but I think they're 'out of the mood' right now, since breeding season is long over... and I don't know what your kids would look like. Lady: "Well, if you don't mind, I don't care what I get, so I'll bring her over and we'll see what happens." Bring her over, she did, and in the back seat of a large- ish pontiac-type of sedan. Sure 'nuff, my buck was NOT in the romantic mood & just said, "Nice day we're having, huh? I'd like to go back to my food now. Thanks anyway!" So, I told her I recently met another neighbor who I thought might have a Nubian buck, gave her the phone number, and she put Tilly back in the backseat of the car and left... on to a new adventure in goat breeding. A typical day in the country. debra in nm

-- debra in nm (goatgirl@unm.edu), April 03, 2002.

Speaking of small towns, I received a postcard in the mail from a friend several states away. It had my FIRST name only and the zip code. The message was "This is a test". LOL!

-- cowgirlone in ok (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.

A funny thing happened to me today. I got a call from the health department. She explained that the lady at the post office had a package of pre-paid baby pictures, but the address was wrong and did she know the woman named on the package. She said she didn't, but would think about it. She knew my last name and that I had a daughter with the first name on the package. Was it her? I told her it wasn't as she was from my first marriage. Then I called a friend of mine who owns a store to see if he knew her (he knows everybody). Seems she got married and moved to another ridge. He told me her new last name, I called the post office and told her. I just love a happy ending.

-- Gayle in KY (gayleannesmith@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

laura, I'm totally with you on all points. We live some place exactly like that. We've been here 3 1/2 years and I still haven't met anyone I can truely be "me" with. And we don't even live in town. We live WAY OUT but we like it that way.

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), April 03, 2002.

You ain't gonna believe this. Nope you just won't. Welll...here goes: The friendliest place I've ever lived in was...you ain't gonna.... Gary, Indiana. Gary, Indiana. Believe it. In the 1950's when I was a kid my Dad got transferred there to a steel mill job. In the 50's Gary was a booming, growing city. Many people from downstate Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky moved north for the good paying steel mill jobs. Ther were a lot of small town country people moving to the city. There were many strangers. Old friends weren't there, family wasn't there. There were many, many newbies. Our family made many good friends with the newbies and many old timers in the neighborhood. There were many, many neighborhood cookouts and a block party every summer. I moved to Wisconsin nearly 30 years ago. I learned about small town people. The day after a snowstorm the local police officer wrote me a ticket because I hadn't yet shoveled the snow off my sidewalks. When I mentioned that 2 of the city councilmen never shovel their walks his reply was, "Yeah, well..." When I offered to buy a building lot from the city for the going price for lots that size of $6,000.00 I was told it wasn't for sale. Just over a year later it was sold to the v.p. of the local bank for $200.00 as unneeded surplus land. The kids picked for the better parts in school plays were chosen not for there suitability for the part, but according to their parents "position" in the community. Let' back up... when I first moved to this community I made a good effort to become involved as a citizen. Like a minority in the old south, I soon learned to "know my place". Laura & Bren, you know where I'm coming from, I think. Heck, I opened and operated a business in this town for 20 years and the people patronized me. They are generally good people and friendly as they come. I believe I'm personable and non-threatening and was able to get the repeat business of these people for 20 years...yet I was a square peg but all the holes are round. I like the area & the people but am still an outsider. And, yes, I do shower daily and brush my teeth!

-- randy (ringtail@aol.com), April 07, 2002.


a little off the subject, but not totally. does anyone else get really weird looks from town people (or even other country dwellers) when they find out you raise your own food and don't buy meat/milk in the store? i'm considered a little bit off by most of the people i come in contact with because i raise goats, not pigs. pigs and lambs are popular here. dairy goats still have the old stereotype. so i'm the weird goat lady with 4 children. but that's ok because i'm happy and content doing what i'm doing. ya'll have a great day!!!

-- laura (okgoatgal@hotmail.com), April 09, 2002.

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