Day 225 -- Small Community Life

I attended a great stage play this evening. It was Under Milkwood, a recitation of Dylan Thomas's picturesque phraseology. It told the story of a day in the life of a small Welsh town with two actors portraying numerous colourful characters. I marvelled at their ability to remember all the words and the names of characters. It kept my attention, though the lyrical nature of the words could lull one to relax but it would then explode with some bizarre story of love, lust, or murderous fantasy. Characters gossiped, drank, and dreamed. It was fascinating.

This made me think of small towns anywhere. I live in one and have visited many others. Gossip is a way of life it seems. Everyone knows everyone else's business or they are related in some way. I've experienced people knowing who I am without me ever meeting them -- that small town coffee shop grapevine at work. The nature of small towns seems to be the same wherever they are located. I've found many positives -- being able to speak to people as I walk around town, knowing the wait staff at restaurants as well as the chefs, and everything is within walking distance. So, it isn't all bad, though having stores where you can buy what you need would be nice especially for clothes or furniture and anonymity would be refreshing at times.

This event brought to mind a number of songs about small towns. I chose this one because I like the lyrics providing the perspective from the town's point of view -- a bit of anthropomorphizing. Enjoy!

I'm a Small Town -- Kenny Chesney