Yes, There ARE Still Places Like This

I needed some recharging this weekend, and I got it.  While Hubs was out of town, the kids and I spent a quiet weekend with my parents in my old hometown, in the hills of rural Arkansas (let's call it Mayberry, for good reason.)

My dad grew up there, and my grandfather, and my great-grandfather.  It's a very small town of about 4,000 people--the kind of place where old men hang out at the gas station to drink coffee and everyone in town goes to the Friday night football games.  When I was in college, my dad sent me a copy of the weekly town paper, and one week a "bandit squirrel" causing some property damage made the front page. It's that kind of place.

When I lived there, of course, I couldn't wait to leave.  I thought it was dull and small-minded.  And to be sure, though it's easy to romanticize living in a Mayberry-esque, small, southern town, life isn't as uncomplicated as one might think.  There is little privacy.  My mother tells the story of, when she first moved to Mayberry after marriage, her next-door neighbor came over to compliment her on her lovely new towels.  Towels? my mother wondered, until she realized the neighbor had been inspecting what she was hanging on the clothesline in the backyard.

Now that I no longer live there, it's easier to dwell on my hometown's charm.  As I strolled the streets this weekend, camera in hand (and laughing as passing cars slowed down--I knew I would probably be dinnertime conversation at more than one table as folks discussed who was the strange lady with the camera), I felt the refreshment that can only come from touching our own roots.  I'm not that young girl anymore--I don't want to be.  But something in me just rests when I visit the place where I was completely carefree, not forced to make any decisions or take care of anyone else. 

And so, today, I'm thankful for that little town that used to frustrate me so much.  I'm thankful to  know there's still a place where the beauty parlor is a scene straight out of Steel Magnolias, and a lady taking pictures on the sidewalk is a reason to slow down your car.  Thanks, Mayberry.

This post was originally published on May 14, 2006.

Comments

[Kari]

Having grown up in rural Arkansas.. I just GET this post so much.

[ohilda]

Wow!! As a city girl, your "Mayberry" sounds like the place where I want to retire to. A little piece of heaven. :)

[Jenny Beth Walker]

Now the Rascal Flats song "I miss Mayberry..." is running through my head. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

[PJ]

I grew up in Arkansas, and am still here. I live close to a Target and a Mall, but not when I was little.

There are some hidden treasures in this State. Love your photos.

[PJ]

I grew up in Arkansas, and am still here. I live close to a Target and a Mall, but not when I was little.

There are some hidden treasures in this State. Love your photos.

[Joyful Days]

I have one of these to go back to. Although it might be a bit more "Payton Place" than "Mayberry." But it does seem times stands still. Glad you re-ran this.

[Michelle]

Yup, my grandfather lived in Arkansas and didn't own a pair of shoes until he was 14 when he ran away from home and joined the Army. Rather a rural place I hear. But I loved the way he would say "harses" and "arnges" for "horses" and "oranges." :)

[liz monkeykisses]

wow.. that is awesome.. that looks like an escape from reality.. :-)

[Shauna]

There are many small towns like this where I'm from in Kansas, only 4000 people would be considered a larger town there! I had 30 people in my graduating class, and there are currently only about 3000 people in the whole county.

[Jill]

I can totally relate. I grew up in a very very small town -- 650 people - and couldn't wait to get out. Now I go back there and it feels more like "home" than I ever thought possible. Not that I want to move back... shudder... but it's nice to have a place where everything is so comfortable and familiar.

[Diatribal]

Love the pics. We go through towns like that all the time. To find one here in AR, all you have to do is get off the interstate!

It's nice that you appreciate it now.

[Kendra]

Ahh, it's nice to know that places like that still exist. Country songs sing about those towns constantly, but I wonder if they are anywhere to be found anymore. I am glad to hear you had a nice weekend. Just looking at your pictures makes some of my stress melt away.

[Gem]

I grew up in Kansas, too, in a very small rural town of about 1200. I think it's smaller now, they had to consolidate the grade school, middle school, and high school in order to have enough students to keep the school open! I graduated with 23 in 1986. It was surreal going back for our 20th reunion last year after living in the Detroit area for 10 years!!!

[CyberCelt]

I remember Arkansas from years ago. Tall pine trees, mountains and lakes. I took my husband there last year and it looked like an atomic bomb had exploded. The trees were gone and in their place were scarred Earth. I do not know if it was logging or the hurricane, but I felt the loss personally.

Happy Click and Comment Monday.

[julie]

I grew up in the big city and always wished we lived in a small town in the country. To bad we didn't know each other when we were young. We could have swapped places for a week to see how the other half lives. The grass always does seeem greener on the other side. Thanks for sharing the photos, they are fabulous!

[mcewen]

Would this be an example of a 'one horse town'? [damned foreigners]
Cheers

[kelli]

We lived in a small town like this in Mississippi. We totally plan to go "back home" after the kids go to college. We love it there.

[Clare]

I just love little towns and villages like this. So intimate and friendly...

Shame we always seem to appreciate these places more when we leave!

Best wishes from Ireland

[elizabeth]

Did I ever tell you about the time I took some friends home after a college football game? As we drove into town (Monica was with us) they asked if we had phones or plumbing. I told them I remembered that when we moved there we only had to dial 4 numbers to get anyone local on the phone...
When we arrived at my parents Dad told us that there would be some plumbing going on at those "new" water towers, and that plumbing on 9th street would be turned off.

Another time a boyfriend came to watch the Christmas parade when my dad was Santa. We stood on your dad's corner.

We need to show you the best fishing ponds on the farm, because you might need to have a reason to go back sometime.

[Wacky Mommy]

We're moving to Iowa soon, to be with my husband's family, and I love knowing that we'll only be two states north of Arkansas, where my mom's family is from.

Nothing like some crazy traffic, rotten schools, and one too many shootings to make you run back to your roots.

[Court]

That looks very much like the small town in Utah where I grew up. Our movie theater looked just like that!