Small Town feel

I grew up in a Town called Concord, North Carolina for most of my life.  It was small and still rooted in much of the history of the area, however it was less than 30 minutes from Charlotte, NC which was a fast growing city due to the banking industry.  So even though I thought Concord was a small town it really was connected to a large city.  Concord today is really just the sprawl of Charlotte.  It has all the big city things including a NASCAR track, and a Mills Mall.

I live in a small town now in Texas, it still has some small town feel to it but then again it is adjacent to Frisco TX and then Plano and then Dallas which is obviously a very large metroplex.  We are on the outskirts of the concrete jungle but we can still see it from the front porch.  We can drive less than a mile down the road and see horses and cattle and open farm land so it is sort of the best of both worlds.  We have all the conveniences of the big city and the quietness of a small town.

While I thought I knew what a small poor town was I really had no clue.  I always lived near a big city.  This past week I spent some quality time in the small poverty stricken towns of New Mexico.  First we went to my mother-in-laws house in Roswell NM which is actually one of the larger cities in NM and is much like the town I grew up in.  Saturday we traveled an hour back east to Lovington NM which is near the border of Texas and New Mexico.  I was taken back by the slowness of the people there.  I was also taken back by the obvious poverty and the lifestyles that lends itself too.  The houses that would be condemned in most places are proud places of residence here in Lovington.  There is no Wal-Mart (the nearest one is 23 miles away) just Bob’s Supermarket, there are no name brand hotel’s, we stayed at the Lovington Inn which was surprisingly clean and affordable.  The people were working class with little material possessions and what appeared to be little desire to obtain them.  They seem quite content with the life they are leading and the pace at which they are traveling. 

The pace of life is the other thing that stood out to me on this trip.  No one is in a hurry!  I mean no one!  You could sit at a red light for two cycles and no one would even blow their horn at you.  I went into the local Town and Country gas station to buy a couple things and the lady behind the counter seemed in no particular hurry at all to check my items out and get me out of the store.  She took the time to make small talk, fiddle with something or another behind the register and yell across the store to a co-worker who was learning how to do inventory.  Maybe they are on to something here.  They seem very content in a place I would consider oppressive so who’s perspective is wrong?  The simpler life, the out of the rat race life, does seem attractive in many ways but then again, high speed internet, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart are great conveyances too!  I enjoyed my visit because of the change in culture and pace.  I learned a lot from talking with my family who lives there and from hearing their life experiences.  I am looking forward to going back although that is mostly due to my family being there.

Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears is from Lovington.  Their native son gone on to fame.  Nice mural.