Thank(mas): Hometown

(if you wanna know what's going one, click here.)

Abbreviated post today on Andrews, NC, what I call, my hometown.

I am thankful for the minuscule amount of light pollution, in the valley that we sit in, so that the stars are almost always in sight. 

I am thankful for loyalty that keeps certain restaurants and stores in business.

I am thankful for the laid back nature, everywhere, that makes a library not a quiet place, but rather an after school center, a classroom, a community center, and a place to catch up on conversation and feel really loved.

I am thankful that places like my dentist, and my eye doctor, the post office, have had the same employees for years.

I am thankful for the old man on the motorized scooter that drives on the roads like he's in a car.

I am thankful for the cashiers who call out, "Hey Miss Priscilla" from halfway across the store.

I am thankful for the distance between my town and any reasonably large city or even highway. 

I am thankful for the mountains that surround us, even when they keep snow from getting in, they also can keep bad storms out.

I am thankful for people like Purell and Dee Whit who almost everyone knows, whether they know us or not.

I am thankful that people ask me my name first, then who my daddy is, and then realize they know him, and will therefore act like they know me.

I am thankful that the paper celebrates every birthday with Ms. Christie on the front page, 100+ is a long time, she deserves it.

I am thankful for my community's willingness to tell stories, and share their lives, even if it's as simple as something their granny said to their momma when she bought the wrong brand of coffee.

I am thankful for the pride of the region, whether Andrews or Murphy, the whole county is a lot better than anything east of Jackson, or south of Union.

I am thankful for the appreciation of our town's history, no matter how great or small.

I am thankful that even though my daddy was born in Alabama and raised in Florida and I will never truly be local, I can happily and warmly call this place my hometown, because no there is no other town I've found where I know or am known more. And that is a beautiful gift.

(see next post here)