Stoplight squandering

My response to a recent inquiry was to reply in kind with a question of my own. During my recent 50th class reunion, several of my former classmates questioned the current status of their old hometown. They wondered how those of us who still live here have been able to endure this back water village. In a comeback, I teased them, “in all these same years you have so loved living in your larger metropolitan area, how many hours, days or perhaps months, have you squandered sitting at stoplights?

Let me state for the record that this back and forth banter between old friends was lighthearted and respectful but make no mistake, there were most definitely differences of opinions and viewpoints regarding the lifestyles of our differing geographical settings.

The issue of rural versus big city life is not a new confrontation. Perhaps no other place on earth has experienced a geographical migration more dramatically than right here in America. At the time of the American Revolution 13 out of 15 citizens, lived in the countryside. In the nearly two and a half centuries since then there has been a mass exodus to the cities and suburbs.

Many of my classmates moved from Nevada almost as soon as they graduated from high school. Many left to find employment opportunities because Nevada simply did not have the numbers of jobs that were needed for all of our graduates. Departures for jobs has continued and it likely will into the future. It is the bane of small towns like ours. We simply don’t have the economy to retain our youth.

Most of those who leave become somewhat cynical about the place where they were raised. They adapted to their new lives in the cities and developed the sentiments similar to that of my classmates. The many perks that metropolitan areas offer are enticing and after a time hard to imagine living without. What my metro classmates and other city dwellers can’t imagine are the pleasures that still exist in this place we continue to refer to as our hometown.

The first conception that I think they should understand is simply that we don’t feel deprived. No we don’t have a Starbucks on our way to our morning destinations but then they don’t have the White Grill or the 54 Cafe.´ On those morning drives most of our citizens can arrive at their daily destinations in a fraction of the time it takes our city cousins. This holds true even for the many people who live in the outlying areas. Many people drive from places like El Dorado Springs for work in Nevada. They often spend less time on their daily commute than those who travel from suburbs to city jobs.

We recognize that we don’t have all the amenities that big cities offer but that does not mean we go without. Kansas City and Joplin are easily accessed by the Interstate. We just recently dropped a family member at the KC airport. We observed the speed limit and I assure you we still made the trip in slightly less than two hours.

Those who live in the cities don’t enjoy some of the pleasures we take for granted everyday. When I stop at one of the afore mentioned restaurants for coffee or breakfast, invariably I see countless people I know. I simply cannot go to the 54 Cafe´ without someone calling me by name as they greet me. That closeness and familiarity has always created a more tolerant sentiment among the people who live in small towns.

Here is an example that I will use to make my point. If you live in a place like Nevada you have rules of behavior that are always in play. If you made a scene in a restaurant or business in a big city only the strangers there would know it had happened. If it occurs in Nevada that news will circulate all over town. This is not a place of strangers.

Economic conditions vary between cities and small town areas. The basic cost of living can be vastly different. Certainly the jobs in the metro areas often are better paying but that is offset in many ways. Housing is a good example.

This becomes especially true for senior citizens. We regularly welcome new seniors who settle here because they find the lifestyle less expensive. When you visit with them they tell you of the other reasons they decided to settle here.

Safety is always an issue we hear about. Certainly we have our share of crime but by and large most seniors can live here with a sense of safety.

Accessibility is always at the top of reasons why small towns are great for seniors. When I play golf at the local municipal course on weekdays we don’t have to reserve a tee time.

On a recent visit to Florida I was endlessly bored as we had to weather long lines at practically every venue. I, like many of my fellow local seniors, have become somewhat spoiled in this regard. I get a bit edgy if there are more than a couple of people in line at a drive through bank, restaurant or pharmacy. I simply cannot imagine the stress caused by long lines at the same places in a big city.

If it appears I am trying to sell other seniors on the prospects and pleasures of small town living in their later years you are correct. There is nothing wrong with the slower, quieter, safer and less congested lifestyle that a town like ours offers senior citizens.

As I finished this article I felt the need to make a promise. I hereby pledge that in the future I will not get overly excited if I find myself sitting at one of our local stoplights. If we hit every one on the way to Wal-Mart, it would be a minor inconvenience compared to those endless ones in the city!