SMALL TOWNS
Those who grew up in small towns will laugh when they read this. Those who didn't will be in disbelief.
1) You can name everyone you graduated with.
2) You know what 4-H means.
3) You went to parties at a pasture, barn, gravel pit, or in the middle of a dirt road. On Monday you could always tell who was at the party because of the scratches on their legs from running through the woods when the party was busted. (See #6.)
4) You used to "drag" Main.
5) You said the "F" word and your parents knew within the hour.
6) You scheduled parties around the schedules of different police officers because you knew which ones would bust you and which ones wouldn't.
7) You could never buy cigarettes because all the store clerks knew how old you were (and if you were old enough, they'd tell your parents anyhow).
8) When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to go out into the country and drive on back roads to smoke them.
9) You knew which section of the ditch you would find the beer your buyer dropped off.
10) It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town.
11) The whole school went to the same party after graduation.
12) You didn't give directions by street names but rather by references. Turn by Nelson's house, go 2 blocks to Anderson's, and it's four houses left of the track field.
13) The golf course had only 9 holes. (If there was one)
14) You couldn't help but date a friend's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.
15) Your car stayed filthy because of the dirt roads, and you will never own a dark vehicle for this reason.
16) The town next to you was considered "trashy" or "snooty," but was actually just like your town.
17) You referred to anyone with a house newer than 1965 as the "rich people."
18) The people in the "big city" dressed funny, and then you picked up the trend 2 years later.
19) Anyone you wanted could be found at the local gas station, drive-in or the town bar.
20) You saw at least one friend a week driving a tractor through town or one of your friends driving a grain truck to school occasionally.
21) The gym teacher suggested you haul hay for the summer to get stronger.
22) Directions were given using THE stop light as a reference.
23) When you decided to walk somewhere for exercise, 5 people would pull over and ask if you wanted a ride.
24) Your teachers called you by your older siblings' names.
25) Your teachers remembered when they taught your parents.
26) You could charge at any local store or write checks without any ID.
27) The closest McDonalds was 45 miles away (or more).
28) The closest mall was over an hour away.
29) It was normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower.
30) Most people went by a nickname.
31) You laughed reading this because you know it is true, and you forward it to everyone who may have lived in a small town.
-- Cal Freehling
Calvin,
ReplyDeleteI don't particularly remember being told to do so by the gym teacher but I do remember stacking alot of hay for you. As I remember it was to keep gas in my '67 Cougar. (So I could drive by the "beer ditch" and see what was there.) Ha Ha!
Roger Douglass
Tell me more about this "beer ditch". I was so inocent that I never knew about it.
ReplyDeleteWell, the "beer ditch" was well known among those of us who were into such things. It was located across the street South of the old Degarmo Body Shop (I can't remember what it was before that). I think it belonged to Vic Stasser. Anyway, high school kids that were terrified of getting caught with beer in their cars at home (most of us) would deposit our left over beer in the ditch for later recovery.
ReplyDeleteSince we all knew where the beer ditch was and what it was for we would check there first whenever we felt parched. Sometimes though, the beer would be overlooked in the weeds for a long time and if you found one of those it was awful. We drank it anyway.
HaHa! Guess I wouldn't have known what it was if I HAD found it!!
ReplyDelete