Our Town

We had a great opportunity over the past week to really get a feel for what a great town we live in. It's such a nice community of wonderful people, I don't know where to begin. Small town life with big city influences, because people here are fairly eclectic and cosmopolitan.

Yesterday we attended the memorial to Barbara Sargent, it was a wonderful celebration of her life with music, food and dancing. It seemed like a fantastic idea to remember her, and a testament to the person that she must have been. My only regret was not meeting her, and there were opportunities because she owned one of the local swimming hole. It just goes to show you that it behooves you to be involved in your community, she was a pillar of hers, and to celebrate the lives of it's older people, because they are not only deserving of your time and compassion, but a lot of them have amazing stories to share. They've seen so much.

The town came out in full force, and though we saw some of our friends, what was really striking was the number of people we didn't, for the life of us, know. As small a town as it is, it's pretty eclectic, but that's what makes it interesting. The kids actually had fun as some of their friends were there and they got to play, though I was a little uptight about getting to crazy at a memorial. Then again, even though I didn't know her, I like to think Barbara would have wanted the children to have fun.

The previous week we attended a meeting about transition towns, and it's an interesting movement that I feel has validity and importance, especially if you think about the state of the planet. What they are all about is changing the way we live and think more in line with sustainable living that promotes strong communities, healthy living, and a cleaner environment. All things that we hold close to our hearts.

I'd like to do more investigating into it and be more involved, and even get the kids involved, but we'll take it day by day. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jan Kratěna for the pic.