They say everyone knows everyone else in a small town. I’m finding out how true that is.
Back when I lived in Houston I would go around town, or even as something as small as my neighborhood, and not run into someone else I know. I might run into one of my immediate neighbors who lived on my street or within a street or two, but even then it wasn’t that often.
When we first got up here, the wife and I couldn’t go anywhere without witnessing random people running into other random people they knew. It most often happened in restaurants, but it would happen in stores, or walking down the street. Folks would go up and hug one another, say hi, and start chatting.
As we’ve been here about six months now, people are beginning to recognize us as we’re out and about.
It started at the restaurants. The waitstaff knows us when we come in. They know what tables we like to sit at. They usually know what we’re going to order to drink. A few know us by name. And they always seem happy to see us.
When I go to the pharmacy to pick up the wife’s prescriptions, they know who I am when I pull up at the drive thru window. They’ll say “Are you picking up for your wife?” to which I reply “yes”. They usually know what prescriptions she has coming up and will let us know if it is time to renew them. Sometimes they tell they don’t have her order ready but to give them about 15 minutes and they’ll have it ready to go.
But I really know how well I have integrated into the community when I go to the grocery store, or Walmart, or just about any store in town. I run into people I know and they either smile and wave (if they’re in a hurry doing something) or they stop and start chatting.
In spite of my anti-social tendencies and not really being a “social butterfly” I’ve been adopted into the culture. There’s no such thing as an Outsider in a small town. You get accepted and slotted into the social order of things. It does make it a little easier on me and decreases some of the social anxiety of dealing with other people.
I’ve become Small Town now.
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