I think a lot of us yearn for a place, full of family life, gentle ways, raising vegetables in our own garden, visiting with friends over the fence, movies on a Saturday night and a trip at noon to the local cafe where you meet friends for lunch. A town where the best clubs in school are the Future Farmers of America or Future Homemakers of America? We imagine going to music concerts on the town green and attending county fairs. We picture ourselves entering the quilt contest or putting up our own pies and jams, hoping to win a blue ribbon. Maybe a mincemeat pie with just a hint of rum in it (shameless)....A simple life like Mayberry.
Do you have a place like that in your mind? A place that feels like home, even though you may have been raised in a big City. Maybe you think of Mayberry with Opie and Aunt Bee, a simple place and a simple time. I have the Mayberry cookbook and when I browse through it, I am reminded that life once was simple like that. It still is in a few small towns across America. If you live in one of those towns, you are blessed.
I live in a small gulf coast town. People still earn their living by fishing, shrimping, and farming. But more and more these jobs are being pushed out to make way for "progress". I wonder if we are not losing more than we are gaining though. There is more to a good life than making money and having the latest electronic gadgets. Is the simple life, really over for good?
