This Picture Paints a Thousand Words

The photo you see here could win an award. Anybody who ever lived in a small town would have to smile at this scene.

I now live in a fast paced world of 5 o’clock traffic, busy airports, continuous cell phone calls and a blackberry attached to my belt that seemingly never stops vibrating. Things have definitely changed for me.

But one thing has not changed. I’m still a small town kind of guy. You can get me out of the small town but you’ll never get the small town out of me. And this photo which was taken about 30 years ago in my hometown of Reynolds sure did remind me of that.

I’m not sure what Dealer Downs and John and Walton, Jr. were discussing that afternoon. But I can tell you what they were not discussing.

They were not discussing which route they were going to take home to miss the rush hour traffic. And they were not discussing whether their flight was going to be delayed. And they were surely not discussing if their blackberry had coverage.

I would bet they were discussing the important stuff.

Stuff like if the rain coming in will get here Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Or if the peach crop will be as good this year as it was last year or whether the soybeans had come in yet. Or maybe they were asking John (who owned the restaurant at the time) why he only served chicken one day a week when he used to serve it two days a week.

Important stuff.

Or maybe they were trying to decide how in the world Rufus could afford that brand new car he just bought. Or why in the world he lets his boy stay out so late. Or maybe trying to decide if it had been 3 days or 4 days since Leroy quit smoking.

I cannot be absolutely sure what they were discussing but I can be sure of this: They were enjoying each other’s company and they didn’t have trouble taking the time to enjoy each other’s company. And they were not worried about what time it was or what day of the week it was or what time their next meeting began.

But they were enjoying life in the moment.

In the big cities and in the fast pace life it brings, you can make more money, you can have bigger houses and you can feel more important. And that is perfectly okay.

But in the small towns and in the slow pace of life it brings, you can have lifelong friendships, live in comfortable homes and feel pretty doggoned good about it.

In my travel, sometimes I drive through small towns that remind me of Reynolds. I have been asked by the person traveling with me why in the world someone would ever choose to live in a one horse town with seemingly nothing to do.

I think I will print this photo and put it in the glove compartment of my car. The answer is right here in the picture.

This picture paints a thousand words.