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Kathryn Mayer •  Writing Out Loud

I write stuff down. thinker • humorist • cynical optimist

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My Town

Family Matters, No Place Like Home / March 20, 2009 by Kate Mayer / 4 Comments

This is my town where backyard finagling and barbecue lead to stacked teams while deserving athletes and families are left outside looking in.

This is my town where police blotters are scoured for names of the afflicted, and sighs of relief echo when we escape another week unscathed.

And this is my town where one terrible phone call alerts the gossip mill of a sick kid, a dead spouse, a tragic accident, and immediately, all neighborhood scandals evaporate. The troops rally and the village takes over.

This is not an anomaly; it happens every time.

Just when you want to throw up at the Hummer driving, cigar smoking, SAT comparing bullshit, a terrible rumor emerges and, unfortunately, is proven true. A woman hit by a car. A house burned to the ground. A dad drops dead. Or a beloved 9-year-old with much more than a virus.

Before you know it, meals are made, car pools arranged, lawns mowed and laundry done. This is my town that holds and nurtures, not just our own family, but all our families.

Any phone call could be the moment our own lives change forever, and everyone in my town is acutely aware of that.

So we do what we can when that phone rings. The hurting can heal without worry or consequence to the everyday work that must be done even if … even when. No questions. No comments. No problem. Just done. This is my town.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    March 23, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    wow, what a great place to live! I love your blogs!!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Broken Ass but Solid Vows - Kathryn Mayer says:
    January 30, 2015 at 1:18 am

    […] Except, you know to drive to lacrosse, soccer, grocery stores, school, and carpool. And solicit the town I love to fill in the blanks. Which they did. Because they always […]

    Reply
  2. Hurting in Newtown - Kathryn Mayer says:
    February 3, 2015 at 1:14 am

    […] the survivors and first responders. We all do. It’s why we live here: we made our home in a town where everybody knows everybody, and that happens here every day, and now on the darkest […]

    Reply
  3. My Town Strikes Again - Kathryn Mayer says:
    February 10, 2015 at 4:20 pm

    […] I wrote a while back about how my town works when crisis hits. How friends, neighbors and strangers come out of the woodwork to make life happen while those inflicted with temporary  – or life altering – chaos contemplate the next few hours, days, weeks, and months. […]

    Reply

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