Where Everybody Knows Your Name

It is often seen as both a blessing and a curse that in a small town, everybody knows your business. It is certainly true that it would be well nigh impossible to carry on in secret any kind of activity that one wanted to hide from one’s spouse! People are always mentioning to me somewhere they have seen my husband. My husband knows everyone in town, he’s always saying hi to people that I’m not sure I even recognize, no less know who they are. And as he points out, his knowledge is nothing compared to many old-timers in town. I am kind of envious of this, because my job tends to keep me buy away from town so I get out and around a lot less. So, it was with great pleasure that when as I went to vote on this historic Election Day, the folks at the tables greeted me and had already flipped the pages open to my name to check me in. When I then went across the street into our local store, the owner saw me and immediately put my New York Times on the counter, asking me where my husband was (of course!)….I felt like a regular! On top of that, he left the store and followed me half-way down the street to return the coffee mug I had left on the counter. So even though I am sometimes only known by the name of “Michael’s wife”, I do love the feeling of belongingness that comes from living in a small own – in my opinion, privacy is over-rated!