Benefits of small-town life
Ispent my youth in a small town, and I guess that’s why I like living in El Dorado. There are numerous perks that I’m missing out on by living in a city of under 20,000, but I choose to do so. Am I making a mistake? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and disadvantages of both and make a livability assessment.
Last Friday started with a real plus. We were having lunch at Woods Place when a man walked by my table and picked up the check, and of course I said, “Oh, don’t do that.” But he paid it before I could thank him, and since he was wearing a mask, I don’t know who he was. But if the mystery man reads this column, let me just say thanks. Catfish always tastes better when it’s free.
That’s only part of the key to smalltown living. Sure, people living in a mega-city have benefits that a large population brings. You can’t have it both ways.
Later that same Friday, I had something happen that emphasizes one of the major small-town benefits. It’s the personal touch. I was into my almost daily late-afternoon walk when I spotted a familiar car heading toward me. It was Vertis, and I knew whatever she had to tell me was pretty important. So important that it couldn’t wait another 40 minutes.
“Get in the car!” she yelled. “Why didn’t you carry your damned phone! … I just got a call from the hospital! They have a few doses of the covid-19 Moderna vaccine left over from vaccinating the school teachers, and if we can come to the vaccination center right now, we can get our first shot.”
I jumped into the car, and in 10 minutes we were there. The parking lot was empty, and for a minute, as we walked toward the building, I wondered if it was closed, since it was almost 5 p.m.
Then, in the doorway, we saw someone waving for us to come in, and minutes later we were filling out the vaccine paperwork.
There was one question about whether, in the last 90 days, I had covid-19. I hesitated because I really wanted to get the vaccine, and had had a one-day covid-19 episode and a positive test. But I decided to be truthful for a change and say yes. Since I had been free of symptoms for a month, I was OKed to be vaccinated. “Who wants to be first?”
I was standing close to where the shots were being given, so I pushed up my sweater sleeve, and three seconds later I had my first vaccination. It was painless, and Vertis’ shot went just as quickly. We took a few minutes to talk with the man in charge of giving the vaccinations, and he couldn’t have been more helpful or professional.
Wow! That’s an exclamation point to emphasize how living in a small town has perks that can never be matched in a big city. Just think about driving across town in 10 minutes, and then having such a warm personal experience. We didn’t have to line up and sit in our car for five hours just to get tested or vaccinated.
I was tested a month earlier in five minutes when my doctor’s nurse came out to the parking lot to administer it. We’ve all seen people waiting in line just to get tested.
When we see lines of cars, endless traffic snares, and the staggering number of covid-19 deaths in cities such as Los Angeles, it highlights the advantages of smalltown living. That’s the penalty folks have to pay in order to have the benefits a metropolitan city has to offer.
It seems Los Angeles is currently the epicenter of the covid-19 pandemic, but it’s not because they are flagrantly violating all of the restrictions. It’s the dense population of the county, where it is virtually impossible for residents to isolate themselves.
Where is Arkansas’ hot spot? Pulaski County, of course. And the lowest number of cases? Calhoun County, with a population of just over 5,000, is near the bottom of the list.
A greater population has disadvantages, and it boils down to weighing the benefits versus the negatives. My experience with the covid-19 test and vaccination is ideal, but it really isn’t that uncommon in small-town USA. What might seem to someone living in a large city to be extraordinary would receive only a nod from a small-town resident.
I’ve spent time in dozens of major cities, and when this pandemic is over I will eagerly head back to New Orleans or New York. Vertis and I enjoy traveling, but during the pandemic we have tried to stay home and away from crowds as much as possible.
Even though we may visit large cities such as Houston or Dallas or New York, 90 percent of our lives are spent in semi-rural Arkansas. We live on 37 wooded acres with two small lakes in the city limits of El Dorado, 10 minutes from my downtown office. How much value do you place on that?
Sure, I like seeing a Broadway play and dining at Galatoire’s in New Orleans, but it’s hard to match a late spring evening when Vertis and I sit on our deck with something to drink, and in the quietness of the early night, the only sounds we hear are the croaking of bullfrogs.