Small Town Treasures

I will be the first to admit that I still harbor many stereotypes of small town life. Despite being 7 years removed from city life, it is slightly difficult to completely purge my thoughts. I might get frustrated when my children need prescriptions filled at 3:00 AM and there is no 24-Hour Pharmacy in existence out here in the “boonies." I miss the Chicken Shawarma from a good city-style Greek Restaurant. I miss Target. And their modern-chic goodies.

But, you know what? NEVER in the city would a person run out of gas on a major intersection (and by “major” in country standards, I mean the one by the biggest grain mills and a few cornfields) only to find a pick-up truck drive up to you and offer up an entire gas can within seconds. No questions asked, no money exchanged. Just honest to goodness compassion. NEVER in the city would a burly man brazened with skull tattoos and gripping a Bud Light frantically drop his beer and scramble to the pavement to rescue a young boy’s goldfish flopping for life after the bag busted during the hometown fair. That man has a place in my heart as Pet Fish Wolfie's Savior. 

The goodness that is the country filled my heart again this week when we went on a "Scouting Mission" for quaint spots that may put my camera to work. My girlfriend is a local to the area and she willingly tossed me, my kid and my camera into her truck to look around town. It was intended I would practice different shots at all the different locations in which we traveled, but, my subjects fell fast asleep after filling their bellies with nuggets and chocolate milk. Though the actual camera usage time was truncated, I was filled with excitement as we poured over local history, scoured neat architecture and searched graveyards for local legends. Truly, there is beauty to be captured no matter where you live. Sometimes you have to push negative notions aside to see it.