St. Marys

Ah, move to a small town and get away from the rat race, they say. I think they have it all wrong, whoever they are.

The way I see it, you are a rat in a maze either way. The only difference is that in a city you have a much bigger maze than in a small town. A metropolis gives you the anonymity to lead a sane life. What do I mean? Here are some examples.

In life, there are people you encounter that you don’t like. In a small town, you keep bumping into them over and over. Like a jack-in-the-box, they appear at the post office, in the grocery store and in restaurants. You just can’t avoid them.

Everybody knows all about you, too. For example, my sister and her husband decided to move to St. Marys. I went to the bank and one of the tellers knew all about it. What is unusual is that I barely knew the woman and she really didn’t know my sister very well.

When I lived in Ottawa, there was a vast selection of people to choose from for friends. Here there aren’t so many. Also, many already have a full slate of buddies they have had for years. It is difficult for you to break the barrier and get inside somebody’s circle.

The hardest part is having to make choices about the folk providing you with services.

I go to Mike’s Barber Shop. He is a regular, old-fashioned barber. None of this hair styling for me. However, even if I wanted to change, I couldn’t. I would be terrified of meeting Mike downtown sometimes and having to explain my absence. In the big city, you can disappear into the woodwork like a termite.

Every time I walk by Stacy’s Pizza, I wonder if Jen Stacy is wondering why I never buy from her.

I have had personal and association accounts in almost every bank in town. I don’t want to show favouritism, do I?

We eat at both Chinese food restaurants and both pubs for the same reason. We have been to almost every auto repair shop. Since we now have a Chrysler and a GM product, we can settle on one dealer and everyone will understand. We aren’t making a choice. The cars are.

Down the line it goes, shop by shop, business by business. Trying to show support for everyone and making sure your allegiances are spread around. It seems that there are at least two of every type of store. You have to make a choice and everyone seems to know your decision.

I have one big problem though and that is the last decision I will have to make on this earth. You see, we have two funeral parlours. When I die, I will have to use the services of Ball’s or Hodges’. Both owners are fine men. Both assist greatly in the community. I just don’t want to go through eternity having one of them disappointed in my decision and the whole town knowing which one I chose. Now guilt like this would never happen in a city.

Either I have to move back to the city or to a smaller town where there is only one of everything.