Everybody Dies Famous in a Small Town

My grandmother called me over the weekend.  After the same old "how are you" and "how is classes going"  we started to talk about people in our community.  At the grocery store she saw Diamond, a girl I graduated with, with her daughter, who is now 6 months old.  Her neighbor's son got married last weekend.  Our priest got surgery on his neck last week.  And multiple people asked her how I was up here, if I went to the Joe Paterno memorial, etc.  When I hung up with her I talked to my parents.  From them I found out that two of my friends broke up after dating for many years.  Amy and Bailey, a woman from the community and her dog, stopped by like old times and caught up.  Later on that night I looked back on all of this.  I had to ask myself, do people from other communities have these conversations?

I don't know the answer to that question.  But what I do know, is people from small towns DO have these conversations.  As I mentioned in my previous post, everybody knows everything about everyone. This isn't like a typical high school gossip session though.  The thing is, in small towns (or at least, in MY small town) people do not just talk, but also people remember.  People remember that during high school, I was in all of the musicals.  People remember that my neighbor, Ron, is the guy who decorates his yard for every holiday.  People remember all of the things about each other.  Pat Podrasky may not be a name that registers to anyone around here, but in Lilly, he is the kindest guy around, the one who was a plummer and electrician; he was the guy that helped work on most buildings around.  He was the guy who humbly ascended to the present mayor of the town.  Steve is the man who has played Santa since 1996.  Jack Barlick is the veteran who puts together everything for the Legion and War Memorial. 

The list goes on.  But the point is, everyone has an identity.  It is always fun to go the town carnival or town picnic. Everyone reminisces past stories.  Going to these small events is like being a star on the red carpet.  You see someone you know and get tons of pictures with them.  Then to the next person.  I walk up to one person, who excitedly asks if I have seen so-and-so.  Which I reply yes, but did you see this person.  There are people within the crowd who stand above others, those some who have done great things within the community that warrant our respect.  There are also some people who we may not respect necessarily, but who we appreciate as one of our own nonetheless.  For example, Zeke, a man who has been around since my father was young, is the official town drunk.  You can always tell if someone is from Lilly because he or she knows this man.  Regardless of his inebriation, though, he is one of the nicest and most generous men.  He would gladly give you the shirt off his back, and I do mean that literally.

In any event, what I am trying to say is that when you live in a small town, you aren't just a face among the crowd.  You are an icon among many others.  Each individual stands out, and they all remember each other.  Living in Lilly, I have learned that you don't have to be a movie star or a political leader to gain fame.  All you have to do is live in a small town.  Because everybody dies famous in a small town.