Great Place to Live Your Life: Our Town - Time Out #445

As an opening disclaimer and with full disclosure, I am NOT paid by our local chamber of commerce!   

     I am merely going to relate to you readers in Our Town and far beyond, my feelings about growing up and living in one of the best places anyone could choose. It is not a perfect place, but checks many of life's most important boxes, providing a great living environment.

     Let me begin by telling you some of the things Our Town is not.  It is not a big city, it does not have the best weather, it is not located near an ocean or other large body of water, there is no mountain range near for hiking or snow skiing, and it is not loaded with an abundance of very rich or very poor people.  

     What Our Town is. It is a medium-size city, some geographers might call a large town. It has 4 distinct weather seasons, although some years the calendar gets confused. We have a great quality of life for raising children, public education, level of healthcare delivery, low major crime rate, and friendliness of our people. In fact, frequently in conversation, video and audio recordings and printed publications, it is commonly said one of the major reasons people decide to live here is the friendliness of the folks that call this place home every day. The final positive trait I will discuss is the honesty of our good citizens. 

     I have personally observed and experienced all those positive attributes previosyly mentioned for over 7 decades, while calling Our Town my home.       

     Allow me to expand that honesty factor I listed last. I will use my bride, Lady Deborah, as my subject for two specific incidents: 1) A few years ago, Ms. Debbie accidently left her purse at the westside Wal-Mart. She discovered she didn't have it, after she returned home, and was unloading her store  purchases.   She told me about it, so we immediately returned the short distance back to the store.  I waited outside in our vehicle, while she went inside to the customer service counter.  She told the store employee about the purse, describing its appearance. The lady looked in specific area behind the counter, and gave Debbie her purse.  My bride opened it, and everything was inside. 2) We recently attended an OSU men's basketball game in Gallagher-Iba Arena, along with thousands of other folks that day. After the game, Ms. Debbie told me she had lost her cell phone. As we were driving home after leaving the large parking lot, she called her cell phone, using my cell phone.  After a couple of rings, an OSU police officer answered the phone, and told my wife, the lost phone had been given to her. Shortly thereafter, we drove to the OSU Police Station, and my bride was reunited with her missing cell phone. 

     Yes, folks, these two incidences could have happened elsewhere, but they happened here in special Our Town. 

      I'll vote Our Town #1 on my ballot any day. Our secret sauce is and always has been our great people! Enough said.