Here are several reasons why I’ve decided I love where I live. You probably wouldn’t like it here; it’s not for everyone.*

1. I went for a walk this evening, on one of the many walking trails that wind throughout my community. The smell of fresh pine hung in the air. The scent did not come from candle or can, nor one of those pine tree cutouts that forlornly dangle from many a rearview mirror. The scent came from actual trees.
2. I’ve taken to walking early in the morning and/or in the evening. Also, sometimes, in the middle of the day. I’m never, ever alone out there. There’s always some other nut (like me) running, walking or biking. Where I used to live, I had good reason to fear the other people I might encounter while out for a walk.
3. I have not eaten fast food in Charlottesville. In fact, the only time I’ve eaten fast food has been on my trips back to St. Louis. This town is so healthy, the Krispy Kreme went out of business. In Charlottesville, we’re the fat people. In St. Louis, we’re svelte. We’re working on that; ah to be svelte in Charlottesville.
4. I don’t have a registered sex offender on my street. I know, I know, it’s the ones that aren’t registered that we have to worry about, but in the neighborhood where we lived, there were no less than seven in a five mile radius of our home. One offender lived at the end of our street, a fact that, when revealed, sent five families running for the hills. The kids’ bus stop had to be moved since it was directly in front of one offender’s home. Check Virginia’s registry here, Missouri’s here.
5. I have yet to encounter a person who is unkind or small minded. People look you in the eye here and greet you hello, or good morning. People smile. It’s weird, but I’m getting used to it. So far, no one has asked where I went to high school. Maybe it’s because so many people here are from somewhere else?

*Obligatory residential disclaimer to outside world in post- #1 ranking environment.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 15th, 2006 at 7:48 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.