Gentle people

Yesterday I went for a flu shot at the senior center in town. This is a small town and it is remarkable how many seniors there are in this town. As I was walking to the center, some lady that I don't even know stopped and asked me if I was going to the flu shot. I said yes and she told me to get in and she would give me a ride. I wonder if it was the grey hair and grey beard that tipped her off.
I am by nature overly garrulous and as we were waiting for the shots to begin, I struck up several conversations. Most of the people in this town were born here and have lived here all of their lives. We spoke of the things of value here and the opinions were remarkably uniform. The little market, the small stores, the library, and the fact that the teenagers are all nice and polite. It is a quiet place, sort of like a Brigadoon without the flashy pants. We recently got a barber shop and Wal-Mart closed its doors and moved to another town. There is a bookstore that is doing well and a store that sells nothing but hot dogs. There is no computer store and no restaurant chain. There are some of these stores but they are in a town to the North. There is a hardware store. It is not part of a chain but it has everything that a person would need.
Evidently the people here continue to deal with the stores that their parents dealt with. They realize that any money that goes to Benton, Arkansas will never return. It will not pay for their neighbor's heating oil or children's braces or weekly groceries. There is definitely a Quaker heritage going on here. The quiet enjoyment of the simple things of life and the concern for neighbors are apparent in everything here.
The town hall must be over a hundred years old. The police station and the fire headquarters are in that small town hall. All of these buildings are within two blocks of each other and the library. I have watched town meeting and see one philosophy in the meeting. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.".
There is another gem across from the library, a doughnut shop that has cinnamon doughnuts
A good book, a cup of coffee, and a cinnamon doughnut. Simple things for a simple old man.