Sometimes, I imagine living in a small town Where everyone knows his neighbors' names And they all pull together when one's in need With no politicians playing games The town diner with a blue-plate special Freshly washed linens flapping on the line Drinking a bottle of pop at the filling station These things just don't happen in mine The only grocery store delivers to your house And the butcher wraps your meat in plain view There are home-cooked meals and Sunday church Welcoming strangers who are just passing through The Ladies Sewing Circle & Garden Club Meets every third Wednesday without fail Complete with tea and cookies and a tad of gossip And one postman still delivers all the mail An ice cream soda at the drugstore fountain For a young man and the girl that he's wooing Bragging and tall tales on the courthouse steps Where old men gather for whittling and chewing Cars, doors and windows always left unlocked Never any worry about burglars and crime The only doctor in town still makes house calls Paid in eggs, baked goods and vegetables at times Late in the day, the town band is tuning up Making ready for a summer concert in the park After an afternoon nap in the old porch swing Then a weenie roast and fireworks after dark I realize I'm thinking of a town like Mayberry A wonderful place frozen forevermore in time Where there's love and peace and joy and hope Existing in the recesses of an aimless mind I guess any place is really what we make of it Whether the population is large or small And where we live doesn't always count for much Rather, how we live is what matters most of all Kathleen McCoy Eldridge© April 21, 2008 All Rights Reserved