Life in a Small Town

Howdy do, y’all; this here’s Nickelback Nathan again. It’s been a while since we last let y’all know what’s goin’ on down here in Arizona, hasn’t it? Yup. Ain’t much goin’ on down here. Ain’t much to be goin’ on down here neither. We’re just y’all’s typical small town that looks outdated but it ain’t; we’s keepin’ up with them modern times. As for those Wildcat City folks, y’all’d think they’d do the same. They weren’t until Leo the Patriotic Lion got hit. Then them heartless creatures destroyed Earth. It’s a good thing that Zanta critter let his world be the world we went to for a while, and it’s a good thing he kindly bought us all them vacation homes that were our temporary homes during that time. Mine’s in Arbordale, the same town where we first met Alex. What a joy he is, ain’t he?

Contrary to what you folks might think since Wildcat City had been outdated all them decades, allow me to let y’all in on one little secret. There’s three towns actin’ like this: us, Hicksburg, Texas; and the district in Wildcat City called Horseshoeville. They look outdated to preserve tradition of the Wild West, but they aren’t entirely that way. Folks tend to think Horseshoeville was the first town to do it. Well, it ain’t them. It ain’t Hicksburg neither. It’s us. Yup. We’s the first. Not them other two. We’s the first.

And them reasons why we’s the first is probably because we’re located pretty much out in all them sticks. It’s a nice place to be if y’all prefer the farmin’ life like I do, and y’all don’t give a care ’bout them technological gadgets that allegedly are corruptin’ them educational systems and people involved in them. Y’all be the judge of that. I’m just tellin’ y’all what I’ve believed, but I’m prayin’ I ain’t a victim of that there phenomenon known as groupthink. But that thing sometimes happens in farm communities like ours. We all tend to think the same way and don’t challenge nobody. (I got a feelin’ I am, ’cause I did have one of them outbursts similar to him. When Gentleman 13 first struck, I screamed, “It ain’t ethical to be rich!” I said that because our town had a problem with millionaires linked to crimes, and the folks started sayin’ they’d rather be poor than rich.)

When y’all in a town like ours that has roughly between two hundred and five thousand, and we got about 3,209, I believe, as of last year, pretty much everybody knows everybody else, and sometimes their business. Y’all got your guy that’s the town drunk, for instance. I mean, our city doesn’t have an alcohol problem though it ain’t illegal (because look what happened with Prohibition), but in small towns, there’s always that one specific feller that is always that there obvious standout from all them others. Plus, it ain’t legal to do any of them moonshine stills or somethin’, though we ain’t had a still since 1949. Or was it 1969? I can’t remember. All I do know is that part of it is all that global fear of Leo the Patriotic Lion that ain’t never gonna stop. I feel for him. I really do.

Yet the simple life is a life I appreciate the best. It’s nice to socialize with folks in person, make some music with him (my friends and I formed our own bluegrass group, although we can also play some of them blues tunes and country music as well), and enjoy the sunshine during a long, hard day’s work of farm chores and duties. This differs from y’all city folks, whom, accordin’ to all them rumors I’ve been a-hearin’, can’t put down them phones long enough to even see where y’all’s driving them cars. We don’t drive no automobiles down here; we’s still a-ridin’ horses or walkin’ to all them practical places like schools, the bank, restaurant, pharmacy, general store, home, etc. But y’all might just well prove them wrong and actually use practical reasons for them things. I just never hear about it.

Anyway, there’s just a brief thought for y’all to ponder.

THE END

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Eterna and characters plus Gentleman 13 (C)  Zanta Keplicus (Zanta) and used with his permission