A Love Affair

This afternoon I walked around town and snapped some photos . We are not a buttoned up, uptight community. Pride flags hang from a number of houses, signs urging people to support transgendered rights share space with evergreens in front yards.

Our restaurants are diverse like the population— Mexican, Indian, Korean, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese— yes there’s also a pub serving up burgers and beer. 

In the middle of town what was once a hardware store underwent a total facelift and is now a warm inviting community dining space. A weekly dinner and fresh produce and groceries are available for those who are in need. Revolving art displays from the artists who have studios in a space once a school— but now studios for artists add warmth to the room. 

There’s a store where you can wash your dog or leave that to one of the store owners. And there are three consignment shops— one high end, one selling everything from old golf clubs with wood heads to clothes from previous eras, and one store that caters to the unusual.

Not only is there a place you can ride a stationary bike at 2:00 am, but there’s also a fairly large studio where you can learn everything from karate to tai chi— and a recent store offering salt therapy opened during the summer. And we’re talking about a downtown that is really only three blocks. 

Add the requisite nail salon, hair dresser, barber shop, paper store, insurance agency, dentist, massage therapist, yoga teacher and recent upscale food speciality shop to the list. Then there’s our own dollar store, a music store, and a store where you can play games, buy comics, and hang out with people who enjoy fantasy games. 

Best of all we have a small movie theater. Because a particular man of means grew up here and remembered the theater of his youth he bought the theater when it was falling apart. The seats had wires protruding and parts of the ceiling were prone to leaks.

He brought it back to its original look— redid everything and reopened. We get first run movies, art movies, art and independent movies and even have a once a month movie night when  classic movies are shown. And the price is right.

Then we have some quirky stores. I did take several photos of rather bizarre dolls placed as if seated on wood chairs. They were on display outside a store that simply is called Collectables. One creation in particular caught my attention— a three foot doll worthy of a horror movie. 

She offerered a gap toothed smile to anyone stopping to say helllo.

And if you walk a bit further out if the main drag there are two stone lions.