Reply #23: I really enjoyed your post: [View All]

[callous taoboy]

I have been lamenting the disappearance of the culture you eloquently describe in your letter. I was a boy living in small town America in the 60's and 70's, and though it was starting to slow down some, the downtown area was still humming along. I used to enjoy going on errands with mom and visiting all of these unique stores that had been in business since the turn of the century or better. The shop owners all knew me and I have great memories of looking at all of the stuff in the shops. We'd go by the library which was this wonderful marble building built in the 20's, very art deco, and the lobby always had a bunch of old men sitting around on couches reading the paper. The sound of trains was always a part of the downtown experience since my town had been a large railroad hub since the 1850's. My main impression of the people I encountered was that they were all colorful characters. But our first mall was built in the early 70's, then a bigger one in the late 70's, and downtown dried up over time. There have been attempts to revive it but they've never taken off. Last time I drove through downtown was at night about a year ago, and it was kind of scarey, most of the buildings boarded up or falling apart. What's ironic is that the mall wasn't doing much better.

I feel for the kids of today, though, that didn't get to experience small town America during its hayday.