The perks of living in a small town

Through my years I always planned on moving to a big city, ideally Boston. Being a die hard Red Sox and Celtics fan it was the perfect location. I fell in love with those two teams and city when I was around eight years old. My dad, Brett, had a newspaper convention that he took me, my brother Robert and my mom Debbie with him. We got to tour the city, ride on “Ducks” which were big vehicles that go from water to land lickity split, tour Fenway Park, or how the locals say Fenway Pahk and walk around the city and enjoy ourselves. All of that just seemed like something I would love to be around but as I got older during college, I started to realize how much I enjoyed being in a small town like American Falls. You won’t get the same type of hospitality and friendliness here as you would in a big city like Boston.

A couple of events happened this past week that hit me like an uppercut from Mike Tyson. First, we decided to take my dad, Brett, out for a birthday lunch. Seeing some family friends there, my dad stopped over at their table to say hi. When we went to pay for our bill, it had already been paid for, by the family friend my dad talked to. I leave this person anonymous so he and I both don’t get heat for putting his name in the paper, but acts of kindness like that should never go unnoticed. They left before we could thank them but we really appreciated it. The second instance happened a few hours later at a fundraiser at the American Falls Golf Course. It was a scramble that was trying to help out the Flores family with their son, Noah, being diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age. It also was his birthday that day. This was the same type of thing the community did for my family and my dad when he was stuck in the hospital. Raising money to help us with our hospital bills and giving us some comfort knowing we had people back home that loved us and truly cared about us. All of the proceeds that were won were given to the family. Chief of Police, Brandon Wilkinson, started a Happy Birthday song that eventually got everyone standing and shouting, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” to my dad. He also gave a quick speech before that really hit home. I hope the Flores family can feel the same comfort and love my family did when we went through our situation.

Going back to the comparisons of a big city or a small town, the big city might have all the flashy lights and cool buildings but I can guarantee you that you won’t find that kind of love and support from a whole community like you will in the greatest town in the world. I assume I will take a trip back to Boston sometime in the future, but it will only be for vacation. The only suggestion I have to make this town truly remarkable, is to invest in some of the “Duck” vehicles for public use like a transit. That would be wicked awesome.