This weekend I packed up my family and got to meet up with Rocky Turner, her husband (and my boss) Jeff Turner and our friend Kim Wood. Along with our collective families, we made a nice sized crowd and enjoyed seeing some sights up in the north eastern portion of my state, West Virginia.
We spent most of our time in a little town called Thomas. I’m an extreme morning person and rather than wake anyone, I crawled out of bed and got to know the town better. A sleepy morning town will tell you all about the people who live there, if you will just take the time to listen.
I know that the people there are kind. I saw proof of that in the flower pots set in front of a doorway to block the way. A terse “Use Other Door†sign would have worked, but
the flowers said it with a smile.
There was a box of chalk and colorful designs scrawled across the sidewalk in front of a store. I imagined the shopkeeper setting them out for the kids, rather than trying to run them off.
A pan of water by a storefront told me pets were welcomed, not tolerated.
There was a sign in a shop proclaiming “Karma Soupâ€. If you’re hungry, help yourself. You get a meal, they get good karma and count it as a fair trade.
I saw a broken wheelbarrow used as a planter. An empty wine bottle propped open a broken bedroom window to catch the breeze. Everywhere I looked, I found things repurposed rather than thrown away.
This was an old town. Some might drive through and think that it’s seen better days, they might even write it off as poor or even backwards.
I know better. This town whispers that it’s full of creative, loving people who will find a way to work with what they have. They’ll take care of each other and every living thing around them. It was said so clearly that I didn’t even have to meet the people to know it. They left their clues everywhere. From one walk, I could tell you this was a good place to live.
I’m left wondering what my town would tell me on an early morning walk. I don’t think the story would be such a happy one.
And I wonder what I can do to change that.
Do you have any idea what a remarkable writer you are? You never disappoint!
Such a beautiful and thoughtful post. “Repurposed” is a great word and relevant concept.
What beautiful reflections. Perhaps we should do more of that…looking to see what our actions say through the eyes of someone new.
My town told me that you’ll get arrested for taking $.42 cents from a fountain.
I love Thomas too…
Delightful Sarah. Makes me think about the messages in so many areas of our lives…our homes, churches, families in fact our very beings.
Wow–this was a wonderful read!
what lovely things you found… karma soup, flower pots, —-my town has sleepy surfers and hurried businessmen. I’m thinking small towns have it right.
kelleyz
[...] Purple Fiddle is located in the charming little town of Thomas, WV. If you’d like to sleep over, there is an old fashined guest house right next door called [...]