South Houston Street

Every summer for as long as I can remember, we came down to Athens Alabama to spend time with my maternal grandmother, Wilna Poteete. She lived next door to my Aunt Nella on South Houston Street, just up the hill from the Ben Franklin dime store and Dub's Burgers - a fixture in the great town of Athens. The beauty of coming back here every summer and many Christmases was that it taught me the importance of the small town. My Aunt Bec lived 6 blocks down from Nana and Aunt Mary lived two blocks down and over from Aunt Bec. Everyone knew everybody - which small towners say can be annoying, but there is a certain sort of comfort about this when you are in your time of need. Neighbors come together to help. You could walk everywhere safely, without cell phones tethered to you and you could play outside until dark without risk of being snatched. We shucked corn on the doorstep, walked to the dimestore for 10 cent candy and caught pollywogs in the creek that ran through town. There is a calm in a small town that you can't get in the big city - a simpler way of life that makes you want to sip sweet tea on the front porch and contemplate the shapes of clouds as they float by without worrying about what you are not getting done. Athens taught me the importance of the deep breath and to slow down.