Thanks, Joanna, for taking the time to like my comment.
So, is life in Harrisburg, IL as laid back as I remember Streator IL (where I grew up) and Macomb, IL (where I went to college) to be? Where folks leave their doors open, house doors, car doors, where a kid doing DUMB goofing off has about 20 surrogate parents to whomperjaw him AND report to his parents, where somebody is always there to pick up the young boy who fell off his bike and skinned his knee, where the whole town comes out for Memorial Day parade, 4th of July, Labor Day, Homecoming and high school kids are respectful and have no problem mingling with and talking with their elders, and even their juniors?
(I strongly suspect this to be the longest sentence I ever composed ... I might very well be mistaken)
Or is this just some wistful notion of mine, longing for a childhood that never was, but ought to have been?
Joanna wrote: "Life in Harrisburg is laid back but not like it used to be when we were growing up.. I guesseven in small town America the problems of city crime and unemployment and kids falling off bikes and people being to afraid to come out to do anything because their parents might sue, it is a society that has done a complete 360 compared to when I lived there in Carpentersville. We used to be able to leave our doors unlocked AND open at night but now at dusk, you close it up. The town comes out for parades and kids still sit in the parking lots and sit on the hoods of their cars and scout for their friends but there is a lot of kids with nothing to do but get in trouble anymore.
I really miss those days gone by. I don't know if I miis Carpentersville though. It is not the same and I know changes have to happen but it seems those changes happened a few years after graduation. I moved here to keep my son safe from the violence that was happening there. I am so glad i did that too. I missed out a lot of it too Mark. I think we all did to an extent. Take care of yourself my friend, you are a wondeful friend.."
