The Towns I Drove Past and Still Think About
Most places I will only ever see at sixty two miles an hour. A few of them stayed with me anyway, and the reasons I did not stop are worth more scrutiny than I usually give them.
Small Towns
The Two Buildings I Always Try: The Museum and the Library
Every small town has a historical museum with impossible hours and a library that is open when you need it. One of them is usually a disappointment and the other one is where I have learned the most.
Sunday Is the Hardest Day to Judge a Town
Arriving on a Sunday morning gives you the worst possible picture of a small town, and I have written off at least four places based on it. Here is what is actually happening behind all those locked doors.
How to Talk to People Without Sounding Like a Reporter
The wrong opening question shuts a conversation down in about four seconds. After years of getting this wrong at counters and gas pumps, here is what actually works and where I still overstep.
Reading a Main Street by What Is Still Open
Hardware stores, insurance offices, antique malls and pharmacies. Which businesses survive on a small town main street says more about the place than any of the buildings do, and I have misread it plenty.
The First Five Minutes: How I Decide If a Town Gets My Afternoon
A rough system for reading a small town in the time it takes to fill the tank. It works maybe two thirds of the time, which is better than the alternative of never getting off the highway at all.