Small Town Thoughts

Yesterday, I had an eye appointment at Hampton Village at 2. My Thursday schedule worked out that I just took the afternoon off. Chris had conferences, so I had planned on taking two buses to get to the eye doctor. For those of you that don't know, I sold my car in August because we really didn't need it and I hated the hassle of having it. I don't mind taking the bus. The only pain in the ass is they really don't run on schedule, so you can wait up to a half hour.

Anyway, I left school after Advisory and was waiting for the bus, when out of nowhere, two friends of mine whip around the corner of Big Bend and Manchester and pick me up. We went and ate chili at one's house and then the other took me to my appointment. After my brief appointment, I thought about taking two buses home, but decided to walk the mile and a half/two miles, because it was perfectly nice walking weather and I had This American Life podcasts to listen to. I walk about half a mile down Hampton before Chris's cousin whips into a parking lot and picks me up.

I thought about this when I got home, and what struck me, other than my incredibly good fortune to have my transportation needs taken care of, was that how much of a small town St Louis really is. Everyone knows everybody, and if you don't know someone, chances are you know someone who knows said person. And while it can get lame answering the "Where'd you go to high school" question with, "I'm from Iowa," I like that you can connect with people through an extensive network of friends.

Ironically, that same thought came to me as I watched the reports on the shooting in Kirkwood. The same friend who gave me a ride to the eye doctor is from Kirkwood, and I knew from her family's involvement with local politics, that there was almost no way she wouldn't know the shooter and the victims. An e-mail from her this morning confirmed what I had suspected: she knew all of the victims and the shooter. Her parents have lost their friends and are devastated. I can't imagine how citizens of Kirkwood feel right now. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.