When my daughter was in middle and early high school, our favorite television show was The Gilmore Girls on Tuesday nights. It was the story of a single mom and her daughter and their relationship with each other and the others in their lives as the daughter, Rory, grew from middle school through college. I loved the very cool Lorelai, the young, hip but oh-so-very-human and fallible single mom. Even though I had my two kids married, at twenty-something and thirty-something and she had hers as a single 16-year-old, I still related to all the pains and ultimate joys of single parenthood that she went through. It's not always easy to make decisions without a partner and some days you just get tired of it--even the small ones like what to make for dinner. Even though my kids still have a dad, he didn't factor into my day-to-day parenting equation and I wouldn't say that we really co-parented much. Frankly, it was just easier that way.
But I digress ... because that's all water under the bridge, anyway. One of my favorite parts of our weekly peek into the lives of Lorelai and Rory was the backdrop of their town, Stars Hollow, a fictitious but nonetheless historic town in Connecticut, complete with a town square (much like Morristown, the historic NJ town in which I grew up).
But I'm not writing about Morristown tonight either (although one day I will--it's also a beautiful place to live). Rather, as I sit on my front porch watching fireworks burst overhead in the night sky, I'm once again conscious of how much in love I am with my beautiful small town of Denville, New Jersey. I've written about this lovely place before* but I really ought not to broadcast how special it is--I should keep it a secret so it stays small and tightly knit, the way it is right now.
The fireworks are from our annual carnival, always held the last week in June to raise money for the all-volunteer fire department. Lots of small towns in New Jersey do this and if you're a lover of small-time carnivals, you can follow them from town to town all summer long. When I walk by the carnival on these June evenings and see the ferris wheel lighting the fairgrounds, it makes me think of Stars Hollow ... that tiny town where everyone knew everyone and they still governed themselves through town meetings. I'm sure there's nothing particularly unique about my own little Star's Hollow. You can see the same smiles across children's faces on any carousel that's twirling anywhere tonight ... I'm sure firefighters everywhere grill great cheeseburgers ... I'm sure guys everywhere leave their wives to put their kids on and off the rides and sneak off for a drink in the beer tent. But it feels unique to me. It's my ferris wheel and these are my kids, my carnival games and my firefighters selling 50/50 raffle tickets.
These are my cafes downtown where everyone sits outside in the summer and chats with anyone they know, whether well or remotely, in passing. I have even grown to love the tacky Santa Fe-style tiled municipal planters that line our streets which someone mistakenly chose over something more appropriately colonial like galvanized steel or clay or concrete. (Whomever is choosing and caring for the plants in them, though, is doing an outstanding job.)
Everyone who works in my bank knows me, a big help in the hurricane aftermath. My barrista at Starbucks (when I was still going to Starbucks--another casualty of the calorie cutback) had my drink ready before I got to the cash register and the same was true at my Dunkin Donuts. The guys at my gas station have been looking after my car for so long they know what I need before I do (also a function of my total automotive ignorance). We get personal service in the dress shops like you see in old movies (they bring you things to try and make really helpful suggestions). When local people win the lottery, it's the talk of the town for months (this has happened three times in the last 15 years). We have parades twice a year and will have fireworks again next week for the 4th of July. Last Saturday was the annual Duck Races for charity. Buy a rubber duck and launch it in the river. They float to a certain point, etc. I've never been since it started after my kids were too big for such simple pleasures but I'm sure something spectacularly fun happens at the end ...
Around the 4th there are more fun things to do ... steak dinner fundraisers, music and tricky trays ... we love to get together for good causes around here. And again, I realize this isn't unique to us. But I love that we're so willing to give and grateful that the community is so charitable as a whole.
The fireworks are over in my little Star's Hollow for tonight. It truly is a Stars Hollow tonight for the sky is clear and brilliant with stars--real stars. I'm hanging out with all the neighbors who walked into town for an unobstructed view rather than my tree filtered experience. Middle aged folk like me and young couples with tired little ones and too-loud teens vying for each other's attention. Living downtown has the advantage of close houses which makes for close neighbors. Our famous ice cream shop must have customers spilling out of the place clear onto the sidewalk; it's like that on a regular night in the summer let alone on a night when something special is going on.
Stars Hollow. Cheers. Oz. Whatever metaphor works in your context ... everyone needs a special place. I hope your hometown is that place for you.
~
*Summer Time On Main Street
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