Skip to main content

Our Town

In this episode, Our Town . . .

Like millions from the Baby Boom generation, I grew up in a vibrant small Midwestern town with a population of ~1,300.

While listening to music on Spotify, I was recently emotionally moved by the 2007 Grammy Award-winning song Our Town written for the Disney Movie - Cars. Lyrics & Music by Randy Newman and sung by James Taylor.

In my imagination, I'm transported back in time. With tears welling up in my eyes, I can see all the storefront businesses on our town square, which surrounded a Bandstand on Main Street.

In those days, Our Town had three grocery stores, two cafes', two hardware stores, a National Bank, a Ben Franklin Store, Movie Theater, a Tastee Freeze, Drug Store with a Soda Fountain, a Furniture Store, Men's Clothing Store, Marshalls Plumbing & Heating, Tavern, Insurance offices, Wilma's Pool Hall, Doctors Office, a Newspaper Printer, Post Office, Library, two Barbershops, a Ford Dealer, local Orchard, and three gas stations. We loved - Our little town.

After graduation from high school, I'll admit, it was hard to find a reason left to stay; I went off to college and never returned. However, like many Midwestern families, my family never left; they witnessed a steady decline. It wasn't an Interstate that bypassed our community. But a cultural shift, from supporting local businesses to the incitement of discounted prices at BIG Box stores like Walmart. One-by-one, all the businesses in town closed except - The Tavern.

Back to what inspired me to write this piece. I rediscovered that timeless songs transcend their intended purpose and unlock memories that are all but lost. Allow me to share the lyrics. Click the following link to listen on YouTube.

Our Town

by; Randy Newman


Long ago, but not so very long ago
The world was different; oh yes, it was
You settled down, and you built a town and made it live
And you watched it grow
It was your town.

Time goes by, time brings changes, you change, too
Nothing comes that you can't handle, so on you go
Never see it coming; the world caves in on you
On your town
Nothing you can do.

Main street isn't Main street anymore
Lights don't shine as brightly as they shone before
Tell the truth, lights don't shine at all
In our town.

Sun comes up each morning
Just like it's always done
Get up, go to work, start the day,
Open up for business that's never gonna come
As the world rolls by a million miles away.

Main street isn't main street anymore
No one seems to need us like they did before
It's hard to find a reason left to stay
But it's our town
Love it anyway
Come what may, it's our town.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Tammy Ramsell said…
<3
May 5, 2022 at 10:13 PM
Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

We Need Awe More Than Ever

In this episode, Why We Need Awe More Than Ever Yesterday morning, I slipped into the cool stillness of my backyard before dawn. The air was crisp, the silence deep—broken only by the faint rustling of leaves and the familiar calls of birds waking early. Then I looked up. A thin crescent moon hung low in the east, with Venus just above it like a shining jewel. The sky was clear and full of stars, and for a moment, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time: Awe! For thousands of years, the heavens have carried on their steady dance, untouched by human noise. No ruler, no election, no breaking news has ever changed their rhythm. And yet here I was, tempted to reach for my phone—to trade the eternal for the urgent. Instead, I stayed. I watched the moonrise, the sky slowly lighten, and the world around me stir. Ducks passed overhead in a loose V, hummingbirds zipped past to visit their feeder, pausing mid-air as if curious about me sitting so still. Little by little, the static in my mind f...
2 comments
Read more

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Pessimism Aversion Trap

In this episode, The Pessimism Aversion Trap Picture this: a room full of bright minds nodding in agreement as a bold new strategy is unveiled. The slides are polished, the vision is grand, and the future, we're told, has never looked brighter. Everyone beams—because who wants to be the one to say, "Um… this might not work"? Heaven forbid someone spoil the mood with a dose of reality. Better to smile, add a buzzword or two, and march confidently toward disaster. That's how the Pessimism Aversion Trap works. Even now, I can still hear the sound—a high-pitched shriek and a digital hum, followed by the slow, rhythmic clatter of data pouring from a 5¼-inch floppy disk. It was the late 1980s, and my makeshift home office (our living room) was dominated by what felt like a marvel of modern engineering: a used Tandy 1000 PC with not one, but two floppy drives. To top it off, we purchased a 'blisteringly fast' 300-baud modem—which, for the uninitiated, could downloa...
1 comment
Read more

Pushing the Pause Button

In this episode, Pushing the Pause Button: Stepping Off the Treadmill Hello, friends — If you're reading this, I'm already off the grid. Today begins a much-needed vacation, and for the next few weeks, On the Fly is taking a break right along with me. For a long time, my inner voice has said, 'Keep every commitment, no matter what.' That's meant early mornings, long days, and a calendar packed with posts, podcasts, and projects I couldn't seem to say no to. I've been trying to be the tireless workhorse—but that kind of grind doesn't end well. Lately, I've noticed I'm not quite myself—shorter fuse, louder sighs, and a few too many grumbles (Lori deserves a medal). That's when you know it's time to hit pause before the spark burns out. So, I'm stepping back to rest, recharge, and remember what it feels like to not live by the next deadline: no tech, no to-do lists, just some space to breathe. Thank you, truly, for all your support and ...
2 comments
Read more