Except when I have to get across town! Walsenburg is a Small Town. Google it and you will see what I mean.
Looking at a map, you’ll see a few things. Three major highways connect in town. I-25, HWY 160 and HWY 10. The rail road also cuts through town. Add to that the fact that there are no streets other than the highways that go all the way through town. Hence, every time there is a parade down Main St./Walsen Ave., the town is cut in half. Same way with the train.
Today is the Plaza De Los Leones parade. Celebrating the Hispanic heritage of Walsenburg, which use to be called… yep, you guessed it… Plaza De Los Leones! So here I am trying to get John to the Community Center so that he can set up a wireless connection for the library’s booth at the event. Then, to get gas for Blue, the broken truck. It blew a fuel line. Once I have the gas, it’s back over to 520 so that Dan can finish fixing Blue. Normally, this would be a 10 minute run. With the main roads blocked, this meant a 10 minute trip just to pick up and deliver John. Another 10 minutes to get to the gas station and 5 more to get to 520. Gads!
Of course, by the time I got back, Dan had discovered that the gas line he had was too big. Off to City Auto we went. Yes, another 15 minutes of circumnavigating the metropolis of Walsenburg! The parade was over, but the traffic backed up on three highways and the train waiting on the tracks added to the confusion. Keep in mind that we are so small of a town that we only have two sets of stop lights in the entire county!
Now, in spite of my frustrations with traffic this morning, I really love living in Walsenburg. It is a quiet town where you can forget to lock your car or your door and don’t have to worry about anyone breaking in. Your kids can walk to just about anywhere in 15 minutes and if they get in trouble, you’ll have 5 phonecalls from friends, neighbors and or concerned citizens before the kid can walk home the 4 blocks from where it happened. You spend 20 minutes in Safeway talking to your friends even though you just went in to buy the paper.
You are also either a newcomer, someone who moved here anywhere between 2 weeks or 15 years ago, or you’re related to half the town. I’m one of those related to half the town. It made dating interesting for the boys. Before they’d even ask a girl out, they asked me if we were related!
Being related to so many is actually a good thing. Especially on my new job. I finished up my first week at work with a lot accomplished and plenty to do on Monday. Dan and I will try and get keys cut for the front door while we are up in Pueblo this afternoon. Someone along the way had lost the office keys, so the City just added padlocks to the doors. Not very glamourous for the old train station which now houses the Chamber of Commerce and the Work Force Center.
Living in a small town has other advantages. Our dog Brandy keeps jumping the fence. She just learned that she can get out the one side which is low. However, everyone around here knows her and either tells her to “go home!”, or calls us and lets us know where she is.
Guess I aught to go see if the truck is done.
