Dear Blytheville,
I'm going to pretend for a little while that I'm in junior high and I make hand written notes to people that say things like "just wanted to drop a line and tell you ..." something or other.
So I just wanted to drop a line and tell you that I love you.
I talk a lot these days about my own life's journey and re-discovering myself and I know it's all just a little bit too "Eat, Pray, Love" sometimes ... but there's one aspect of this journey I haven't covered yet. Since last fall, I have been rediscovering this town, and it has been wonderful. Absolutely lovely and delightful.
Last Thursday, I sat on the front porch of the Chamber of Commerce, soaking up a gorgeous spring breeze and cracking up some (very well done) crawfish, making easy conversation with a few old friends and a few that I'd just met that evening. It was a gorgeous experience.
Saturday, I helped set up the CN's booth for Mayfest. It was raining and we were struggling a bit and out of nowhere this amazing, strong, funny woman showed up and made it all work. She didn't know us, she was just being nice. And then my baby girl and I sat for several hours and visited with friends and met some column readers and just generally enjoyed being with people.
This Thursday, I went to an author talk/poetry reading at That Bookstore in Blytheville. And I'm just going to say that if you aren't attending those events, you are making a mistake. It was just a lovely evening. Rich, warm, inviting and motivating at the same time. I saw people I work with in a social setting, and learned some exciting new things about our community.
And ya'll ... that was all in just one week. And none of these events were exclusive -- we can all be doing any of this that we want.
Everywhere I've gone, I have been touched by the warmth of both friends and strangers. It's not even unusual for me to meet someone in the grocery store or at the Mexican restaurant who has some words of encouragement. I can honestly say that in the last six months or so, I have re-learned just how wonderful it can be to live in a small Southern town, especially if that town is your home.
So Blytheville ... you are awesome. I'm sorry that for so many years I kept you at arm's length, assuming I wouldn't like this or that, or just being reclusive or disdainful for no good reason. Or choosing at every chance I got to get out of town for a little fun. For ignoring all the wonderful and enriching things you have to offer. For not throwing my wholehearted support behind all the new things that are happening.
But now I'm with you. You've been behind me, in front of me, surrounding me with love and support and every opportunity I needed to air out and have some fun. So I'm with you, and I can't wait for Zoe to learn how awesome you are, too.
You have a dark side, and I know it all too well. Young men are losing their lives in pointless fights with each other, and innocent bystanders are in danger when they go out to try and enjoy themselves. I remember things myself, from high school ... stepping over puddles of blood in the hallway when someone got stabbed. It broke my heart then and it does so even more now. The worst sub-section of this nation's popular culture has taken such a strong hold on so many of our young people that they see no other way to live outside of their codes of violence. They've been brutalized so they want to brutalize in return. It's sad; it's a vicious cycle that seems like it will repeat forever, and it makes us feel hopeless.
But that is not a reason to give up. It's a reason to show up more and love harder and think more carefully about others. Like my esteemed editor said a few weeks ago, it's a reason to talk more loudly about all this great stuff that's going on. It's a reason to put up a fight when naysayers start screaming about getting out of Dodge while the getting's good.
This town is challenging. It's flawed. It's real and raw and sometimes brutal and sometimes just downright boring. But it's beautiful. It's original. It has flavor and character and WONDERFUL people who continuously show up to support each other, day after day after day.
It's a roller coaster. I can sit at my desk and cry over the latest news, then change my clothes and go out to an event and leave with happy tears over the love, the expressions of friendship, the community.
That's life.
That's Blytheville.
So thanks, hometown. Thanks for the hard lessons and the moments of breathtaking beauty. Thanks for showing yourself to me all over again, for making this sometimes mundane life feel, once again, like it is full of joy and excitement.
Love, Shannon
sspears@blythevillecourier.com