A Special Letter...

Issue: December, 1985

Dear Editor:
This is our life's dream! I grew up in a small farming community in Kansas. We never locked a door. It was commonplace to leave your car running while you went in the store.

The people were just 'good ole down home folk',... but then everyone knew one another. Being friendly was as natural as drinking water.

One evening, my city boyfriend came to my home. About 8:00 that night - out of the blue - he loudly whispered, "Listen!"

Quite puzzled, I looked at my girlfriend and asked, "Do you hear anything?"

Carolyn said, "No, I don't hear anything!"

With eyes as big as saucers, Buddy whispered, "That's just it. It's like the whole world is sleeping! I didn't know that silence has a sound all it's own. It's eerie!"

Well, we busted out laughing. After we calmed down, I looked at him in disbelief and said, "It's hard to believe that you have never heard the peace and quiet before!"

I married that city boy and moved to Kansas City, which overwhelmed this country girl.

I waved at people as I had done in Waverly all my life. I said hello to people in the stores, wondering all the while why the people looked at me as if I were an alien.

I finally asked my husband why people acted so strange towards me when I would speak to them.

Well, he could not believe that I was going around saying Hi to everyone.

He wasted no time in explaining "city ways" to me! City people figure that you are either 'crazy' or up to something crooked.

He strongly urged me not to be so friendly because he was afraid that I would wind up in a bad situation that could well turn out, to be fatal.

Disheartened, I worked on 'not being so friendly,' and it was very lonely! I mean, we didn't even know our next door neighbors' names!

For this corn-fed, country raised girl, the big city quickly became an unfriendly, coldhearted world. I realized then, that I really was an 'alien' in this foreign land.

So, I eagerly agreed to move to Concord, North Carolina with my husband's company six years ago.

Since it is much, much smaller, the people are friendlier, which was a more than welcomed relief. However, it is still a far cry from the 'good ole down home folk' I had loved so dearly.

By the way, through the years I have countrified my city boy, which is a good thing because I will not be citified! My city boy loves that peace and quiet that he first thought was so eerie.

One day about three years ago, we decided to drive to the mountains, randomly taking whatever road sounded good. We wound up in Meadows of Dan, Virginia where we were introduced to The Mountain Laurel.

We love the funny and the heart-warming stories of your area's rich heritage. We thoroughly enjoy the ole timey mountain music, the storytellers, the countryside - just everything.

Even better yet, as we were driving around the area, the people waved at us. They really waved at us! I immediately felt my heart swelling up with love for these 'good ole down home folk'!

For us, Meadows of Dan was "love at first sight"!

We now have a Life's Dream. We pray with all our hearts, it will come to pass. We want to settle in the Meadows of Dan area. But most of all, we want to have all of you 'good ole down home folk' all around us!

J.L.T. Cox

P.S. Please keep up the style and tradition of your paper. I save them all.
They give me hope that I had all but given up on and there really are no words that could possibly tell you what your paper does for my morale!

With warmest regards,
The Cox's