Characters

I am very proud of the fact that I grew up in a small town. I loved it then and love it now. Even though I no longer live there it is my home and will always remain so. That town made me who I am today. It is there that I learned my values. I was truly blessed to have been born and raised there.
One of the things I loved about my town was the way ,much like the mythical Mayberry from tv fame ,we had our town characters and embraced them. There were many characters about and they were tolerated and spoken of with a kind of affection. This attitude had been present in town since its' founding.
Songs were written about them, " Old Jeff Licketack from Soak Hide Dreen " and "Charlie Topping did the hopping while Rosie beat the drum" come to mind. Stories were told of their adventures and misadventures.
Some of the characters were what you would call Intellectualy Handicapped today but we just called them simple. That wasn't meant as a bad term either, just a description. I remember seeing a man that was referred to as Eel Spear. He rode a bicycle,just on the rims without tires,carrying an eel spear. Across soak hide road and down springy banks road to go eeling. He sold those eels as a means of support. Just one of many characters. Wimpy Payne was another character and his was a tragic tale. Moose Brown was another.
All the characters had one thing in common. They rarely broke any laws and those they did were not serious and usualy the result of drink or ignorance.
Today I think this tolerance is gone. Now we would either want to reform them or have them removed. The cast of characters has changed and I fear not for the better. The characters of old provided a comic relief to lifes everyday pressures. They were not belitttled,at least not to their face,and were helped along by most.
I wish a few characters lived in my new neighborhood. I kind of miss those folks.