It is what it is and that’s good

This morning I ventured into Leknes just to see the town. A 5-minute shuttle bus ride took me to the center of town. Two gas stations, two grocery stores, a garden store and a mall with clothing, shoes, electronics, and other necessary items make up this downtown that covers one city block. There are no “fluff” stores here. The teenagers were chatting with friends or working….not a cell phone in sight. No graffiti… no litter except for one wrapper that a young man saw and picked up. Restaurants are family diners or pubs….. not a fast food place anywhere. I popped into the grocery stores to check prices… a dozen eggs is 7.90 in US dollars, a pound of bacon is 14.95 and gas runs about 11.00 a gallon. Life here is not cheap but their needs are simple . One teenage told me there are only 400 kids in his high school. They don’t play video games or text, they actually go see each other and take a hike together or ice skate or cross-country ski together. I asked him if he got bored in this small town and he smiled and said, “we have our families, our friends, and nature all around us. There is no time to be bored.” Leknes felt real and healthy and pure and good …. Kind of the way life used to be. I will miss this simple place and these simple people .もっと詳しく