- Wonderful, up-to-date news and traffic tips on the radio. Here, I'm luck to get a radio station. Seems out in the country there are only country music stations. I HATE country music.
- Reliable school closing information on snow days. You know what I'm talking about--watching TV on a snowy morning and seeing if your school scrolls across the bottom with the word CLOSED after it. Here, I have to rely on a country music station to list the school closings, and they only do it twice an hour. No kidding: The last time I did that I had to listen to the awful song "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk." Check it out for your self at http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/adkins-trace/honky-tonk-badonkadonk-15326.html. "Like Donkey Kong - And whoo-wee - Shut my mouth, slap your grandma - There outta be a law - Get the Sheriff on the phone - Lord have mercy, how's she even get them britches on - That honky tonk badonkadonk."
- Getting stuck in traffic. Okay, I don't really miss it. But it sure beats getting stuck behind a tractor. But then again, I can pass the tractor.
- Seeing a wide range of beautifully taken care of cars. The riced up Hondas and Hyundais, with the wheels that keep spinning even when the car is stopped. Here I see a lot of 10-year-old teal Grand AMs. They have to be teal, or red. Not to mention the Ford or Chevy trucks. But that's about it.
- Good coffee. No Starbucks where I am. Not even close. I guess not having one nearby has saved me a lot of money. Maybe that's a good thing.
- Being able to buy things in stores OTHER than Wal*Mart. I have to shop there because there isn't anywhere else unless I want to drive for over an hour.
- High Speed Internet. My choice right now for home internet service is dialup or nothing. I chose nothing. Any suggestions or recommendations for satellite DSL would be greatly appreciated. For now, I get all my "Internetting" done at work.
- Good looking people. I hate to say it, but for the most part, people out here are ugly. I'm not usually so shallow, but even I have noticed this problem. I wonder what causes it--bad genes, bad advice, only being able to shop at Wal*Mart. Go figure!
- Not so much NASCAR everywhere. Page two of my local paper is devoted to the topic. Page two! I wish the newspaper would publish news.
- Eccentric Bums. I miss the regulars that hung out in my old neighborhood. Characters like "The Preacher" who would preach sermons to his 2 liter bottle of Sunkist; or "The Barking Man;" or the "Heads Guy" who always wore a three-piece suit and walked around with a shopping bag. Since we were never sure what was in the bag, we always said he was carrying heads. I miss him.
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