Sharon Wildwind
The place I live tops out at about a million people, and from the looks of the building cranes that dot every other block downtown, we’re not through growing yet.
The city has just finished a three-year road construction project about two minutes from my house. Now that traffic is running smoothly—all right, sort of smoothly—in this part of town, they’ve started a second major project on the opposite side of town and plan route traffic from there through the part that’s just been completed. So we can anticipate three more years of noise and congestion.
On the other hand, summer weather here this year has been ideal. After a rather rainy start, small showers and bright, hot days have arranged themselves into a nearly perfect pattern. Trees are lush, green canopies. Flower beds and container plantings have run riot and we’re not even into the sultry days of August yet. The baseball diamonds are full, the outdoor pools are open, and every afternoon about suppertime, there’s the smell of bar-b-q in the air.
Makes me long for small town life, and this summer, I’m taking refuge from the traffic, noise, and building cranes in small towns all across North America. Of course, they have to be small towns with a little something wrong. Corruption at city hall? A secret in the small shops on Main Street? A body in the pond just over by the recreation centre? You bet.
>Here’s a little summer quiz for you. Given below are authors, detectives, small towns, and states and provinces. Can you match one entry in each list? When you think you’re done, go to the comments section for the answers. Then go to the library or bookstore and spend the rest of the summer in a lot of lovely small towns. Ya’ll sit yourself down. I’ll be back with with iced tea and cookies in just a minutes.Authors:
Anne White
Carolyn Haynes
Deb Baker
Elana Santangelo
Louise Penny
Margaret Maron
Mary Monica Ferris
Rhett MacPherson
Susan's Wittig Albert
Suzanne McMinn
Detectives:
Armand Gamache
Betsy Devonshire
China Bayles
Dane McGuire
Deborah Knott
Gertie Johnson
Loren Graham
Pat Montella
Sarah Booth Delaney
Victoria O’Shea
Small Towns:
Bell Run
Colleton County
Emerald Point
Excabana
Excelsior
Haven
New Kassel
Pecan Springs
Three Pines
Zinnia
States/Provinces:
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New York
North Carolina
Quebec
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia