One reason why I love living in this town

I spent the morning on a job at the top of the hill. Lovely couple in a lovely place with a beautiful view over our valley. We spoke about how nice it is to live up here. We had similar experiences of just being able to afford run-down old places here around the same time (some 16 years ago). But, being able to see the potential, we both have comfortable places to live nearby such a lovely town.

Now, to the story of why I love living in this town.

In the afternoon I had a job on Main Road. I had to park on Main Road and as I was getting out of the truck (with our town name emblazoned on the side of the truck) a fella came up to talk to me. He explained that he was also an electrician but not from our town. He came from the city and worked mainly north of the city. His daugter (or niece - I'm not sure which) ran the hairdresser's salon just down the road. Apparently the new supermarket development in town had bought her building and was due to demolish it to make way for a new driveway for the new supermarket. This had left her in a spot of bother. Her business had been operating from that building for some years. As chance would have it, there was another building that had just become available only a couple of hundred metres up the road. She wanted to move in to the new building but she needed some electrical work on the building to make it work for her.

This brings me back to the fella who stopped me on the side of the road. He had looked at the truck and had assumed (quite correctly) that I was "the local fella". Just to proove this point, as we were speaking, a customer drove by from one direction, tooted his horn and waved 'hello'. I returned the wave. Almost immediately following the local builder saw me as he drove past and similarly tooted and waved 'hello'. Having suitably impresed this visitor from out of town with my obvious localness and recognisability in the town he asked me for my card and commented that he would be recommending me to his female relative as 'the local guy' - the one that is known in the district.

I could have been doing the same job down in the city and could possibly be making the same money but would I be having as much fun? I don't think so!