Header Promotion
Fifteen years ago, my husband and I moved from sprawling Los Angeles County to a small semi-rural Northern California community. We’d both grown up in the city--him in Beverly Hills (really!) and me the L.A. suburb of Hawthorne. We were used to lots of pavement and a pretty faceless society. We knew our immediate neighbors and had family nearby, but we never had much of a sense of community where we lived.
That’s all changed since we moved north. We of course started out knowing no one. But once our kids started school, we started meeting people. Those people introduced us to other folks. The parents of our sons’ friends became our friends and those deep friendships persist to this day.
And here’s what’s really cool about friendships in a small town, something I never experienced in L.A. One day I went to the supermarket a couple miles from my house. As I walked in, I saw my friend Debbie and her son David. I’ve known Debbie for nearly 15 years, since her son was nine or ten. While Debbie, David and I were catching up, along came another young man, Roger, who’d been off at college. Roger is a long-time friend of my younger son. While Roger showed me his new iPod, here came Robin and her son Brenton. Then Keith, the former scoutmaster of my younger son’s scout troop arrived.
We all stood there talking for a good thirty or forty minutes, catching up, having a reunion right there in the supermarket. I’d seen these boys grow up to be young men, had shared the joys of parenting with their moms and dads. Keith’s wife had been my son’s third and fourth grade teacher. Robin’s son had been my son’s best man.
Not every trip to the supermarket is like this, but more often than not, I’ll see someone I know and we’ll have a wonderful minute or two or ten yakking in the store aisle. Or I’ll catch up with them at the rural post office next door to the fire station where every year they hold Hot August Night (singular, the town’s too small for more than one night). Or maybe, like I did today, I’ll meet friends down at the local tack swap (where I got a smoking good deal on a bridle).
I l-o-v-e the sense of community I feel here. It’s an everyone knows everyone kind of place, in the very best possible way. I enjoy writing about towns like mine as well, as I did in my upcoming FOSTERING FAMILY mini-series. I created a community where everyone knows everyone and if there’s trouble, someone’s always there with a safety net.
Has someone been there with a safety net for you? Has a dear friend stepped in when you needed her or him most? I’d love to hear about it.
Following in the fine tradition of my fellow SSE bloggers, I’d like to offer two free books to one lucky person who comments on my blog. The first book, A FATHER’S SACRIFICE, takes place in the small fictional Northern California town of Hart Valley. The second book will be the foreign language edition of your choice--I can offer you a book in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German or Icelandic(!).
http://www.karensandler.net
Fostering Family: Love. Home. Family. They're what life's all about...
THEIR SECOND-CHANCE CHILD, Silhouette Special Edition, February 2009
THE FAMILY HE WANTED, Silhouette Special Edition, April 2009
Small towns
I know what you're talkin' about. I used to live in a town about less than an hour south of Fresno, CA and about half the size. Whenever we would go to the store, my stepdad would always run into someone he knew. It didn't matter where we were. He would stop and talk and we would continue shopping. Then we would find him later either talking to the same person or someone else. I live in a town about the same size in Washington now and I've had the same thing happen to me with people I work with. I hope that when I've been here longer and know more people that I'll have the same type of "catch up" conversations.
Karen,
My experience was kind of the opposite of yours. Born in Sacramento, spent most of my summers in the Sierras in a tiny little town. Grew up and moved to LA via NYC. Oh, how I longed for home, for the place where you could meet friends in the supermarket...
Now I'm in between. A mid-sized town with a university and all the conveniences of a big city. Raised my younger son here, where the streets are safe enough a kid can head out in the morning and check back in at lunch--and go off with his buds again. This works for me just fine.
But sometimes I do miss the close community I knew as a child...
Christine Rimmer
http://www.christinerimmer.com
I grew up in a small city,
I grew up in a small city, but married a country 'boy'--he would only look for a home in a rural area. It was such a culture shock for me, but one I have come to value over the past 25 years.
Nancy
Your book sounds great I'll
Your book sounds great I'll be getting it. Speaking of Hawthorne that is where I am living at now it is not a good place now too many gangs, we want to move out of LA to a far away place from here way out in the country.
Happy reading!
Penney
Happy reading!
Penney
I live in a small town
I grew up in the same town I live in now. It still amazes me how close knit our town is. My kids go to school with some of my friends kids, they have some of the same teachers and another great thing is that since everyone knows my kids, they can't get away with much :)
Kim
www.romancejunkies.com
blog coordinator
Small towns, small world
Hi, Karen! I grew up at a beach town in Southern California and worked at Mattel Toys in Hawthorne (Hi, Penney!)--twice! Great memories of both places. The town where I live now in Northern California has grown from 25K population in 1974 to 62K now. And it still feels like a small town.
I'm happy and relieved to say that friends have come to my aid many times, but then I've always nurtured my friendships. Don't know how I would've gotten through life sometimes without friends catching me when I fall. God bless the safety nets of the world!
Susan
www.susancrosby.com
Wives for Hire from Silhouette Special Edition
THE BACHELOR'S STAND-IN WIFE, July 2008
THE SINGLE DAD'S VIRGIN WIFE, October, 2008
THE MILLIONAIRE'S CHRISTMAS WIFE, November, 2008
Hawthorne
Hi, Penney,
I'm really sorry to hear that Hawthorne has gone downhill.
Way back when, it was very much like a small town itself. When I was growing up, it was very safe. My friend Suzy and I used to walk all over the city without the least worry. I lived a couple blocks from the Beach Boys (the Wilsons) and we used to walk over there to stare adoringly at their house. 
I remember peeking inside once while trick-or-treating on Halloween and seeing their gold records on the wall.
I hope you find your dream place to live!
http://www.karensandler.net
Fostering Family: Love. Home. Family. They're what life's all about...
THEIR SECOND-CHANCE CHILD, Silhouette Special Edition, February 2009
THE FAMILY HE WANTED, Silhouette Special Edition, April 2009
Small town community
Karen, I grew up in a ranching/farming community where the town had one "main" street with stop signs at either end. At the time, community dances were held once a month in the town hall and several local musicians would play while people danced and chatted about the weather, the crops and life in general. Living in the city has its benefits, but there are times I miss that unique blend of community and open-door philosophy my hometown offered. I suppose it's why I have my characters live in small towns, instead.
Mary JF.
http://www.maryjforbes.com
AND BABY MAKES FOUR -- Silhouette Special Edition - Nov. 08
"Home To Firewood Island" miniseries -- Bk. 2
Friends
My best friend and I have know each other since high school. We always try to go on a trip together once a year, and this past August, we went to Utah to the Zion & Bryce canyons, and boy, did we see some SMALL towns in that area! I tried to warn my friend, but she was still a little disappointed that we couldn't find more nightlife (other than the wild animal kind! LOL)
I also had the chance just last night to have a long talk with a writer friend of mine who is writing toward SSE. I have a critique group, but they don't read or write romance. It was so nice to talk to someone who "gets" category romance and the need for emotion and internal conflicts.
As for growing up, I'm born and raised in Phoenix which is HUGE now, but 25 years ago when I was a kid, it wasn't all that big. I'm amazed by the changes and often dream of moving to a smaller and cooler (temperature-wise) town.
Stacy Connelly
All She Wants for Christmas - SSE 12/08
Four-Star RT Review!
Large Cities/Small Towns
I was born in a large city and have spent most of my life in large cities but in between I lived in small towns. I live in a large city of 400,000 now and wish I could move to a small town.
December's MEMBER of the MONTH!
A true teacher is a person who, at the end of the school day, still likes children!
same here
I was born in the bronx new york and moved to what we call slow-cala 3 years ago. I miss new york.
Imagination is more importent than Knowlege- Albert Enienstein love! A.Rosebeauty
small towns
I live in the same small town that my entire family has been raised in. Everyone knows everything about everyone else. Most days that's a nice thing, but then yet some times you wonder... does everyone need to know your entire history? The trips to the supermarket are exactly like you said. You walk in and immediately you see someone that you know and it becomes a small reunion. Our town has a population of 899 and the neighboring communities are even smaller. It's amazing how many people you know. The school that I go to has the same teachers that were there when my mother was in school. Most of those teachers graduated with my grandparents. So, half the community knows everything or mostly everything about you while the other half of the community is related to you in some way. I love our community and I wouldn't want to change it. The small size and the relationships that I have are much more important to me than being in a city where I don't know anyone. There is always someone there when you need a helping hand.
Small Towns and My Safety Net
I was born in a small town which grew by amalgamating with a bunch of other small towns. It is in the mountains and now it is starting to grow as people from the cities have been buying up the houses and turning them into their mountain getaways. This is both good and bad as the dynamics are changing rapidly. My brother who has moved back to live there after inheriting my parents house cannot get used to the idea that houses in town now have cute names like somebody’s hideaway etc.
My safety net is my older sister. I was born on her 7th birthday. We have always been there for each other even though she told my grandma at the time that she would have rather had a doll for a birthday present than a baby sister. My second safety net is one of her daughters. I talk to her when I want to know what is going on without worrying my sister. My last safety net has been this site. I have really enjoyed discussions about almost everything on this site. I know I can usually get a laugh or two and there is sometimes a person I can help. I have really enjoyed the SSE posts as they have allowed a glimpse into the author’s lives. The more I read about their everyday lives the more I appreciate how much time and energy and thought goes into writing something I can read and enjoy in a day. Thanks SSE authors for some great posts.
When I get a little money I buy books, and then if any is left I buy food and clothes..-- Erasmus
And we have a winner!
Congrats to Rosebeauty16! You're the winner of two books, A FATHER'S SACRIFICE and the foreign edition of your choice (either Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German or Icelandic). Please let me know your e-mail address so I can get your snail mail.
http://www.karensandler.net
Fostering Family: Love. Home. Family. They're what life's all about...
THEIR SECOND-CHANCE CHILD, Silhouette Special Edition, February 2009
THE FAMILY HE WANTED, Silhouette Special Edition, April 2009
Yeee Haw!!!!!!!!
thank you thank you so much oh my gosh I never win anything!!!!!!!!!!!! um do I post it here or in your website I'll do both
Newyorkyankbeauty@yahoo.comok ok yea!!!!!!!!!!oh yea and on your website I put for the forein language english or spanish, I forgot italian I could use the practice thanks agalin
Imagination is more importent than Knowlege- Albert Enienstein love! A.Rosebeauty
Congrats, Rosebeauty!
Congrats, Rosebeauty!
Adopt a shelter pet. www.shamrockpets.com
View my DD's very public video acting debut at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-v05kMucw.