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A sense of community and normalcy made me cry

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sense of community, girl with long hair and pastel colored dress, twirling in tall grass

When is the last time you witnessed something that brought you so much joy your eyes filled with tears? I live in a rural community. In fact, I live in the woods in a rural community. Farms and mountains surround our property. There are breath-taking views to confirm why many people say that Pennsylvania is one of the most beautiful places on earth. There’s more than scenic beauty in this little farming town of mine, however. There’s a sense of community. People care about each other. They help each other. We celebrate one another in success and mourn each other’s losses. It is a community of love and Christian charity.

In the past year, powers that be stunted our sense of community, although we did not suffer as much devastation as some other towns across the country. However, I’d by lying if I said we weren’t at all negatively affected by mainstream media propaganda and government corruption. Schools closed the opened then closed again. Some churches shut down (Others kept their doors wide open!) and many small businesses went under. It’s been a long year. Perhaps that’s why, when I recently witnessed an innocent scene, I was overwhelmed by a sense of community and joy. The normalcy of it all caught me off-guard and brought tears to my eyes.

Mom and pop ice cream shoppe builds a sense of community

sense of community, covered porch, diner, patriotic decorations
Gordon’s Cruise-in, Needmore, PA

Two of my daughters work together a local ice cream shoppe/diner. It’s a family-owned business whose payroll mostly consists of local high school students or recent graduates. Visiting the diner evokes a sense of community for many reasons, one being that it is decorated as a throwback to the 1950s. Complete with red, black and white color schemes, old photos and memorabilia on the walls surround the booths. The pictures and items tell the history of our community. You might see a baby picture on the wall of a local farmer! Customers listen to oldies or kick a ball around in the open field while they wait for a double-scoop cone or “Cruiser” burger.

Everyone in town enjoys supporting the local economy by buying ice cream and delicious diner fare at Gordon’s Cruise-in. We’re thankful that they made it through the shutdowns of 2020. Business is booming! During sports seasons, whole teams will stop by for an ice cream cone to celebrate a victory. The daily lunch rush includes construction workers, farmers, teachers and other local professionals. A Saturday night in the courtyard at Gordon’s often features young couples on dates, sitting outdoors under the twinkle lights, sharing a sundae. It’s a mom-and-pop shoppe in a mom-and-pop town, and we love it.

The everyday moment that made me cry

Woman in red dress, two girls in light colored dresses, holding hands and spinning
Celebrating happy times

On a recent bright, sunny day in spring, I pulled into Gordon’s parking lot to wait for my daughters’ shift to end to give them a ride home. I snagged the last empty parking spot in the lot! The place was packed! It happened to be Kindergarten Graduation Day for the local elementary school down the road. I think every student and his or her family must have stopped in for ice cream and lunch on their way home! In our community, school events take center stage. Parents, grand-parents, older siblings, local ministers and neighbors come out in droves to support our students. (My family homeschools but have been on the cross country and track-and-field teams at the local high school for 11 years, and we fully support our local schools!)

So, there I was, sitting in the parking lot on a sunny day. I could hear birds chirping and children giggling. All around me were babies, mommies, daddies, grandpas, grandmas, boys and girls, and doggies, too! Many little girls had on “spinny” dresses and were twirling their way around the covered porch area of the shoppe. Some little ones were climbing up on the booth seat that is on the porch so they could peek in the window and watch the workers make their ice cream cones.

I saw dads trying to find napkins to wipe the ice cream dribbles that were trailing down the arms of their sons. Older generations laughed and talked with younger folks, likely telling memories of their own school days in our town. After a year of lock downs, government corruption and world-wide misery, the sense of community and NORMALCY that I saw before me filled me with awe and made me cry. It was sacred. I couldn’t recall the last time I had seen families gathered together in public to celebrate their children. No masks, no fear, no rioting or arguing — just good old-fashioned family fun!

It’s time to rebuild a sense of community throughout the land

American flag, fingers showing peace sign, painted red, white and blue
Rebuild a sense of community

I’m thankful that a majority of people in my little farming town recognized early on that we’d been had. Many people refused to wear the obedience masks. Many have also declined the injections that are having a devastating effect on human health, including thousands of deaths. There have been more deaths following COVID injections in one year than all vaccine-related deaths in the history of our nation. Most parents in my town were eager to send their children back to their classrooms so they could once again enjoy a sense of community.

There’s no going back. We don’t get do-overs in life and can never undo the unfathomable damage that’s been done to our nation and families. We can learn from our experiences, however, so that it never happens again. No government has a right to forbid families from gathering as a community. Pulling into a local diner parking lot and seeing families laughing and talking should not be so rare an event that it makes me cry!

I live in the United States of America — a free land! Farming is the heart of our nation and I’m thankful to live in a rural town where so much of our food and dairy products are grown and produced with love. The children in my community are raised to honor the flag and the veterans who protect and preserve our freedom. They believe in God, family and country. They’re taught to respect their elders and also to be kind to others. Their parents show them the value of hard work and teach them to develop a good work ethic. Our little rural village is teeming with patriotism and a sense of community that is ever-growing and ever-lasting. It’s time for towns across America to take back their lives and rebuild fellowship with their neighbors. Set your differences aside, respect the rights of all, and enjoy your lives together!

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