The Big City

In 1987 we moved from Vero Beach, Florida to St. Cloud, Florida, about 75 miles away, to start our new life together in a new locality. We were completely anonymous and happy to be that way. Carmen had a job lined up at a title company in downtown St. Cloud. I had nothing, but soon got a job lined up at a plant nursery in Narcoossee, about seven miles from home. I started out riding a bicycle, but soon bought a small motorcycle. This opened the door to a bigger and better job in Orlando, 25 miles from home.



What this rambling is getting at is that when I worked in Narcoossee, seven miles from St. Cloud and fifteen miles from Orlando, the Narcoosians used to talk about going into town for one reason or another, and I came to realize after a while that in Narcoossee, "The Big City" was St. Cloud, gateway to Kissimmee!



We hadn't lived in Meadville for long when we realized that "The Big City" where everyone goes for shopping and entertainment, is Erie. It's 35 miles up the road, either Interstate 79 if you want to get there fast, or Main Street or Park Avenue out of Meadville, each a pretty country drive which meanders some and changes names a couple of times, but soon enough becomes Peach Street, where the big furniture stores and the Target and the Sam's, a bunch of chain restaurants and pretty much everything Meadville lacks is located. There's even an international airport in Erie where you can fly to Cleveland, Pittsburgh , Detroit or London, Ontario.



We actually flew in and out of there back in April for our candidating week (see "Joy In Meadville" a few postings back) but we were only there for the airport and car rental services. It was mid-July when we found ourselves in need of an air conditioner and the local stores were all sold out! We called around and found one in Waterford, up US 19, almost to Erie, and decided to go ahead up there. We've been back twice to The Big City!



Of course, the folks who live in Saegertown, Conneaut Lake, Woodcock, Geneva and Cochranton think of Meadville as "The Big City!"

And all of us, Erie included, occasionally go to Pittsburgh or Cleveland, each about 90 miles from here, when we want to go to a REAL big city. I guess it's all relative.