Growing up in a small town

  1. You can name everyone in your graduating class.
  2. You know what 4-H is.
  3. You sometimes went to parties at a pasture, barn, or in the middle of a dirt road.
  4. You used to lap "Main" Street.
  5. You said the "F" word and your parents knew within the hour.
  6. You scheduled parties around the schedule of different police officers since you knew which ones would bust you and which ones wouldn't.
  7. You could never buy cigarettes because all the store clerks knew how old you were (and if you were old enough, they'd tell your parents anyway.)
  8. When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to go out into the country and drive on back roads to smoke them.
  9. It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town.
  10. The whole school went to the same party after graduation.
  11. You didn't give directions by street names.
    (Turn by Nelson's house, go 2 blocks east to Anderson's, and it's four houses left of the corner.)
  12. The golf course had only 9 holes.
  13. You couldn't help but date a friend's ex-boy/girlfriend.
  14. Your car stays filthy because of the dirt roads and you will own a dark vehicle for this reason.
  15. The town next to you is considered "trashy" and is actually just like your town.
  16. You refer to anyone with a new house as the "rich people."
  17. The people in the "big city" dress funny; then you pick up the trend 2 years later.
  18. Anyone you want can be found at the local gas station or the town pub.
  19. You see at least one friend a week driving a tractor through town, or one of your friends drives a grain truck to school occasionally.
  20. The gym teacher suggests you haul hay for the summer to get stronger.
  21. Directions are given using THE stop light as a reference.
  22. You decide to walk somewhere for exercise and 5 people pull over and ask if you need a ride.
  23. Your teachers call you by your older sibling's name.
  24. Your teachers remember when they taught your parents.
  25. You can charge at all the local stores or write checks without any ID.
  26. The closest McDonald's is 45 miles away (or more.)
  27. The closest mall is over an hour away.
  28. It is normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower.
  29. You laugh your butt off reading this because you know it is all true, and you forward it to everyone who lives in your town. (Because you KNOW them all!)