Jul. 22nd, 2002 09:48 pm
Big City Girl Meets Small Town
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savvyliterateWhen I was a teen, one of my favorite shows was the Mary Tyler Moore show. It was one of the things that influenced me to go into journalism. I loved how Mary went from a small town to a strange big city and made her mark on it.
Well, think of me as Mary Richards in reverse.
The last time I posted in this journal, I was on the brink of college graduation. Now, two months out of college, I have accepted a job as a desk editor with the Selma Times-Journal, about an hour from Tuscaloosa and Montgomery. This morning, I packed up all of my things (with lots of help from Cassie and Mack), kissed my boyfriend good-bye, and proceeded to move to my nee homr.
Big city girl, meet small town life.
I promised Cassie that I would actually write in my journal so she and my other friends would know how I'm doing. So, welcome to Selma, Alabama, population 20,000-something and the smallest place I've ever lived. How small is it? The mall closes at 8, there is NO bookstore, and I can't find a copy of Time or Newsweek anywhere. Say hello culture shock.
I live in a decent-sized one bedroom apartment. For the same type of apartment in Tuscaloosa, you'd have to pay an arm an a leg. Here, it's only an arm. I grew acquainted with the city's many traffic lights when I proceeded to get lost trying to find the water company. My landlord told me that I would have to get my own water turned on. After two trips and a lot of haggling, I discovered that the water was already on and I didn't have to pay for it at all! I don't think my landlord likes the job very much. He's rather hard to talk to and we had to wait nearly two hours just for him to get here so I could sign the lease.
Courtyard Apartments lives up to its name. It's a small square of 16-20 apartments surrounding this gorgeous courtyard garden. All but a couple of the apartments face the courtyard. It's small enough to where everyone knows each other by name and they shout out across the courtyard at each other. My neighbors are interesting so far. I have an older lady named Sara below me, a rather strange middle-aged man named Gray across from me, the former manager named Linda lives in the building next to mine. They're proving to be an interesting, gossipy lot. But, that type of neighbor is rarely seen these days beyond college campuses. I didn't know my neighbors very well after my mom and I moved when I was in high school. It's a networking system that has its advantages and disadvantages. It's going to be very neat.
Another thing here is the racial tensions. Blacks hate whites and whites hate blacks, My editor told me that he came to town expecting blacks and whites to be standing across the street throwing rocks at each other. But, while it's not that bad, the tension is still there. My neighbors fear the blacks that live near the complex and currently a black Democratic candidate is contesting a race her white opponent won. "It's a different type of political correctness in this town," says the news editor of the paper. He's right. It's going to be an interesting time here in this small town.
Well, think of me as Mary Richards in reverse.
The last time I posted in this journal, I was on the brink of college graduation. Now, two months out of college, I have accepted a job as a desk editor with the Selma Times-Journal, about an hour from Tuscaloosa and Montgomery. This morning, I packed up all of my things (with lots of help from Cassie and Mack), kissed my boyfriend good-bye, and proceeded to move to my nee homr.
Big city girl, meet small town life.
I promised Cassie that I would actually write in my journal so she and my other friends would know how I'm doing. So, welcome to Selma, Alabama, population 20,000-something and the smallest place I've ever lived. How small is it? The mall closes at 8, there is NO bookstore, and I can't find a copy of Time or Newsweek anywhere. Say hello culture shock.
I live in a decent-sized one bedroom apartment. For the same type of apartment in Tuscaloosa, you'd have to pay an arm an a leg. Here, it's only an arm. I grew acquainted with the city's many traffic lights when I proceeded to get lost trying to find the water company. My landlord told me that I would have to get my own water turned on. After two trips and a lot of haggling, I discovered that the water was already on and I didn't have to pay for it at all! I don't think my landlord likes the job very much. He's rather hard to talk to and we had to wait nearly two hours just for him to get here so I could sign the lease.
Courtyard Apartments lives up to its name. It's a small square of 16-20 apartments surrounding this gorgeous courtyard garden. All but a couple of the apartments face the courtyard. It's small enough to where everyone knows each other by name and they shout out across the courtyard at each other. My neighbors are interesting so far. I have an older lady named Sara below me, a rather strange middle-aged man named Gray across from me, the former manager named Linda lives in the building next to mine. They're proving to be an interesting, gossipy lot. But, that type of neighbor is rarely seen these days beyond college campuses. I didn't know my neighbors very well after my mom and I moved when I was in high school. It's a networking system that has its advantages and disadvantages. It's going to be very neat.
Another thing here is the racial tensions. Blacks hate whites and whites hate blacks, My editor told me that he came to town expecting blacks and whites to be standing across the street throwing rocks at each other. But, while it's not that bad, the tension is still there. My neighbors fear the blacks that live near the complex and currently a black Democratic candidate is contesting a race her white opponent won. "It's a different type of political correctness in this town," says the news editor of the paper. He's right. It's going to be an interesting time here in this small town.
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