Can't say I didn't remember ...

A former prof of mine wrote a marvelous book a couple of years ago on anonymity. She was focusing on the place and purpose of anonymous characters in the Jewish Scriptures, but along the way she also mused about the anonymity that exists all around us ...

Her thesis in the book was that the anonymous characters are individuals in whom we, as the reader, or the religious believer, can step and take part in the story ... (it was a very cool book and was an interesting read ...) But she mused at one point in the book about how many anonymous people we meet every single day ...

The clerk at the store, the bus driver, the car passing us on the freeway ... the list is very long.

In the big urban centres it is more common then in a small town. In a small town you get to know people. Your neighbour runs the dress shop, and so you go there rather then into the urban centre - you might pay a dollar or two more, but you're helping someone with whom you've built a sort of relationship.

The check out clerk at the local grocery store is the sister in law of your baby sitter, or her mother is the grandmother of your daughter's best friend ...

The mechanic who works on your car his the husband of your accountant, and her son is your paper boy ...

The interconnected circles could go on and on and on ... But what is important, particularly in a small town is the ability to know the NAMES of the people you meet day in and day out ... The guy at the computer store is not just some guy - you know him by name and he greets you when you bump into each other at the grocery store. The clerk at the store greets you by name when you step into her line, and later when you bump into her at the coffee shop she again knows you as more then just a face ...

It's the strength (and in some ways the weakness) of a small town ... your name is known, and you know the names of others ... But even more importantly, as you learn names, you learn stories and as you learn stories you build relationships ... they can be casual conversation relationships, or they can be friendships that will endure and last ... The name is the first step to building community ... that's the point of moving beyond anonymity ...

If you know my name - you know who I am ... and we can build a relationship ...

That is one of the joys of a small town ... and being a regular in a place like Chipperfield's allows you to form relationships with the staff and the other regulars ... they become friends ... and that is another joy of a small town. You build your network (to use a rural development buzz word), and within that network you form friendships and casual acquaintences ... they become links in a chain, or strings in our life web ...

Today, I have to honour one of those links in the chain ... one of Chipperfield's staff is celebrating a momentous birthday, and she blasted me the other day for not updating this blog soon enough ... and I'm sure she's wondering how I could possibly have FORGOTTEN her birthday ...

How could I forget the birthday of one who has a delightful and rapier wit ... who can cut you down with a glare ... one who WILL exact her revenge ... I wouldn't dare forget the birthday of someone like that (to do so would be at your own peril) ... Sooooooo .... I didn't forget ... I was waiting ...

Happy Birthday !!
Happy Birthday !!!
Happy Birthday !!!!
Happy Birthday !!!!!
Happy Birthday !!!!!!

So, H---. Hope you had/have a Happy Birthday. Hope it was/is filled with joy and celebration. And I hope you appreciate that I (and I'm sure many others) didn't forget ...

Now, you can't say I didn't do something nice !!!!!