SMALL TOWN PARADOX

Lucille Hamilton    2015

So, young fella, you want to know about this town.  

Well, Harrington Cove was a little backwater town on the 

Connecticut coast.  There was no railroad here then -

you'd have to drive about a half an hour to get to the nearest

station and then switch to get onto an express train to go to 

New York or New Haven. 

My parents moved here when my brother and I were preschoolers just because it was such a pretty and quiet little town.  Everyone knew everyone, and, like most New Englanders, didn't gossip about it - at least not openly.  If you wanted local news, you'd have to go out to Pete's Oyster and Clam Shop at the end of Main Street, down by the wharf.  Pete's was a diner that also served as a gift shop.  It was decorated with fishing nets and fake star fish.  Salt water taffy guaranteed to pull your teeth out.

Well, we went to the local school and then on to college 

where my brother made friends with a pretty pre-med

student, Alice Holbrook, she being one of the Holbrooks of

Holbrook.  Pretty girl, and smart, too.  Good for our gene 

pool.  Lucky thing she became a doctor, as their first child

came prematurely, and she knew just what to do about it,

she being the only medical person in town at the time.  Or

for the surrounding forty miles, for that matter.

Well, the war came and, being near the naval station,

Harrington Cove went overnight from being a sleepy back-

water to a bustling, industrious and ultimately prosperous

town.  Sequins began appearing on ladies' cardigans and

the whole eating picture changed into fancy dining because of Julia Child and TV.  Real estate went sky high, and the 

mayor started talking about building a sports stadium for the local high school.  I guess the ultimate sign of our

prosperity was when Alice took on a partner to help her

with her busy clinic.  No one ever in their wildest dreams 

ever thought that Harrington Cove would ever have a pair of docs.

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