Provinciality

I know I keep perseverating about small town life, but it is where I'm living and thus dictates my social perspective. There is an expectation that people will know each other as well as ongoings in the town, but it still amazes me how much gossip occurs and anxiety about what people are saying. Granted, it is those same loose lips that have kept my after hours social outings to a minimum. It seems there's nothing better to talk about then who was seen drunk last night at the local pub and who's applying for disability benefit. Case in point, I went out to lunch today with two local friends who've spent most of their lives living in the area and who's family trees branch out enough to shade the entire town. It was great to catch up with them, but they spent most of the conversation discussing which farm had been bought by whom, the latest marital disasters and dating match-ups, and of course the latest drunken sightings. Not having lived in the area for more then four months, most of this discussion was lost on me. I will admit that I'm not one to turn a deaf ear on gossip, but I try not to spread it around like the next great news broadcast. It's certainly not the only thing I want to talk about, either. People are such interesting individuals in their own right, even without knowing their second hand social misfortunes and financial misadventures. It just seems sad that in this small town it's not what you know, it's who you know, and that's a little too narrow for me.