Small town

Jg -

A few years back, when Squish was itty-bitty, she and Felicia built a fort together. From the outside, I could hear their conversation. Squish told Felicia about a town she'd recently visited.

"What was it called?" Felicia asked her.

"Small," Squish answered.

"It was a town called Small?"

"Yes, that's right," Squish said. "No one drives cars. They ride horses, because horses can dig. And cowboys will lend you horses."

I started taking notes as Squish described the town in rich detail:

  • Small has two grocery stores. The first is called Eat Some Groceries. The second is called By the Groceries. (I clarified later that she meant 'by,' and not 'buy.' The store is located next to some groceries.)
  • Small has a clothing store named By the Clothes. Perhaps it is located near By the Groceries?
  • Small's movie theater is named Watch Movies!
  • The post office has a name, too: Post Something.
  • At the restaurant, Pancake, "they make pancakes! But I don't know if they make pancake sandwiches."
  • There's an accessory store, Glitter, which sells "yellow glitter, glue, glitter paper, blue glitter, and blueberries that taste like sweet glitter."
  • The library is called Read Quietly.
  • There's a water store, Water Run, where "you can buy cups of water here that never run out."
  • The local school is called Elementary Small.
  • Squish liked the gym, which was called Go Exercise, because "I made trees there. I made yoga trees."
  • At the pet store, Go Buy Pets, "they sell kitties and dogs."
  • The town has a stable that, Squish says, "is sort of like a gas station, but for horses." It's called Miso, which Squish says is pronounced mizzo.
  • Bake the Cake is the town bakery. "They make chocolate cake and strawberry cake."
  • Dance It is "a dance hall that is never closed."
  • Squish did not like the bowling alley, Bowl the Pins, because "they do not have bowling shoes for you."
  • Small has a baseball team and a soccer team, but neither has a name.
  • At another unnamed store, "they sell bottled air freshener."
  • There's a farm in town, run by Farmer Jones and Farmer Wait, where you can buy parsnips, blueberries, and tomatoes.
  • The fire station is nicely named Blow Out the Fire.
  • And finally, Squish's favorite shop was Scare Halloween Scare! "They sell pumpkin masks, scarecrow clothes, ghost clothes, ghost faces, spiders for pranks, vampire masks, and clothes."

Perhaps one day Squish will permit me to write a story or two set in Small. I suspect some real drama goes down at that bowling alley.