Your Town, My Town, “Our Town”

 

  The local newspapers will soon be filled with the schedules for upcoming high school graduations. It is a proud time for the graduates, parents and families and the teachers. Twelve, thirteen and in some cases maybe even more years of hard work will culminate with presentations, speeches and family parties and the possibility of a kiss on the cheek from a favorite aunt or grandmother. And while graduations are often viewed as an ending, the reality is that it may be just a beginning.

   I recently overheard (eavesdropped) in a discussion between a soon-to-be high school graduate and several adults. The adults' questions were pretty traditional: What are you going to do next year?......Any plans for the summer? And the soon-to-be graduate's responses was that he was taking the summer off and was planning to go to college in the Fall. I am getting out of this town,” he said in a firm and committed voice. “I am tired of this small town.”

 

   Most seniors graduating from high school in Maine, and I expect across the nation in many other states as well, are graduating from high schools in relatively small towns. Small towns are part of our nation's fabric and as the line from the television show “Cheers” reminds us...'where everyone or almost everyone knows your name.' (Remember that show?)

 

   As a prerequisite to graduation though, I would encourage every graduate along with his or her family, attend a presentation of “Our Town,” a play written by Thornton Wilder back in 1938.      

 

   Although it would come across somewhat dated, its message still rings true today.  For those who read the play back and school but may have forgotten its content or for others who skipped class that day, “Our Town” is a three act play set in a small, fictitious town in New Hampshire back at the turn of the 20th century and takes a look at average citizens and their everyday lives.

 

   What made the play a bit unique is that no scenery, sets or props were used and the actors used only mime and body actions, forcing the audience to use a bit of imagination to help set the scene.

 

   The play is divided into three acts. Act I is about daily life, the comings and goings of ordinary people in Grover's Corner, NH. Act II is built around families, love and marriage and the stresses that can sometimes accompany these relationships and families as they grow and change.

 

   Act III takes place in a cemetery just on the outskirts of town and tells about those in town who have passed away and one person’s search and struggle for eternity.

 

   Emily, a main character, dies during the birth of her second child but decides to return to Earth if only for just one day.  After spending just a few minutes back on Earth she finds it too painful, realizing how much of her life should have been valued while alive, “living every minute to its fullest” and how many times the enjoyment of the 'living moments' went unnoticed or overlooked. Sad and disappointed, Emily returns to the afterlife, watching, as her husband grieves by her grave side as she takes her resting place alongside those who passed away before her.

 

   Listening to the soon-to-be graduate talk about “getting out of town,” I can understand his excitement about moving away and starting a new life, filled with excitement and new challenges. Growing up in a small town can seem really boring and lack adventure. But the message in the play is still relevant in today's fast paced world, a world not really that much different than the one of 1938. It is all about people and values.

 

   No matter where you go or where you settle, there will always be a world of ordinary people, people just like you and me living in places like Grover's Corner. Some will become your friends; many will find jobs and careers. Many will marry and raise families. Sometimes, during those ordinary days, there will be times of struggle and stress. But problems will be solved, solutions will be found and the next chapters of life begin again.

 

   What we often overlook or fail to remember is the message in Act III. Even in small towns where you feel that everyone 'might' know your name, you can learn the importance of the value of each and every moment of your life. Regardless of where you are headed or end up and sometimes in the eagerness to move on, we overlook the values taught to us in those small towns, by the people who were part of our lives, the lessons learned, not from my town or your town but..... from “Our Town.”

 

   Congratulations to the graduates of 2022 and may your lives be filled with the hopes, dreams, and the values of the “small towns.”