Downtown

I’ve described it as a dot on a map, this small-town-Maine I’m moving to, soon, late in my life, a dot on Route 15, north through Monson to Greenville, Greenville with its lake, its shops and restaurants, Vacationland at its best, a reason to be there. But Monson, to the south, another small town in a succession of small towns - Sangerville, Guilford, Abbott - is but a shrinking dot on a map of Maine, overlooked by travelers and tourists and guidebooks, a slowdown on Route 15, no reason to stop, really, nothing to lure people in, just a crossroad, an S-turn, a zip code – o4464 – a now-closed general store, a pub, a gas station, and a church, steeple-spire pointing heavenward. And perhaps, this is reason enough to stop, to settle down, move in, small-town-Maine’s allure, God’s blessing of a simple life, life slowed down in this slow town, down town, a dot on a map, Route 15 north, calling me to come home, calling me to stay.