HFCS: effika’s blog

Tonight I saw The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with my parents at the amusingly-named Cinema69. The movie was decent. Not nearly as funny as the book, but perfectly charming in its own right. Zaphod Beeblebox’s voice is close to Bill Clinton’s, which I felt was an appropriately nice touch.

I had forgotten how little there is to do in the town where I grew up (well, besides meth). I’d completely forgotten that evening entertainment here is limited to the cinema, Wal-Mart, and Denny’s, with the last two being reserved for older teens. A driver’s license is required to get to places where loitering is encouraged. Afterall, who wants to drop their kids off for an evening at Wal-Mart? Being Friday, Cinema69 was packed with kids too young to drive. I was shocked at how young everyone looked, how tiny. I’m used to seeing people complete with puberty or nearly so– I’m used to everyone being taller than me, essentially. :-) Many of these kids were still close to my height, and the occaisonal giant or true adult stood out greatly.

People leave this town, go to college (very optional), get married, and return to have kids. Why? It’s a great place to raise children, apparently. The cost of living is virtually non-existant, and as the commercial hub of this part of the state we end up with many of the same ammenities as larger cities. The crime rate is fairly low, although our murders are abnormally high. I suppose the proximity of the state prison– about a mile away from where I’m typing– is to blame for that one. The school system has the ability to produce bright and well adjusted children, but without many oppurtunities for those same children to really be challenged in education. I was happy with my education here, but I sorely wished I had more opportunities to advance. If I was in Tulsa, I could have easily been sucked up by a magnet school. Instead, we were all mushed together. I suppose that the overall fabric of the school was made stronger– our debate and academic team and band programs were powerhouses while I was attending. (Of course, I was also captain of two of those for three years. I hear that the mantle I and my class left was carelessly tossed aside and that we are no longer a powerhouse in anything, and this saddens me.)

I hope I don’t return here to make kidlets. If I have children I’d like to give them something else to do besides movies and meth.

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