As we waited for the light to change, I pointed my phone camera west and captured the vanishing point of street and sidewalk. If you go far enough, the first thing to vanish is the sidewalk, followed several miles away by the street.
The perspective disappears, but so it seems is what a Main Street in a small town means to the community, at least, in other parts of the world. On Main Street small business owners open their shops, stock the shelves, make the displays as beautiful as possible, and await the fruits of their labors. They smile when tired, laugh at dumb jokes, put in long hours, and go home tired. Children ride by on bikes and skateboards. Young couples stroll past windows meant to entice. Sometimes the advertising works...sometimes, not.
It's a world I knew growing up, a world those who choose to stay understand as well. It's a world many will never know, a simpler time, a slowed-down existence.
The vanishing point is not only an optical illusion.
Naturally, this is evolution. People evolve and so must the businesses that cater to them. Is it better, worse? Main Streets all but disappeared when shopping malls were all the rage. The same verdict befell the malls a few decades later when online shopping became king. We've only lived in this small town a few years, but the storefronts fronting this particular Main Street remain...different names, different owners, different products, someone takes a chance to see if they can make it work to improve not only their own lives, but the lives of those in the community.
After tomorrow, something else will pop up requiring us to get in the van and head to Main Street for something. I'm glad they're there on our Main Street.
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