Hi, Stranger!

Eddie and Sunny, my favorite son-in-law's mother and stepdad, have made a decision to move back to California. They've been living in Tulsa, OK, since before Farida and Jason were married. I'm not sure when their move-back decision was finalized, but we talked about it a bit during their recent visit to California, and Sunny has since emailed me to confirm that they've made up their minds. I think it's a great idea, and I look forward to assisting them however possible.

As of right now their plan is to look for a house near where I live in Coarsegold, and that seems like a good plan. But I wonder how much adjustment the move is going to require. Before they settled in Oklahoma, they were in Southern California. Living in an urban or semi-urban area can be very different than living in the country.

For example, on one of Nasreen's first trips up to our Bass Lake home nearly twenty years ago, she brought some friends with her. They arrived quite late at night. I asked them if they wanted something to eat.

"No, that's okay," Nas's friend replied. "We'll just go to Taco Bell and pick something up."

That would have been a good plan, if:

     a.  It hadn't been close to midnight
     b.  There had been a Taco Bell within twenty miles of my house

But it was, and there wasn't.

That might be a major reason why I've never been able to persuade Nasreen to consider moving up here. The lack of city amenities does not fit with her preferred lifestyle at all.

My daughters spent their junior high and high school years in the Tustin/Santa Ana area. Where we lived (and where Nasreen still resides) is a very nice area with well-kept yards and manicured lawns. Even so, no one in his or her right mind generally speaks to a stranger on the street, just like you don't eyeball the driver in the car next to you. Up here, in the sticks, if a car passes you as you walk down the road, you wave. My daughters found that very hard to understand.

"Mom, who is that person you just waved at?"

"I don't know."

"You wave at STRANGERS?"

"Sure."

The girls shook their heads in disbelief.

Now Sunny and Eddie may not find any of that a difficult adjustment, but they may want to give it some thought, just like we have to give consideration to making sure we have enough gas in our cars and enough milk in the fridge. Those conveniences aren't necessarily right around the corner up here.

Personally, I *love* the friendliness I found when I moved up here, and I think Farida did, too, once she experienced it firsthand for more than just a weekend.

I can't imagine ever living in a city again. I hope Sunny and Eddie find exactly the right place for them and that they love it here as much as I do.$