Why I will always *heart* Ashland, then & now

 

“Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable.”

― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

I was born in a small town

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

I'm old enough now to have the "I remember when" conversations several times over.  Now, I don't mean to imply here that I am old, because I feel nowhere near old or even what that means or rather when in fact I will be old.  However, what I do mean is that I have personal history with several places, and especially that of the town I currently reside, my beloved Ashland, Oregon.  Oh, what history I have!

My life in Ashland and Southern Oregon has been varied, I have lived life as a college student, a single working person, a married woman, a divorcee, gone through each title of Miss, Mrs, Ms, lived the life of a Jesus freak, the struggling actor's life, fallen in love several times over and quite a few crushes, had my heartbroken, drank way more coffee than alcoholic beverages, and finally, realized the true lesson of Ashland, Oregon that being, finding my calling and, more importantly, my true sense of self. 

I'll never leave this
Small town girl behind
The place where I come from
Is with me all the time

My Little Town

Recently this article, It's Impossible Not To Love The Most Eccentric Town In Oregon, Ashland, made its rounds on social media sparking conversations of near outrage of many in my community who like me can say "I remember when" with an utmost degree of fortitude.  For their part, I can relate and reminisce about what Ashland was and am in agreement that, yes, in fact has changed.   

In recent years, I have bemoaned publicly and privately the rising cost of living and rental prices, the loss of the plethora of hippie lounging in Lithia Park, the increase in the traffic brought on by now the yearlong tourism that used to only span from March through November, maybe, and the reality that I no longer refer to Ashland as a little college town but now as a retirement community 'with a college'.  

Yes, it is known by the adjacent cities that Ashland is known more for being on the wealthy end, albeit sometimes referred to as snobby, or perhaps even liberal elitist, rather than eccentric.

Yet, in my present state of mind, I view all of this with a different perspective.  For change is inevitable in life, it's how we adapt that defines our enjoyment and endurance in life.  And, as I look out at this, my darling little Ashland, as I interact with the new breed of citizen, especially within the last year in the time of Covid, I now see that whether what may have occurred outward the true heart's blood of Ashland's core remains at its essence.  

Through one of my 'normie' jobs, I have the luxury of coming into contact with this new breed of Ashlanders, the retired folk above the boulevard, as it were, and from my time with them, I sense only an increasing heart's connection with this town as they spend more time within its confines, falling more and more in love with it as truly their home.  Truthfully, I love watching the newer resident's excitement over the little joys of Ashland I have become accustomed to, the love in their lives as they recount their 'how they came to live here' stories, which always seem to reflect some sort of spiritual guidance, of sorts, and the thrill over the variety of activity to enjoy in this town.  

The point of it is, no matter how it may look now, how the eccentricity of Ashland may have transformed, it still remains the little, funky, artsy-fartsy, weird town, it is now in a new phase of life.  As humans have different seasons, cycles, and phases they pass through, so to a town with its collections of a variety of humans all living and colliding within each others' spaces, has its seasons, cycles, and phases to pass through.  

For my part, I cherish the "I remember when" stories I have, the memory of what Ashland used to look like, remember when that building used to look like that or remember when that building was there but now they tore it down, remember when I lived there, remember, remember, remember...but as I hold dear those memories, the lessons of Ashland's true significance as the parental guiding figure becomes more visible and  I find within the ability to move onwards, embracing that which is new, the new faces to meet whose stories will affect mine, teaching myself and Ashland as a whole the lessons to be learned in growth and expansion.

In years of recent, I felt a desire to move beyond this little town, but what that reflected was a restlessness and a true lack of connection to home within.  But, truth be told, now at last I have found that home within knowing that it is truly where my heart is, that of, my beloved little town, Ashland. 

This Town

We all know the chosen toys

Of catty girls and pretty boys

Make up that face

Jump in the race

Life's a kick in this town

Life's a kick in this town

This town is our town

It is so glamorous

Bet you'd live here if you could

And be one of us