why i prefer life in clarksburg west virginia to los angeles california

Several months ago a company expressed interest in my possibly doing national sales for them.

Early in December the company flew me to Los Angeles, California to meet key people in person.

I was picked up at the airport by a gentleman in a Mercedes Benz automobile who told me his co-worker earned in excess of $600,000 last year in commissioned sales.

The company decided they did not want someone who resided in West Virginia (I’m not making this up).

They preferred regional salaried employees within close proximity of major metropolitan areas to travel extensively to the major cities within a geographic region.

Since I was not interested in working for someone else for a salary, or moving to a major metropolitan area, or extensive travel away from home or family I asked them to send me home a day early and they agreed.

After only a few days away from home I have found myself very homesick.

Sometimes you have to leave a place in order to appreciate it and I returned home with a greater appreciation for Clarksburg and West Virginia in general.

So without further ado I offer from my personal experience; Why I prefer life in Clarksburg, West Virginia to Los Angeles, California.

In Los Angeles a traffic jam results when too many cars are traveling on too many freeways, on too many lanes, and everyone is in too much of a hurry.

I pity you if you are in a left lane and want to turn right…

In contrast in Clarksburg a traffic jam develops when your neighbor stops in the middle of the road to wave you out of your driveway and you take turns waving and insistingly waiting for the other driver to go first…

In Los Angeles you judge a neighborhood by how near (or far) you are from someone famous, and how big a wall exists between that "star" and the public.

By contrast, in Clarksburg you judge a neighborhood by how near (or far) you are from a neighbor like Waneeta Lunsford to watch your babies or Kitty Woodson to bring in your mail when you are away from home.

You leave home not with American Express travelers’ checks but with the security that comes from leaving behind caring neighbors.

In Los Angeles you judge a person by their own status in life or the status of the company they keep.

By contrast, in Clarksburg you judge a person by their deeds and the deeds of the company they keep.

In Los Angeles you can spend more money repairing a home’s floors than it would cost to buy a home in Clarksburg.

You could spend more per month on real estate taxes than an average size mortgage in Clarksburg.

In Los Angeles people are so busy that they lack time for common courtesies.

By contrast, in Clarksburg people have and make time for one another.

In general, people are extremely courteous and welcoming of others.

In Los Angeles customer service entails getting you impersonally and efficiently served; By contrast, in Clarksburg I have experienced exceptional personal service.

At Krogers at Eastpointe I met Ernie who helps me lift my groceries out of my cart and who remembers I like paper bags.

At Tomaro’s bakery Fredda recognizes my voice and remembers my name whenever I call to order.

At Rosebud Foodland, Mary Jo finds time to listen as she scans my groceries.

In Los Angeles management personnel work in executive suites walled off from their employees.

In Clarksburg you may find the Kroger store manager Bob Bowers, bagging groceries along side of the grocery store baggers.

Like myself, Mr. Bowers works in Clarksburg by choice.

He has worked in other cities and states for the Kroger Company and he prefers the courtesy and friendliness of the people he meets here to those he has met in other states.

In Los Angeles, people believe that consumption is a gimmie, whereas in Clarksburg people have learned to do without.

As a result, in Los Angeles people acquire more and more gifts and become angry when forced to do with less.

In Clarksburg, many people sing and live "tis a gift to be simple" and voluntarily live a simple life.

Having heard and read too many stereotypical and demeaning West Virginia jokes I was somewhat amused when I overheard recently a California joke.

"How many Californians does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

"8, 1 to screw it in and 7 to make sure the power is on."

The person who told the joke added," I could see something like that happen here."

When I heard that comment I was reminded of discussions among WVU fans at halftime of the Music City Bowl.

West Virginia had just played perhaps the best half of football I had ever seen them play.

No one else seemed quite as happy as I was.

Everyone else was afraid to get too excited for fear West Virginia could suffer the worst collapse in the history of bowl games, When the second half score became close our collective fears almost became true.

In Clarksburg and in West Virginia your optimism for the future is always tempered by the harsh reality of the past, and often times the present.

It keeps us humble (another reason I like living here.)

I believe what my 10th grade biology teacher taught me; we adapt to our environment.

And so I fear that if I lived in Los Angeles (or a number of other places) I would behave differently, or worse.

So I had better stay grounded to my humble abode in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

END