All Comments on 'Life In A Small Town'

Love it! A good and decent tale well told.

Well written and well thought out plot line. However, you shouldn't change the age difference in the middle of the story. When first introducing Molly into the story you establish a four to five year difference in their ages, William a late 25 and Molly an early thirty, then just before marriage becomes a consideration you claim a nine year difference in ages. A little more attention to detail would be appreciated.

seriously, while authors I used to enjoy on here tend to be falling off, some more than others, you have gotten better and better and it is truly an honor to see stories such as this...keep writing my friend, always looking for the next one...great job!!

I concur with "Just Awesome" that it is good to see the emergence and development of a good story-teller to replace so many of those who no longer post their stories on Lit.com.<p>

Your story was a touching, interesting, realistic look at small-town life in Southern rural community. It is a type of living that, unfortunately, is becoming rare.<p>

Thanks for the story!

I got a bit distracted by the "shut-ins" which sound really interesting but I still got strongly into the main event. You painted an interesting picture of Molly and William and the life they constructed. Thanks Woody.

Thanks for writing.

Loved this story. Why do so many people have to nit-pick at someones efforts instead of just enjoying the story. This story was very arousing without being vulgar. Well done woodmanone. more please.

Will there ever be a day on here when the 'nit pickers' shut up and not down a good story - matter of fact this is one of the top five stories I have read on here and wish there were a thousand more to go along with this one. {so do the 'nit pickers}.!! Great story and hope to read more of your work.! Thanks. JAG/TSO

"embellished the facts a little"?! there were no fatalities in the dam breach.

Great story. Sounds like you lived there but you forgot about elephant rocks. That would have given your readers pause. Thanks.

Of course I had to give it a very high rating, after all I wrote it.

I needed to answer a comment from an anonymous reader. I did live in that area for many years and spent several week ends at Johnson's Shut Ins Park. We even stay a weekend at a campground just downstream of that dam. There were three people killed in Lesterville as a result of that collapse. They were killed when their house was swept off it foundation.

Anyway thanks for reading my story and please continue.

There's a lot to be for rural life. Your story depicted it extremely well. Even without graphic sex, it was a fascinating, romantic story. Thanks for taking the time to share it.

Would like to congratulate you on a wonderful story. Being a work of fiction you can take all the literary license you want, but the story itself stands on it merits. Great story and well told. Being one that grew up in a small town, less than a 1000 people in a different state, the attitudes and general concept of life is right on.

Again my compliments for a wonderful story and would like to thankyou for sharing your time and talent with us. As for the critic's. They can go piss up a rope.

Great story you seem to understand small minded poeoples mentality, well thought out and good ending

Just some minor points that confused me a little. He was 25 or 26 when he went to his Uncle Lewis to live, found out later the first time he met Molly that she was 30 then they had a 9 year age gap.

Also kind of wondered what they did with Molly's farm after moving into Uncle Lewis place.

. . . but to quote what it says over the five star rating, one of the best!

I won't get into detail about what I liked most about this story, because I loved it all. Done with a quick wit, a light hand, and a deep understanding of small towns.

Well done. Keep up the good work!

Those who have never had an Uncle Lewis are the poorer for it - those of us who did are beyond blessed to have a GOOD man with integrity and honor right down to the bottom of his soul.

It is the old common sense concept that was never - ever - as much about common sense as it was about good sense and decency. Too damn little of both in this world still to this day.

i lived in an area 87 miles to the west and north west of Van Buren in my early life. The way the locals reacted to and treated those who moved into the area is very familiar. At the time I lived there the area was predominantly made up of families that had been there for well over a hundred years. That is no longer the case today. Today the locals are far out numbered by those who have moved into the area to retire, or just escape the hell holes that our big urban cities have become.

I lived in small towns and on small farms both in the mid west and the mid south most of my life. any one who wants to get along will not be accepted by just moving in. Go to the general store and get a cup of coffee, talk to folks and listen! to them, most will respond, go to the local church. when I was in the navy I lived in a small town in middle Tennessee, I met a new sailor at the base from my home town, which by the way was now a city. he wanted to live in the country so I took him out to Mumford. We went into the bank where I introduced him and his new bride and asked about a place to rent. His answer was he did not know of a place. Up north or in a big city you just say thank you and leave. Not in the south or anywhere in the real county, so we discussed the weather, the new calves and foals the cotton crop etc. during this time he mentioned a sign at one place, heard of a family moving. when we left we had several places to check out. I told my friend to remember that. The bank manager talked slow and thought slow but was not a dummy.he just needed time to think. this works in any small town or community except California, most farmers there are just city folk who own land. you have to get into the foothills to find the good people.

Ed Grocott

edgrocott@gmail.com

As a "city-dwelling northerner" who relocated to the Ozarks quite a few years ago, I can attest to the fact that 'newcomers' have to work hard to be accepted in the communities in the area.

We came here because we wanted a more laid-back and less hectic life (and to escape northern winters LOL) .

Make no mistake - the folks here are good people, but can be a little standoffish. They especially don't cotton to those who come to the area and try to make it like where they moved from. I say if it was so great where you came from, why the hell didn't you stay there?

As the newspaper says " 'tis a privilege to live in the Ozarks."

another good un'

Butch

Woody just writes one fine tale after another. I am in the process of reading them all again for the third time. I think I have figured out one reason I really enjoy and like his stores. It is he tells a story, a yarn, a tall tale, It is not one bedroom romp after another. His stories are not loaded with graphic explicit sex. Sex is in the stories, but it is implied and fits the story. I know, when it comes to written sex I have a Hays Office point of view.

Just a point of information: You stated that Lewis and Mary was his grand father’s uncle and aunt. That would make him their great-grand nephew. His grand father’s siblings would be grand uncle or grand aunt. Also according to Wikipedia, no one died from the dam failure. Five people (the family of the State Park superintendent was injured) in a house were injured when the water wave hit the house.

As the only Grandchild left from the only child his grandparents had, did he not receive an inheritance from his grandparents?

Another good one. I haven't read all of Woodmanone's stories but, I haven't read one I didn't like. 5*

@Welsh_Gent

I was asking myself the same question. Wouldn't he even inherit from his siblings if they hadn't any (surviving) children?

Excellent! I really enjoyed the story and the characters in it. ~ 5+ ~

Good story, although in the beginning after the flood, he should have found a more appealing lawyer to file suit for his family's wrongful death. If he didn't want to keep the $, he could have always donated it.

GOOD STORY..........WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS GRANDFATHERS ESTATE ??????............. ALSO WRONG FULL DEATH OF HIS FAMILY INCLUDING HIS GRANDPARENTS .........IM NOT FOLLOWING THAT...........I KNOW OF MANY MARAGIES OF DIFERENCE OF AGE ...................MY AUNT WAS 15 YRS OLDER THAN MY UNCLE......IT NEVER MATTERED........

Beautiful romance!

So was she 5yrs or 9yrs older than him? Looks like the author is confused

I love this story. At the age of 42, I met and married a woman that was 7 years older than me. She had a high school education. I had a degree in chemical engineering. It took only a short time after we married for me to realize she had much more natural intelligence me. She was also much quicker and wittier than me. She was a genius in money management. She was very loving and protective of her loved ones. I told her every day how lucky I felt that she loved me.

I had 36 years with her. She passed on her 86th birthday.

A word of caution - We were so satisfied in our own world that we made very few casual friends outside our marriage. It makes for a lonely life when your best friend is gone. But, I am the luckiest man alive for having her for 36 years.

Second time round it really is a good story