Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994 TAG: 9404140019
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
My husband and I traveled in 48 states before deciding to settle here in the New River Valley. Blacksburg is the nicest town we have seen, both because of the physical beauty surrounding the town and the combination of shops, restaurants and entertainment/leisure time opportunities in a small town atmosphere.
We want growth here because that is what keeps a community vital and thriving. However, our experience in cities where there has been a large amount of paving and building in a short period is that the pace of the city increases to the point that people are frenzied and out of touch with nature and humanity/spirituality in general.
It is almost as if the speed on their treadmills has been increased to such an extent that most of their thoughts are spent with just not falling off the machine. The air no longer smells sweet and pleasant, and interactions with one's fellow man are often guarded and impersonal. When growth happens quickly, a community has little chance to evaluate whether the growth is getting out of hand.
The qualities that attracted us to this area are those often associated with the philosophy of stopping to smell the roses. Store employees remember us or are friendly and often incredibly helpful without the single motive of getting a sale. At first, we reacted to their greetings with big-city guardedness. Now we laughingly recall a trip back to our former neighborhood when we were looking around for someone to serve us while the clerk va-cuumed the floor a few feet from us.
Another quality we treasure is the greater feeling of community we experience here. During the ice storms this winter, two different neighbors checked with us to see if we needed anything in town. This was not because of our age or infirmities because we are/have neither.
We appreciate the vitality and interest in learning that comes with an institution like Virginia Tech. We are aware of a number of laborers who have degrees from Tech and choose to work at less challenging/rewarding jobs than they might hold in their career field because they want to stay in this area. They, like us, enjoy the proximity to nature, places to hike and view the beauty, and maybe the chance to ride one's bike to run errands or explore a country road.
The above qualities are of great value, and living in this area carries a relatively low price tag. The latter allows, even encourages, residents to lay back a little more and remember and act on their humanity. Together, these qualities make for a piece of heaven, a wonderful place to live.
|MARCIA J. BAILEY |BLACKSBURG
by CNB