I began life as a Midwesterner in a small Iowa community. Eventually our family actually lived for 5 years or so in a town of only 360 people, about an hour away from where I was born. Like many boomers who have grown up in America, I miss that time and place where I spent my youth.

Today I live in another small town in the West. Well, it used to be really small but then we experienced sudden growth. Today it’s to hard identify the actual community outlook on any issue. We have the old timers’ sensibility, the newcomers’ sensibility, the students’ sensibility at our colleges, the homeless persons’ sensibility, that of our law enforcement professionals, and many more, I haven’t identified.

Even though we are a much larger municipality than was true just 10 or 15 years ago, we have been able to retain that friendly, small town feeling.

One of the upsides of small town life is that “everyone knows you” phenomenon. Hard to hide when you’re going through a rough patch, like a divorce or some other kind of setback, but great when raising kids since everyone watches out for everyone else’s kids. Just this morning when I was getting in my truck to head out, a client walked into the driveway and said, “Just heard your son mentioned on the ‘Morning Sports Report.’ ”

We probably know more about one another than necessary, and we sometimes devolve into petty, cliqueish behavior, or even yukky rumoring. But I offer this at the Thanksgiving time of year: I can honestly say I have learned more about lasting healthy friendships and the goodness of the human spirit in the years I have called Prescott my home. It is with gratitude and humility that I say thank you to those I know and have known who have shaped my personal values and given me professional and personal support.