It’s a lovely fall day here in St. Charles, a town where I spent my adolescent years. St. Charles is the first capitol of Missouri, and its “downtown” has preserved its historic charm from the 1700’s. I’ve never really appreciated this town. Coming from Taichung, the third largest city in Taiwan, I always thought this place was small, and somewhat… backward. The 12 year-old me questioned,”Why aren’t there anyone walking on the streets?” Up until my senior year in high school, there did not exist a coffee shop in this town.
I have just a few days left in this town before I leave again to another international city. I decided to take advantage of this gorgeous 86 degree day to see the town again. Eight years after moving away from this place, I finally see the charm. The cobblestone streets are lined with mom and pop stores selling craft, homemade ice cream, tea, etc. The average age of the people roaming about at 1pm is around 65, and mostly women.
Suddenly, I feel a lot like being in a scene from Gilmore Girls. I have finally learned to love this town for what it is. It’s a simple place filled with kind and simple people. They may not all have passports, nor care much about foreign policy, but it is a town with good, honest people, going about their lives.
Sometimes, it takes living a life as if you are moving away, to be able to crunch the fall leaves and to see the beauty.
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