#ThinkKit11 Day 6: Defining Community

OK, now that I have semi-caught up on the ThinkKit11 blog project by re-doing all of last week's "Tweets" via an actual blog entry, it's time to go to work on this week's entries.  I'll do two entries today, which will officially catch me up.  After that, hopefully one-a-day to finish out the project. 

Tuesday, Dec 6: Community
Where do you go where everyone knows your name?

When I saw this pop up on the list of topics, I immediately came up with different interpretations.  Were the folks at SmallBox referring to a favorite bar or comparable establishment? Were they asking about a favorite restaurant?  Or just a place on the map?  It was time for some inner thinking.  After thinking about it for a good 5-10 minutes, I found myself thinking about two things ... a county, and ... bagels.

A county ... a.k.a. THE County

I grew up in Lawrenceville, Illinois, a community of about 5,000 people on the Illinois/Indiana border. I like telling people I grew up the Illinois-side of Vincennes, Indiana.  L'ville is the county seat for Lawrence County, and when I say the county population is around somewhere around 15,000 people, it's not an exaggeration.  Let's just be honest:

• There are five (5) intersections in THE County with stop lights. Five.
• The closest enclosed mall is around 80 minutes away, one-way ... either to Terre Haute, IN or Evansville, IN.
• 1990 - a red-letter year ... we got our first official fast-food place ... Hardee's. Yeah, we had a Dairy Queen for years prior, but we never called it fast food, if you get my drift.
• Our primary grocery store was IGA
• Movie theaters, Walmart, K-Mart, even the closest putt-putt ... Vincennes, IN

It's a city, a county, where everyone knows pretty much everyone else.  I only know of one other "David Craske", but I call him "Dad". Growing up, I didn't got by "David", I went by my initials - "D.J." It wasn't until I went off to college that I started going by "David".  However, when I return to THE County, I get to hear "D.J." all the time again. It's funny - many of my HS friends, even my HS teachers, don't know what to address me as.  I try to tell them that friends & family from THE County are welcome to call me "D.J." - I don't mind.  Sometimes, just being called a different name with what you're accustomed to - means you're home.

Lawrence County Courthouse - Lawrenceville, Illinois

Bagels ... wait, what? Bagels?

When I moved to Lafayette in 2002, I made an occasional trip "across the river" to West Lafayette for a bagel & coffee over at their new Panera Bread. Sometimes it's good to get out of the house and enjoy a little life.

In 2003, a dark blonde-haired, brown-eyed gal came into my life. Her name is Camber, and she is a golden retriever. She keeps me young, keeps me active, and keeps me guessing what she's going to do next.

Camber's 1st Snow - Winter 2003

Naturally, as a dog, she loves car rides and people watching.  I took her with me one weekend to Panera Bread for my bagel & coffee, and she just looked at me. I gave her the last bite of my bagel, and she darn near took my hand off. For the next 3 seconds, she chewed that morsel - with her eyes closed. I don't know why, but she had that look of sheer bliss, savoring the sweetness of scoring a Panera Bread bagel bite. It was at that time, I no longer had a dog, but an addict to bagels.

For the next 6 years in Lafayette, we made a weekly weekend trip to Panera Bread up there. I had my regular bagel & coffee, and she would get a plain bagel. It became so regular, I didn't even have to order - by the time my turn at the counter had arrived, one of the gals would already have my bagel sliced & toasted, her bagel already sent through the thin bread slicer (like a loaf of bread), and my paper cup for coffee ready to go.  And Camber, patient as a dog can be, would wait out in my truck, looking into Panera, knowing it was "Bagel Day". It was hilarious to see Panera employees break out in smiles, as they would watch Camber's anticipation.

When I moved to Indianapolis in mid-2009 to complete my degree at IUPUI, I promised myself to continue our weekend tradition. While I lived in the Broad Ripple area, the Panera Bread at Glendale and the Einstein Brothers on Broad Ripple Avenue were our hangout spots. When I moved to the West Side for my final year of school, Panera Bread in Avon & the Einstein Brothers in Speedway were used & abused. It was funny to see how all four places would start asking whether my order would include an additional bagel for Camber.

Prepping for National Championship Game 2011

Now, living temporarily back in Illinois, it feels like forever of our last trip together to a Panera Bread. As I'm bouncing between locations in Southern Illinois, Panera Bread stores, or for that matter ANY bagel stores, aren't as prevalent. It's kinda hard to justify a 30-minute car ride for a bagel & coffee, in my opinion. It's a shame, too, because I know the two of us would be regulars somewhere.