August 6, 2013 - Communities

I spent the entire day in Zanesville, OH today.  After working with the teachers who were gearing up for the coming school year, I decided to go on a run.  I asked the staff of the hotel if the road next to the hotel was safe to run on.  The lady says "Ha... it is 666 road and there isn't much consistency in the sidewalks... so I guess you could run up it to get to the park."  I decided to try a different route. 
Jogging through a town is one of the best ways to get a feel for a community.  I have been to Zanesville quite a few times for my work, but have never ran this town.  I saw a working class part of town, evidenced by the simple houses (mostly bungalows), the blue collar bars, and the huge brick buildings of industry that I ran by.  I also came across a restaurant that one of the teachers had recommended, and after I returned to the hotel and took a shower,  I drove down to that restaurant and had the best pulled pork sandwich I have had in a long time. 
While I was sitting at the table in the outdoor seating area, I overheard some 20 year olds talking about their experience in high school at the table nearby.  They were mentioning teachers that they liked and others that they hadn't.  At the other table, a 16 year old was sitting with (on?) his girlfriend.  I recognized him and asked if he went to the New Tech school here in town.  He grinned and said "I thought I knew you... I think you yelled at me once."  I questioned how I would ever have yelled at him and he admitted that I just whispered to him that maybe he should pay attention during a presentation one day that I was visiting his class.  I think he was super surprised to see me, but not surprised at all that his teachers had already been working for about three weeks this summer to get ready for him and his buddies to come back to school. 
I like the feel of small towns like this one and Greencastle.  You can find some hole in the wall place to have a BBQ sandwich and find out what is going on in town at the same time.  The sense of community is real here and I appreciate that and recognize that that sense of community is part of what makes Putnam County also special.