Jim Thompson wrote:

Aha! A fellow escapee. I grew up in Huntington. My grandparents
were in Riverton (Pendleton County) and Philippi (Barbour County).
I've been in AZ since graduation from MIT in 1962.

I would not refer to myself as an 'escapee'. I left for several reasons.
Small towns have their advantages. The people were warm and generous.
Basically everyone knew everyone. I was still able to cash a check on an
out of state bank in Ripley without showing an ID twenty years after I left.
On the other hand, SoCal has much better economic opportunities and the
larger social and cultural offerings of a major urban area. Like most things
in life, there are trade offs.


Dan