small community vs city centre

Standing shoulder to shoulder with a middle aged man on a public train. He's dressed in a black, pinstripe suit and is carrying a briefcase. He fails to acknowledge my presence and doesn't even spare me a glance. Every two minutes his phone rings and he speaks in a dull, flat voice to the man on the other end. He speaks about 'business' and 'financial records'. All the time I'm listening i wonder what job he actually does. If he has time to do things he enjoys. If he makes a lot of money. Judging by his new nokia phone and smart suit i am guessing so. 1

When he gets off seats empty and i move to sit with a a timid looking woman. She fails to acknowledge me too. She is two busy playing with the ring on her wedding finger and touching the cut on her hand. She slides the ring carefully off her finger, looks at it from all angles, sighs, and places it back on her finger. She notices me looking at her hand and quickly covers the cut. I guess she has children, judging by the boardgames and such which she has bought. I also sense she is having marriage troubles. Not that i know, just my observation. As she gets up to leave she casts me a faint look. I smile but i don't receive one back. When my stop eventually comes i get off and move in the throng of people heading home. No one speaks to each other. No one even looks at another person. Everyone seems too involved in their own lives.2

I separate from the crowd and make my way to the small village in which i live. I head up to the local supermarket to buy a magazine and some sweets. It's only 10 minutes from my house so not much of a detour. As i get to the counter there he is. The guy works almost every night of the week and sees me often when i go in to buy bread and such things for my parents. As he runs my items through we talk about this and that. How our weeks have been, what we have been up to. Small things like that. As i leave he smiles and wishes me a good night. I return the gesture. Walking home i see the old man who walks his friends dog. I see him often and he is very friendly. Always stops to talk to me about something or another. How things are going at school, what i plan on doing later in life, how my holidays have been so far. We often stop for a small chat, it's nice to see someone smile when you do. Goodbyes are said once again and i go home.3

It's at that point that i realise the joys of living in a small community. The closeness that is felt compared to that of the city centre. So for anyone who wants to know the reason i hate the large cities and why i would love to live in a small rural village. Here's your answer. 4