To describe the town of Radford, or I should say, the CITY of Radford…it is a dreary scene. It could be more, and in the past it was a happening place. But that was when the baby boomers were in charge and life was fine and dandy.
And then came along the generation I grew up in, where everyone wanted to leave Radford as soon as they could. Nobody wanted to build our city anymore.
Today, the city is dismal, trying to keep up to pace with the college scene in town, but turning into a ghost town when all the college kids leave for summer/winter breaks.
All small towns seem to try to keep up with the national scene, bringing in chain restaurants to have people want to stay. But who cares to eat at another Applebee’s? Shouldn’t we, the small cities of the world, be promoting LOCAL food like all the city hipsters? We have MUCH MORE to be proud about here. We have plentiful land here, not like the big cities. But even they are doing a better job at farmers’ markets and such.
It saddens me to see how people in the community here don’t care to see changes much. I read in the newspaper the other day that Christiansburg, the next town over, is trying to establish their own farmers’ market. Let’s see if any interest actually crops up.
I thought I’d be happier returning back to my hometown for these next few months to recuperate from emotional distress. But, just from the few days of being here, I already feel dismal from the landscape. Local businesses disappearing…the giants coming into the city trying to resuscitate things…the university growing ever larger and wanting to devour the eastern side of town. It is sad.
To me, I still cannot see how people would want to stay and settle here. But that’s the exact problem this city is having: all the young people, the 20somethings, want to bolt as soon as they can. Well, at least the ambitious ones do. That leaves the treaders here and the aging baby boomers.
Of course I can never forget my roots. Nobody can ever forget where they came from, no matter how hard they try. I just want to see a better future for my hometown, instead of it dying off within the next twenty years because no young adult wants to stay and re-build the city.
