When I was seven years old and growing up in Smalltown, my friends were starting to get bicycles and train sets to play with. I got sisters—Vanna, Kelli, and Darlene. Every two years, I got a new one. At the time, I’d have preferred a new Schwinn or Lionel, but I didn’t get a vote; […]
Smalltown lost its barbershop, an important social center for the men in this community, about ten years ago when old man Whitney dropped dead while giving my Uncle Herbert his monthly flat-top. Roland Whitney was old. He was the only barber I’d ever seen for a haircut until I was pushing fifty. Dad would take […]
I remember when I was a kid, my grandparents would come to visit and my dad would always ask the same question when they’d arrive. “How was your trip?” “Great,” Grandpa would answer. “Your mother drove all the way. All I had to do was hold onto the steerin’ wheel.” It got funnier every time […]
If you’ve raised a child, it’s a sure thing that your precious little darling has embarrassed you in public by saying aloud what most adults would think, but not mention. It seems we are born honest and it takes our parents several years to train that character flaw out of us. The little woman, Winnie, […]
Believe it or not, when I was a kid I’d sometimes tell stories that didn’t represent the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As a result, when my mother found out that I’d stayed after school for shooting spitballs at Suzie Springer—and not because I’d volunteered to set up chairs in the […]
Golf is a good walk spoiled. Mark Twain said it years ago, and there have been many days when I finished up on the links, pulled the calculator out of my golf bag to add up my score, and had to agree with him. Living here in the north country, I have all winter […]
Average Joe performs a song inspired by his story, “I’m Afraid of the Little Woman”. Click below
I was a skinny kid during my years at Smalltown High. I was on the track team and ran several miles a day, nearly year round. I can remember eating fattening stuff, like ice cream and cake, when I wasn’t even hungry, just to try to keep my weight up. That’s no longer a problem […]
My daughter, Maggie, is getting married this summer and I’m here to tell you that things have changed . . . a lot . . . since the little woman, Winnie, and I tied the knot in 1977. The Wright household is all atwitter with excitement over the wedding plans and, while I have offered […]
My name is Joe Wright. To know me is to know my town — Smalltown.
