It was sometime last weekend when I noticed the small green tent pitched in my friend's backyard.
So
are you sleeping outside now? I asked her, directing our attention out her bedroom window to the green hill in back of her house.
She laughed, and that's when she laid it on me.
There are hippies living in my backyard.
She didn't know who these hippies were, and her two roommates didn't seem to have a clue either. Yet, they continued to let a couple of vagabonds, presumably on their way to the California coast, camp indefinitely on the edge of their yard.
Now, if a couple of anonymous hippies had set up camp at my parents' house, which is nestled quietly in the suburbs of Dayton, their immediate reaction would have included symptoms of paranoia and confusion along with police officers. But not here, not in Athens.
After recovering from the mild humor of the situation, I thought about my friend and her roommates' blasé attitude toward total strangers sleeping, eating and relieving themselves on the property they are paying for. But it's this kind of friendly, tolerant attitude that many people in Athens possess and often share with others, whether they live on another street or in another state.
What is it about Athens that allows this brand of hospitality? Is it the progressive, independent nature of OU's students, or the laid-back attitude of the town's residents? I think it must be a mix of both, along with the down-home seclusion only the mountains can provide.
How many of us have woken up on a Saturday morning to find a random guy asleep on the couch? Has anyone ever shared cigarettes or beer with a stranger? What about buying a drink for a cute someone you didn't know? Have you ever ignored the rules learned as a child and accepted a ride from someone you didn't know?
I've only hitchhiked once in my life, and it was right here in Athens. It was Halloween of my freshman year, and I had planned to walk across town to a friend's house. It was freezing that night and I had a skirt on, so I stuck out my thumb and hoped for the best. I did find a ride shortly thereafter; it was a minivan full of students, who cheerfully dropped me off right in front of my friend's house. I'm quite sure that I would not have tried that anywhere else. Only in Athens.
Although that kind of scenario may not be the safest or wisest decision, I've come to find that Athens is a pretty safe little town with a lot of friendly, giving people. We help out one another, share with one another, lend out couches and backyards to one another. It seems that we are all too busy having fun that there is no time for thoughts of potential danger or of keeping score. Even some businesses will occasionally overlook the fact that you are a quarter short, or sometimes they'll give you the refill that you were really supposed to pay for.
I enjoy living in the bubble of Athens in which there are people who are down-home nice and willing to give us what we need or sometimes, just what we want. Athens has a communal spirit that encompasses not only OU students, but the residents and visitors as well. Everyone wants to be happy and satisfied, and I'm glad that in Athens we all want that for one another. I'm proud to live in a town full of free spirits and freethinking.
The tent in my friend's backyard is gone now, presumably packed up along with her visitors' toilet paper and guitar. The young drifters had landed safely in this unassuming Appalachian party, our bubble that is conveniently tucked away in the hills and isolated from the rest of the world.
The hippies in the yard, like so many before them, temporarily camped in our bubble, if only for a moment, to experience the fun freedom of Athens the rest of us won't leave behind. At least not yet.
Okay, so I may not have a handful of hippies squatting in my backyard, but I hope I have the same kind of opportunities to apply the same kind of tolerance and generosity that so many in this town practice everyday. It's the open-minded acceptance of our town's students and residents and the unexplained sense of community that keep all of us coming back for more.
-Liza Martin is a senior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at lm258701@ohiou.edu. 17
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