Things I’ve loved about Abilene:

1. Highland. It’s home. So much home that this primarily explains why we intend to stay here. I’ve trusted my life for eighteen years to the leaders of this church, and I’ll gladly do so now that I’m “going to church for free.”

2. The Abilene School District — especially Abilene High. We’ve loved the diversity the school system has offered. Our boys have had good friends who are rich and poor, black and white. The school reflects the town. We want Chris to finish up at AHS not just because he’s halfway through, but because we really like the school.

3. ACU. Royce Money became president just about the time we moved here in 1991, and under his leadership the school has made bold, responsible steps. I love teaching my freshmen classes.

4. The size. Diane likes smaller towns, and I love urban areas. This sort of meets in the middle (tilting toward small, in my opinion). You can get anywhere in about ten minutes, and we don’t have traffic jams.

5. The people. If your only knowledge of our population comes from the letters to the editor of the ARN or from the comments section on the ARN’s website, you might imagine that everyone is a cantankerous, name-calling knucklehead. Not all — just some of the loud ones (like anyplace, I suppose).

6. The restaurants. Oh, there’s no Pappasito’s, Pappadeux, or Catina Laredo (some of our fav Ft. Worth restaurants). But there’s Perini’s, Sharon’s, Harold’s, Abuelo’s, Carino’s, Szechuan’s, Los Arcos, Betty Rose’s, Joe Allen’s . . . and Taco Bueno (when it’s the end of the month and everyone is out of $$ . . . this was where Bueno began, after all!).

7. The Abilene Reporter-News. I’m from a newspaper family, and I can be a newspaper snob. But this is a seriously good paper for a city of this size. It’s not the NY Times, of course. But I have access to that online. I’ve enjoyed eating my cereal while reading the paper all these years.

8. The business connections: our car dealership (Arrow Chrysler — just out of business last month thanks to the Chrysler downsizing) . . . our bank (First Financial) . . . our grocery stores (HEB for me and United for Diane) . . . etc.

9. The grave. It’s been a long time since our daughter died, and we aren’t tied to the cemetery where she’s buried like we were early on. Still, it’s nice to be near there and to gather with friends on Easter morning.

10. Our friends. This probably falls under #1 and #5 above, but I decided to list it separately. We’ve been blessed beyond description by our friendships here.

I guess I should mention that are a few things I don’t like:

1. The heat. I’ll start here. It’s supposed to be about 105 again today. I miss four solid seasons. But it works for Diane. My perfect temperature is about 55; hers is about 90.

2. The looks. Sometimes I just have to stay off of Treadaway, S. 11th, hwy 80, etc. Too much junk is just left and too many delapidated buildings just abandoned — probably because there is plenty of land. Plus, I love mountains. I will say, though, that when I look out the window of my new office it strikes me that there is plenty of beauty here as well. A drive out 277 or toward Buffalo Gap reinforces that.

3. The airport. Actually, this one I need to unpack a bit — because I think through the years my favorite airport personnel (including, of course, the ticket agents for American Eagle) have been my favorite anywhere. But there’s usually only one airline, and we’re at the mercy of all the connections at DFW. I will say this, though: when flights are running on time, it’s a sweet deal. I can probably get to DFW quicker from my house (via American Eagle) than some of my friends in the metroplex.

I could probably think of a few other things I don’t love, but overall, it’s been a wonderful home, a great place to raise our children.