Civilization

Our late neighbor was a very quiet man, God rest his soul.  We never really got to know him.  He was a good neighbor but he kept to himself and his family.  I was, however, friends with his wife, a gregarious woman and an avid, creative quilter.  Many times over the years she told me that any time (which does not suggest frequency) that they went on a driving trip that carried them out of the county, the sight of the Lafayette water tower drew the comment "Back to civilization!" from Ray.  I always listened to this story with a touch of incredulity, unable to grasp what Ray saw as civilization here in this one dog town (too poor to even have a horse).