In a hospital bed in Albany, New York, a young man lay dying: surrounded by three other men, who were leaning in very closely, hanging on his every word.
| " Cry - Cry -," the dying man sputtered. |
| " What is he trying to say?" one man asked. |
| " Cry -ers - " |
| " Cryers? Cryers. Yes, yes go on. Cryer's -, " one encouraged. |
| The man continued, " Val - e -. " |
| The garbled directions of the dying man's last words were barely comprehenshible. |
| "What is he trying to say?" one man asked. |
| "Val? E?" another man repeated, inconfusion. |
| "Valley?" yet another ventured. |
| "Cryers Valley?" one concluded. |
| The dying man nodded vigorously, then turned his head to one side and expired. |
| "Cryers Valley?" one asked the group. |
| "We have to find out what and where this Cryers Valley is," another firmly stated. |
In a remote area of upstate New York, a man was strolling through a large wooded area. The birds chirped and fluttered, and the squirrels scampered about as the gentle, yet solidy built man traversed their home. Suddenly, the sharp snap of a twig and the rustle of brush disrupted the serenity of the scene as a foreboding figure appeared from behind one of the trees.
It was a tall man clad in a few layers of clothing. His movements were swift and deliberate as he walked in the direction of the surprised gentleman. The first man gave a friendly nod to the newcomer. In response, the newcomer deftly and without emotion stabbed the first man in abdomen.
As the culprit quickly left the scene, the birds let out a plaintive, screeching cry before the woods lapsed back into serenity.
Small towns conjure up images of closely knitted circles of family and friends. People in small towns are frequently envied for their strong sense of community and identity. A small town resident once commented: "Small towns are like a quilt. They are composed of motley fabrics and patterns, yet tightly woven into one complete piece."
In certain cases, small towns have the opposite effect on people. Some small town inhabitants feel stifled by the limited space. As one rural emigrant recently remarked, "The tight barriers of a small town nearly stifled my creativity and zest for life."
No matter what one's view of small towns, one thing is certain: Small town people are just like people everywhere. There are wholesome characters and there are ignoble ones. There are people whose lives are filled with secrets, just as in larger cities. One major difference between small towns and large cities is that gossip travels through the small community faster. Thus, given the closeness and lack of entertainment in small towns, secrets are not long kept.
Cryer's Valley would come to epitomize these rudiments of small town life.
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