Brown: I'm always out of town

“I’m going out of town.” A common phrase, but if you hear a farmer or rancher say it, they likely mean exactly what you think they mean, but not what those particular words mean when taken literally. Whenever I need to tell someone I’ll be significantly absent from my usual place, and I decide to use the standard phrase, a little internal amusement at the untruth of the words is inevitable. “Out of town” is the definition of my home, not a rare or

Audra Brown

Down on the Farm

special place. But if I were to state that “I’m gonna be in town for a few days,” confusion seems a likely result. Better to lie and get my meaning across than to tell the truth that no one can understand.

Folks do like to measure and label places relative to town, don’t they? Uptown, downtown, mid-town, China-town, outskirts of town, and the ever indefinable, bad-part-of-town. I’m lost in a hurry. As someone who will forever be from out-of-town, even when it comes to my hometown, I just nod like I know the difference and get a map.

There’s a mysterious land that’s known to outsiders as “the country” or sometimes “out in the county.” It’s where I’m from, and it’s loosely defined as not-in-town and once you get far enough out, close-to-town isn’t included either. It’s a bit contrary, but we define places relative to town too. Probably because it’s usually in the same place. Town is just easier to locate than country.

“I’m going to town” is a common phrase that is usually followed by an offer to pick stuff up for you so that you can put off your own trip to town.

Places are in-town, close-to-town, out-of-town, the-other-side-of-town, west-of-town, south-of-town, east-of-town, north-of-town, and so forth.

General directions like that work if there’s a big, obvious town close by that is clearly more notable than the competition. Not always the case, and that’s probably a reason why we tend to be really specific and actually name towns more often than not. Even towns that no longer exist.

My address is Portales, I’d claim Bethel as my hometown, and I’m part of the Floyd community. But I’ve never lived properly in any of those places. I think maybe next time somebody asks, I’ll just say I’m from out of town, see how that goes.

Audra Brown is going out of town after work today, just like every day. Contact her at [email protected]