We took a road yesterday that we don’t ordinarily take on our journey to find the perfect stove. Traffic was stop and go, bumper to bumper, and as a result, I was able to take in more of the scenery. As hubby drove along, I looked up to see something interesting – a sign for an old trailer park. Right below that was a sign for a beauty parlor. Both were old, and from what I could tell, the trailer park was no longer active. But the idea of a beauty parlor in a trailer park… that fascinates me. Oh, the ideas!
Imagine the conversations that took place there. The people moving in and out of the park, the families, the singles, a good number of them stopping at the beauty parlor to get haircuts, dye jobs, and styles. Oh, and gossip.
I’m not sure what it is about small-town trailer parks that fascinates me so. Maybe because they’re hotbeds of humanity, good and bad. They can be a way up, a way down, a stopping place. Retirees, young couples just starting out, newly divorced people looking for a place to rest and heal their wounds. People from every socioeconomic level out there.
It’s easy to stereotype people who live in trailer parks, and people who live in trailers for that matter. Like with most stereotypes, there’s a reason they exist. But to say that everyone who lives in a trailer park fits a certain mold, that wouldn’t be accurate or fair. As I said, the mix of humanity is fascinating.
As we continued up the road, the next turn past the trailer park was into the parking lot of an old diner. Back behind it sat a defunct roller rink. Both of those businesses were named the same as the trailer park. One could imagine that the diner, roller rink, and trailer park were named after the husband, and the beauty parlor belonged to the wife. That opens up a whole ‘nother set of possibilities.
When I got home and talked to my friend about the discovery, she told me that there also used to be a drive-in there. As you might guess, I practically squealed with excitement. It was like hitting the jackpot.
I took a picture as we passed, and I made a mental note to remember the place. I immediately knew which story universe wanted to put it in, and I’m pondering exactly how to do that. It’s a new universe, a new fictional world I’ve not yet introduced you all to. It’s one I hope to get to play around in this fall. At this point, I’m not even certain what genre it would fall into. I just know that it sounds like fun in my head.
Happy Reading!
T. L.