The Myth of Small-Town America

It’s Saturday morning, and a crowd is gathering in a parking lot off Main Street. It’s been raining hard for the last hour, and blue-grey clouds still hang low in the sky; a little girl in a pink t-shirt turns her umbrella upside down to catch raindrops. Folks shift to make room for friends and strangers under the eaves and awnings. I’m late, but I don’t have any trouble finding a dry spot near a couple who, like me, just came in from out of town. An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, one of the American meat producer’s 27-foot-long motorised hot dogs, is idling nearby. Someone is whistling the theme tune from The Andy Griffith Show. It’s 9:06am in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The Mayberry Days parade is about to begin.