A Town Called Odd

Fearing that the forgone conclusion of their town's fate would be unqualified obscurity, the citizens of a tiny town in rural West Virginia decided to give their town an unusual name; they settled on something that was just weird enough to garner the attention of passing motorists - Odd.  There is nothing particularly strange about the sweet, albeit backwater, little hamlet of Odd, WV.  The houses are well-maintained.  The brooks are in a constant babble.  The sunlight, dappled by the fluttering leaves, turns the landscape into an ever-changing, impressionist masterpiece.  The quaint, brick post office, the most significant building in the city limits, is the centerpiece to what would otherwise be a completely-unremarkable town.  The only thing that really sets Odd apart from the surrounding communities is, well, it's odd name.  How could we continue to call ourselves denizens of wacky tacky if we failed to make the trek to a town that, outside of its name, would be surely be missed by travelers who had the audacity to blink.  Cheers to Odd for putting itself on the map!

Perhaps I should have let the sign speak for itself.
But when in Odd, do as the Odd folks do, right?

As we wound our way through the hairpin turns of the narrow-laned road to Odd, we saw one of our favorite signs, "Estate Sale."  We pulled over and, of course, found a few necessities for my sister's home.  The best part was meeting the charming family who had recently lost its 92-year-old mother but had reconvened at the family home to disperse the remainder of the estate.  While most of the children (now into their sixties and seventies) have left Odd to create lives in other towns and other states, it was wonderful to talk to them about the truly idyllic experience of growing up in Odd.  They sat on the porch reminiscing and celebrating their mother's life as well as their own.  As we left, one of the daughters handed my nephew an ornament from her mother's Christmas tree.  It was one of those delightfully-unexpected experiences that made an oddball excursion to Odd a poignant and meaningful moment. 

It became more of a challenge with every church that we
passed to distinguish an odd church from the Odd Church.

Some of the cities in my neck of the woods have names that can be difficult to pronounce but I can't think of a single one that has an "odd" name.  Do you have any odd towns near you?  Do you think I should be flattered or offended that they asked me to be the "New face of Odd?"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny