\u00a0I hope I can couch this the right way, but y\u2019all don\u2019t know what far is.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s wild what folks in the Hub City consider a trek. The second something is more than ten minutes away, people start dragging their heels like they\u2019re being asked to cross the Mojave Desert. Fifteen minutes isn\u2019t \u201cfar.\u201d It barely qualifies as cardio. And yes, it drives me absolutely nuts that people treat it like a full-blown expedition.<\/p>\n
Honestly, the biggest sign someone has never lived in a major metro is the belief that everything should be within a few minutes of their front door. It doesn\u2019t even make sense if you think about it \u2014 Lubbock is a farm community at its core. You can drive fifteen minutes across a single piece of farmland. But ask someone to drive from 82nd to 4th and suddenly it\u2019s \u201ctoo much.\u201d<\/p>\n
When \u201cAll the Way Across Town\u201d Is\u2026 Thirteen Minutes<\/p>\n
I live out by the airport. My daughter lives somewhere in the 90s on the southwest side. Even she has said she doesn\u2019t want to \u201cdrive all the way out there.\u201d I get it \u2014 when there\u2019s a grocery store or convenience stop within five minutes of everyone, you get spoiled fast. You start believing trips shouldn\u2019t take longer than a podcast intro.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, my mom lives in Orange County, California, one of the most densely packed places in the country. You\u2019d think that would mean wall-to-wall stores and services. Nope. It\u2019s 15 minutes to the nearest grocery store, 20 to the closest theater, and gas isn\u2019t much closer. Population density doesn\u2019t guarantee convenience.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m guilty, too.\u00a0A while back I went to an event out on the Idalou Highway at the Kitalou Gin. I made fun of the host for \u201cputting it way the hell out there.\u201d It ended up being 11 minutes from my house \u2014 less than driving straight across Lubbock on the Interstate.<\/p>\n