Fractured Bonds - Part 1

Hopkinsville is a really friendly town, surrounded by golden wheat lands, eternal corn mazes, the agricultural landscape’s monotony broken here and there by hills, a deep forest and a lake. The people are so sweet and welcoming, there are hardly any conflicts that cannot be solved with a brief conversation and an apology from both sides. Just smile, and the world smiles back – in Hopkinsville, everybody earns a smile, even on their grumpiest day.

But why even be grumpy when we have this amazing place to live at? A cozy city centre with a cool arcade, a DVD rental, cafes, a library with Internet connection, various retailers; the majority of people own farms and run a family business, hence the fields and plantations – mostly apple, but don’t hold that against us! The Hopkinsville apple pie is the best dessert ever. The only food items that are not produced here are chocolates, canned food, snacks, some meat and dairy products. There is a giant food factory 5 kms Nord from Hopkinsville.

Anyways, we are proud that the majority of the food is local. In fact, the Hopkinsville apple pie has such a great tradition that we have an annual competition, and you don’t have to be a kitchen fairy to participate. Last year, my friends and I, Camie and Connor went there, just to taste the pies and the weight gained was so worth it!

Another event that you shouldn’t miss is the traditional Halloween parade. It usually begins after sunset on the main street and goes around the whole town; it’s basically a community trick-or-treating, sweets are shared, the winning costume is voted. Afterwards I visit the horror corn maze with some classmates, which might be a bit scary, but being chased by chainsaw-men, vampires and zombies is great fun.

The Christmas celebration is also held in Hopkinsville-style: people gather in the schoolyard and watch the pupils’ performances, and there’s even a special edition of the Talent Show, where the winner gets to choose the theme of the Christmas tree set up in the park. Once Connor won with some magic tricks and he chose ‘yellow sparkles and purple bunnies’.

However, if you ask me, summer is elite! The weather is perfect, and there are so many things to do, such as biking around, carting on the hills, chilling at someone’s attic (advantages of living on a farm) while enjoying a movie (just don’t forget the rule: be kind, rewind!), reading comics, spending an unhealthy amount of time at the arcade, and of course, going camping.

There are different time periods for different age groups, and in August it’s finally time for high schoolers, that’s why I, Pepper Yates, am in a haste packing my backpack. Two weeks may sound long, but at these summer camps, it feels like two days, or two months, if you are a camp counselor.

We will live in wooden cabins in the middle of the woods, will probably go to the lake nearby, and of course, share creepy stories around the campfire. I love 1985! Though it seems to be eternal.

Balázs-Blénessi-Pataki Kincső   XI. R