What about Abilene is good?

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Abilenians are dang friendly. For example, we saw a punk rocker at the front door as we were coming home from somewhere. She had come by to say our dog got away and she had put her back in the yard for us. Then, just last week a lady from church started her call with “I don’t mean to be a stalker” and then told me that as she had driven by the house she saw a FedEx package parked on my front porch. Also, when a bunch of planes were diverted from DFW because of storms over the Metroplex, Abilene ordered and delivered pizza to all the folks stuck on the tarmac.

The restaurants are good. I like Pad Thai, which has authentic Thai food and will even serve it to you Thai hot, which is a level beyond American’s hot. AbiHaus is interesting and I enjoy the fry bread, sans paprika, and the Farmer’s Plate of cheese, honey, and fruit. Belle’s is great for when you are really hungry so you can gobble up rolls and have them refill the vegetables… though gravy as a vegetable could only happen in Texas!

I like the alleys, so I can walk the dog without being on parade for folks driving across town.

I like Abilene’s history. One thing I learned from eavesdropping on a commuter flight is that the Air Force gives out an award every year to the city most friendly to the Air Force folks. The speaker explained that many places give discounts to military personnel, but not if there is a base nearby. Even though Dyess is the largest employer in Abilene, however, many businesses in Abilene give military discounts—including grocery stores, furniture stores, and car dealerships. Abilenians turn out for groups coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan and folks buy meals for those in uniform. In fact, the Air Force award went to Abilene twelve years running. After which point the Air Force approached Abilene and asked for support to rename the award and give it to someone besides Abilene. I like that the Abilene Award is the Air Force’s highest award for most friendly to the Air Force—and I like that it goes to the second most friendly city every year!