Patricia Harrelson

Tiny town is Connie’s & Andy’s pet name for Todos Santos. It refers to the manner in which news flies through the gringo community, or the entire community for that matter. For example, while I was visiting, Connie gave her housekeeper Maria a ride to her next job and on the way talked about Andy wanting to get in touch with the builder of the house, so he could deal with a few water issues. Two hours later, Paul, the builder, showed up at the gate saying, “You wanted to see me?” That’s the way it is in Todos Santos. Communication travels rapidly via word of mouth.

Sometimes it’s right on, like the way in which the neighborhood heard of C&A’s arrival at their house last December. People immediately started dropping by to say hello and extend invitations. In two months, they have come to know everyone in the neighborhood, including all the neighbor’s pets names. Most folks have at least one dog, and many have two or three. Barking dogs and crowing roosters form a back drop of sound that one no longer hears after a while as those sounds are ever present. Connie gets rides to Zumba from a neighbor and Andy shares tools and workers with guys in the neighborhood. It’s a tiny town.

Sometimes the news gets twisted, like when we waited in the bank to cash a check. The regular customer rep was not there, and when C&A asked the person in front of them where Daniel was, he said, “I heard he got fired.” Soon that news was passed down the line. But when Connie was cashing her check, she tactfully asked the gal about Daniel, and learned he would be back next week. She made sure, she told the fellows in line what she’d learned.

Late one afternoon while I was there, we got a call inviting us to join a bunch of neighbors at a newly opened restaurant in town. That’s where I learned that Todos Santos is a tiny town in other ways too. One of the gentleman who joined us had graduated from the same high school as Andy and I. Another fellow had spent summers during his youth in Boot Jack which is where Cindy’s parent’s live, and he had attended the Mariposa County Fair every year throughout his teens. Another gal was from Modesto, and when she was growing up her family had cabin in Twain Harte just like my family. We knew all the same haunts, the Frost Top and the skating rink and the rock at the lake. Two people grew up in San Francisco and one in Orange County where Connie is from. The coincidences were enough for me to agree that Todos Santos is a “tiny town.”