You are probably familiar with the Thornton Wilder play, “Our Town,” set in the mythical town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire from 1901 to 1913. The play was produced at The Old Globe Theatre in 1975 with Craig Noel, the founding director of The Globe, playing the role of stage manager. University City is a lot like Grover’s Corners, a compact community of regular folks making a living and a life, revering the town children, recording ordinary events and even listening for the train whistle as the train hurries through Rose Canyon on the way to important places like downtown San Diego or Los Angeles. In “Our Town,” the locals can set their watch to the train heading to Albany, New York. In U.C., the locals can do the same. Churches, synagogues and schools dot the main street of University City and the four corners of gas stations at Genesee Avenue and Governor Drive are community identification marks. The library is on our main street, east of the four corners, as is our town’s gathering place to the west, Standley Park. Kids ride their bikes to and from school, as well as to Standley Park. “I can’t do anything bad there,” a youngster once confessed, “because somebody else’s mom might see me and tell my mother.” It’s true. Just as in Grover’s Corners, everybody seems to know everybody else. The library bike rack and parking lot are full most days. The Postal Annex in the Marketplace is west of Governor and Genesee. Jane Reilly keeps tab of how everyone is doing and always lends a sympathetic ear to her customer friends. She gives continuity to the community. Her customers are her friends, just as in “Our Town,” where Mr. Morgan, who owns the drugstore, or Doc Gibbs, who checks on friends in Grover’s Corners. The post office also has longtime employees: Beth, Kathy and Susan. They don’t just sell stamps; they hand out concerns and compliments. Beth’s son is serving his country overseas in the Middle East, and Beth knows about our sons, daughters and grandkids. Kathy has been a generous volunteer for U.C. Celebration over the years on July 4. Living in the community, she’s one of us. Susan is interested in the families who stop by her counter. Times were changing for Grover’s Corners when automobiles were introduced. Change was in the air. “And now they are bringing in these auto-mo-biles; the best thing to do is just stay home. Why, I can remember the time when a dog could lie down all day in the middle of Main Street and nothing would come to disturb him,” Mr. Morgan says. Today’s technology is yesterday’s first automobiles in our University City-set drama. Change is in the air in our town. Will our little post office close because email is riding a wave of success, supplanting the letters and bills we paid to mail at the post office? Will we lose the human touch provided by our friends who are clerks? Will our passion for the technology world wipe out the people-to-people experience and isolate us even more? Standley Park’s lovely, capable director, Sarah Anderson-Erazo, has served the community well for years. With the budget gap, Standley Park may lose her talent and genuine care for our “Grover’s Corners.” We celebrated Sarah’s rites of passage: going to college, getting married and now soon becoming a mom. We want to keep her around and we wonder if the city fathers and mothers understand the close relationship we have with folks like Sarah who come into our communities and hearts. Is there a price tag you can put on that relationship when you make budget decisions? Is it all about the bottom line? University City loves its children and sports. Little League dads are seen in the early morning light preparing the fields, coaching the kids and keeping tradition alive. Just a few weeks ago, a poster child for Little League volunteering, Larry Yandel, was laid to rest after a bout with melanoma. His life was cut short at age 46. Yandel, known to his family and friends as a fun-loving, wild guy who loved his wife, Dawn, and three children, passed away after a fierce battle with cancer. He loved baseball and kids he coached so well for years and years. In “Our Town,” Emily died during childbirth and her life was celebrated in the First Congregational Church. In the University City drama, Larry’s life was celebrated at OMC, Our Mother of Confidence Catholic Church, where the large church saw locals and family from Chicago recreating the “Our Town” scene. Stabbing pain at a life snuffed out so young blended with “guy talk” from his younger brothers and best friend in personal eulogies. Larry taught his two brothers to sled off the top of their Chicago house in the winter when the parents weren’t home. For a moment, laughter came to the grieving congregation. The appreciation of University City as extended family was most noted by Larry’s family from Chicago. OMC’s pastor, who is soon to retire and move out of University City, spoke of Larry’s goodness and belief in God. The train whistle is comforting as the train heads north through Rose Canyon. Lights are going on in people’s homes in University City as they wind down another day. The poignant words of Emily echo across the century: “Goodbye, goodbye, world. Goodbye, Grover’s Corners, Mama and Papa. Goodbye to clocks ticking, and Mama’s sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths … and sleeping and waking up. Oh, Earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it — every, every minute?” — Sande Lippe is a 36-year resident of University City and the former president of the University City Community Association.