The country is different from the city, a lesson I keep learning repeatedly. For reasons I still can’t articulate well, I belong here, not there, where I spent most of my life. I find most people here open, friendly, empathetic, and decent, even when I disagree. I find them tolerant of oddballs like me.

I went to Rushinki’s Auto to pick up my car after its regular service, oil, tires, etc. Kate Leslie, who skillfully and courteously is the office manager and receptionist at Rushinski Auto, sets the tone – calm, funny, cheerful, and extremely well-organized.

Rushinki Auto is a bustling place; it can take weeks to make an appointment there, but Clint will always be available in an emergency or if his customers are stranded or panicked somewhere with a car that won’t start.

As Clint has explained, cars are now stuffed with so many computing and electric parts that they are expensive and complicated to service.

Even a once minor fender bender can easily cost $1,000 or more. And my Hybrid Toyota Rav 4, a car I love more than any other I’ve had, is so complex that people like me can change a spare tire or even figure out where it is.

Clint prides himself on keeping up with auto technology, and I am lucky to have him as a mechanic.

But getting cars serviced or repaired is not usually fun or kind to the bank account. Today’s service cost $96, the lowest service fee I’ve had in the five years I’ve had the care (I just started going to Clint a month or two ago).

He is easy to deal with, but Kate, who works at Rushinki’s several days a week, sets a cheerful, even fun tone. She is easy to talk with, and the small reception area is usually full of people talking to her. She is quick to laugh but always efficient. This shop is very popular; I counted 60 cars last week waiting for service.

She always asks when I will need the car and makes sure that’s when I get it. She is always patient when I have to cancel an appointment and make a new one.

One difference between the city and the country is that city people most often have one job they go to every day or have steadily. In the country, there are very few jobs like that, and most people work two, three, or even five jobs at once. Kate has more than one; her son is working at Rushinki’s.  But she calls this job her “happy place.” It shows.

I find it’s fun to go there, even when I wince at the bill,  but I didn’t pay attention to the poem and greeting Kate and some others have worked on to welcome people. I am not usually in the office long enough to absorb what they have done, but I realized the Robert Frost poem “October” is timely today and one of his most beautiful.

I don’t mean to portray the country as a paradise; politics, divisions, and poverty here are as troubling as they are in the rest of the country. But there is also a spirit of community here. Being a neighbor still counts for something more than who has the neatest lawn. Honesty matters.

People still live by enduring values. Getting my car service can be easy and pleasant or harrowing and chaotic.  At Rushinki’s, it’s easy and pleasant.

Ruchinki’s Auto Repair is such a place.

Kate agreed to pose for me, and I love the feeling of this photo.  I thought it was pretty unusual and spoke to my life and what I seek.

It’s not a feeling I’ve had while picking up a car from a mechanic or service department in my other life. I’m with Robert Frost, Kate Leslie, and Rushinki’s Have Ripened To The Fall: