I Live in a Bubble

I live in a bubble. Not a soap bubble, or bubble gum, or a bubble constructed to protect a weak immune system. My hometown is a surreal bubble of suburban perfection, a sterile landscape with beautifully manicured lawns and fancy cars as far as the eye can see. Here, there are large, clean homes, golf courses, brand new commercial buildings, country clubs, plastic surgery centers, and banks. There are lots and lots of banks. Welcome to Southlake, Texas.

Southlake is home to many well-to-do families attracted to the little city by its impeccable reputation, low crime rate, and excellent education system. And not to mention there are expensive designer shops that elegantly grace street corners! These families are typically composed of a father, who might be a doctor or the president of a company, a mother, whose main jobs are driving her children to multiple after-school activities and planning gossip-filled luncheons, and their well-behaved children, who excel at school and in sports. Nauseated yet?

Main Street in Southlake is a sight to behold. On weekends, many residents hop in their Hummer or Lexus and cruise down Southlake Boulevard to shop for the latest fashions, eat in a classy, corporate establishment, or discuss the recent minor scandals. (Did you hear about Nancy’s nose job?) This street is where anyone who’s anyone can be found.

Alongside Main Street you can also find Southlake Carroll High School, another major hub of activity. Here resides a nationally recognized football team, in fact, the supposed highest ranked high school team in the United States. Whether these players are strutting down the school hallways or taking their car out for a joyride, they are treated like gods. Southlake revolves around this underage core of boys. Not to mention the master of all the madness, the revered Coach Dodge. According to city legend, Dodge doesn’t have to pay when he eats at certain restaurants in Southlake.

It wasn’t always this way, or so I am told. But the remains of the once-rural farm town have been paved over and replaced with Suburbia.