Skunkville

Gotta game out in the woods of CT today. A town called Derby, which also happens to be a town in England. I've noticed that CT has a lot of towns with English-sounding names. Cheshire, Glastonbury, Wallingford, etc. Oh, and New London, of course. I suppose the settlers were homesick and wanted to re-create what they remember. I thought those folks hated England, that's why they left (or were forced to leave). So why would they want to re-create it? My guess is they just weren't creative enough.

As time wore on, maybe a century or so, people became much more creative. They started actually thinking about the town names as a marketing opportunity. They started writing them with the intent of evoking images and feelings. They made you want to move there, welcomed you in. A savvy move.

My parents live in a town called Tarpon Springs, Florida. If you liked to fish, wouldn't you want to leave your town of "Dover" for a place like that? Sounds like paradise. If you do actually go there, you'll see that the name is right on. Tarpon is a large sport fish that lives there. They can actually tolerate a wide range of salinity in the water. Some advertising great once said, "great advertising is the truth well-told."

I live in Norwalk. Founded in 1614. It's not a horrible town name, considering the literacy rate in 1614. I suppose it has that New England charm, but I could come up with a dozen more truthful names, like:

Skunkville
Gooseshitshire
Greenwichghetto
Taxeduptheassburg
Littlerico
Cantaffordmanhattan
Thedumpington

Oh, this can go on, but I gotta rush to Derby. Think they all wear hats there?

GM