THE LOST TOWNS

[00:00:06]I rolled through a town today and it looked like America.

[00:00:13]1983.

[00:00:30]Came off the highway needing diesel and a caffeine fill up.

[00:00:37]It's all fed a welcome sign.

[00:00:40]Still standing up.

[00:00:43]Main street look like time stood still like somebody had paws on a small town.

[00:00:53]The barber pool still slowly turns. A diner still serves a lunch crowd. Three old farmers by the window talking about rain and the crops in the ground. A Chevy parked from another decade. An American flag faded by the sun.

[00:01:12]Everything looked just like 1983 except the people were mostly gone.

[00:01:18]The buildings are still standing.

[00:01:22]The memories still run deep.

[00:01:25]But something changed around here while this town was asleep. It's a lost town.

[00:01:33]Still holding on somehow.

[00:01:36]The factory silent now and the smoke don't rise.

[00:01:44]The kids all chasing city lights and corner off the streets. Leaving the farmers and no memories to carry what's left. The main street is a lost town.

[00:01:56]Still biting time.

[00:01:58]One porch light at a time.

[00:02:06]There used to be three shifts at the plant. 500 folks making an honest wage.

[00:02:13]Now the gates are locked, the windows cracked, and weeds grow where paychecks were made.

[00:02:19]The school still opens. Every farmer seats sit empty now.

[00:02:26]The kids who once rode these back roads now live highrises somewhere.

[00:02:32]The bank closed up 5 years ago. The hardware store barely gets by. But every Sunday morning, the church still fills up right on time.

[00:02:45]Nobody burned it down.

[00:02:48]Nobody made a scene.

[00:02:51]The future simply packed his bags and chased a different dream. It's a lost town still holding on somehow.

[00:03:03]The factory silent now and the smoke don't rise.

[00:03:10]The kids all chase the city lights and corner off the streets, leaving the farmers and no memories to carry what's left of Main Street. It's a lost town, still fighting time, one porch light at a time.

[00:03:30]I parked that rig beside the grain elevator and watch the sunset hit the fields. a farm away from his pickup truck like he always has and always will. And I wondered how many towns like this are scattered all across this land.

[00:03:49]Places that built America now trying to survive the best they can. It's a lost TOWN STILL STANDING proud somehow.

[00:04:02]THE FACTORY IS GONE, BUT THE FLAG STILL FLIES.

[00:04:09]The oldtimers tell the stories. The farmers work the ground.

[00:04:16]And every year there's A FEW LESS PEOPLE still hanging around.

[00:04:21]It's a lost town. Not dead, just left behind.

[00:04:28]Holding on to yesterday in a world that moved on by.

[00:04:36]The town didn't get lost.

[00:04:39]America forgot how important they are.

[00:04:43]Just like the truckers, needed but ignored.