Wake Village

This happened on a day
which will live in infamy.

This is according to the National Geographic: 

What defines a village?

A village is a small settlement. It is generally larger than a "hamlet" but smaller than a "town."

Wikipedia says: Wake Village is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana metropolitan area. The population was 5,945 at the 2020 census. 

Yes, that's right. I live in the City of Wake Village. As a writer, my head explodes if I think about the CITY of Wake VILLAGE. But, that's where I live. 

Wake Village has a mayor--though I have no idea who it is. We have a fire and police force. They have a Wal-Mart grocery store and a Cash Savers Grocery Store. There is a Dollar Tree and a Dollar General. We have a Domino's, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Chicken Express, Wingstop, shaved ice stand, Donut shop, two bakeries, a new Funnel Cake shop, a Yoli's Mexican Restaurant (nope) and a Loca Luna Mexican Cuisine (seriously, nope). We have three gas stations. In the heart of town, there are--and I'm not making this up--six Baptist churches. There's even a really cool junk shop and a really gross AnyTime Fitness within the confines of my Village-City. And how could I forget! We have King's City Park, where the fireworks are shot off every July 4th.  

Water bills come sometime between the first and fifth of the month. Payment is late by the 10th. However, do not mail in a check. The mail is routed to Shreveport first and then back to Texarkana. So, it could take 10 days for the check to arrive at City Hall. Savvy residents just walk over and pay the water bill to avoid the late fees. We became one of those savvy residents in our second month. By the way, City Hall is less than a mile from my house. But then again, so is most everything else. 

Wake Village came to be during World War 2 when the Army Depot and the Ammo plant needed to house soldiers and their families. Our streets are named "MacArthur," "Manilla," "Wake Island," "Singapore" and "Arizona." I looked this up because I couldn't figure out the Arizona reference when first arrived. I now tell everyone, because I think my Village-City history needs to be preserved. 

A good part of Wake Village has much older homes, built in the 1940s-1960s, which seems to appeal to most who seem to be more along the working class section of society. Many residents have converted the home's one car garage into a third bedroom and possibly added a second bathroom. My realtor Tessa tells me where those houses are located is the "ghetto" --which tells me Tessa has never truly seen ghetto. I see older homes with people taking care of their lawns and yards. I'm sure there's sketch there too, but for the most part it is just older homes. If there was a thuggy population, I'm sure my end of Wake Village would be experiencing crime. 

I live in the newer area, built in 2004. My lot is a standard 1/3 acre, with a brick 1,600ish square foot home*. It is essentially the general layout of all the houses around: greatroom, formal dining (why???) and three bedrooms in a split plan with very little daylight streaming through the windows. Our home has an amazing kitchen. Most places have laundry rooms. Ours doesn't. More homes are being built in my area of Wake Village, one at a time, directly to the North. Those are the fancy places, with to four bedrooms and square footages up to 2,200 square feet.  

Most of my exercise comes from walking around Wake Village. It is hilly, people are friendly and I feel safe. I'd walk at night if there were better streetlights and/or sidewalks and, let's face it, if I didn't have perfectly normal fear of snakes. As far as crime goes, we rarely lock our doors when we leave.

Speaking of crime, last December when I headed out to Phoenix to take care of my sister-in-law, I left around 4 a.m. Realizing I hadn't set the GPS, I drove towards the end of Arizona Avenue, pulled to the curb and started fiddling with my phone. A Wake Village police officer knocked on my car window and asked if I was okay. I explained I was heading out of town for the next two weeks, and was getting my ducks in a row. He asked, "Would you like us to drive by your home every day while you are gone to check things out?" 

One of the reasons I hesitant to move from this home is that our community is so peaceful. I like walking to the vet every month to pick up Luna's heartworm pill. I can even stop by the Cash Savers on the way back to get a gallon of milk. I like taking my walks and finding small food pantries and lending libraries available for the community. I like the quiet way of life in this small sub-set of Texarkana.    

*The square footage of my home is in question because after 20 years in the real estate business I contend this house is closer to 1,500 square feet. Tessa swears 1,777 square feet. Nobody in my family believes her. We didn't have an appraisal when we bought, so I don't know.