Sorry Lubbock, But You Really Don’t Know What “Far” Means

 I hope I can couch this the right way, but y’all don’t know what far is.

It’s wild what folks in the Hub City consider a trek. The second something is more than ten minutes away, people start dragging their heels like they’re being asked to cross the Mojave Desert. Fifteen minutes isn’t “far.” It barely qualifies as cardio. And yes, it drives me absolutely nuts that people treat it like a full-blown expedition.

Honestly, the biggest sign someone has never lived in a major metro is the belief that everything should be within a few minutes of their front door. It doesn’t even make sense if you think about it — Lubbock is a farm community at its core. You can drive fifteen minutes across a single piece of farmland. But ask someone to drive from 82nd to 4th and suddenly it’s “too much.”

When “All the Way Across Town” Is… Thirteen Minutes

I live out by the airport. My daughter lives somewhere in the 90s on the southwest side. Even she has said she doesn’t want to “drive all the way out there.” I get it — when there’s a grocery store or convenience stop within five minutes of everyone, you get spoiled fast. You start believing trips shouldn’t take longer than a podcast intro.

Meanwhile, my mom lives in Orange County, California, one of the most densely packed places in the country. You’d think that would mean wall-to-wall stores and services. Nope. It’s 15 minutes to the nearest grocery store, 20 to the closest theater, and gas isn’t much closer. Population density doesn’t guarantee convenience.

And I’m guilty, too. A while back I went to an event out on the Idalou Highway at the Kitalou Gin. I made fun of the host for “putting it way the hell out there.” It ended up being 11 minutes from my house — less than driving straight across Lubbock on the Interstate.

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Here’s the point: don’t miss events, family moments, or opportunities because you’re allergic to a little windshield time. We are lucky to live in a place where people complain about fifteen minutes, not forty-five-minute commutes. Take the drive. Enjoy the space. Appreciate the ease of getting anywhere in this town.

You don’t know how good you’ve got it.