[originaltext] After living in England for 20 years, my wife and I decided t

After living in England for 20 years, my wife and I decided to move back to the United States. We wanted to live in a town small enough that we could walk to the business district, and settled on Hanover, N. H. , a typical New England town--pleasant, quiet, and compact (26) . It has a broad central green surrounded by the old buildings of Dartmouth College, an old-fashioned Main Street and leafy residential neighborhoods.
    It is, in short, an agreeable, easy place to go about one’s business on foot, and yet as far as I can tell virtually no one does.
    Nearly every day, I walk to the post office or library or bookstore, and sometimes, ff I am feeling particularly cheerful, I stop at Rosey Jeckes Cafe for a cup of coffee. Occasionally, in the evening, my wife and I walk up to the Nuggte Theater for a movie or to Murphy’s on the Green for a beer (27) . I wouldn’t dream of going to any of these places by car. People have gotten used to my strange behavior, but in the early days, acquaintances would often pull up and ask if I wanted a ride (28) .
    After I declined their kindness, they would depart reluctantly, even guiltily, as if leaving the scene of an accident without giving their name.  In the United States we have become so used to using the car for everything, but believe me, walking is not as boring as it looks (29) .