I so love small-town living. The good things that happen in small towns are much more appreciated than in the big city because everybody knows about it. Bad things do happen in small towns, but the tighter knit of the social fabric somehow softens the blow.

Eight years ago, Judy, the proprietor of Judy's Bakery at the Portal Village strip mall in Port Colborne was getting ready for her husband's funeral when a policeman knocked on the door of her home in Wainfleet. He had come to inform her that a car had just crashed through the front of her bake shop.

Judy, an early riser and a punctual person, would be late for her late husbands' funeral.

When she arrived at the bakery, amid all the debris, there was a car parked in the fresh bread section. It was a bizarre scene, a once-in-a-lifetime event. At least it would have been except, five years later, another car crashed through the front window making it a twice-in-a-lifetime event. Hoping not to be "three times unlucky," Judy considered erecting a STOP sign at the front door – or at least one that read – YIELD TO PAYING CUSTOMERS.

In the more recent "car crash in aisle #3" event, a 75-year-old lady exiting her parking spot directly in front of the store, hit the accelerator instead of the brake and sheared off both side mirrors as the car plunged through the front door and windows.

She and the car came to rest at the cash register at the back of the store. Joanne, the only employee, later got a rare glimpse of seeing herself running for her life on the surveillance tape. Although no customers were in the store at the time of the crash, 20 people had been in there five minutes earlier.

When the smashing of glass and crunching of wood stopped, the elderly lady tried to put the car in reverse and back out of the store. "What accident?" "What damage?"

Quite quickly, the area was swarming with police and firefighters, as well as curious shoppers. Judy returned from a visit with another shopkeeper in the mall and immediately implemented the bakery's crisis management plan. Butter tarts. With three dozen freshly baked butter tarts, she made her way through the crowd comforting everybody with a treat, a smile and a few consoling words.

A good ol' Wainfleet girl, Judy, explained that's what you do in these parts – ease the pain of people in distress with baked goods and a kind word.

So, within minutes of what could have been a great tragedy, you have Port Colborne police and firemen enjoying Judy's butter tarts; Bill Steele, the insurance guy, and Lester Shoalts, the mall owner, discussing repairs while catching crumbs in their hands. Quite distraught, the husband of the lady driver felt he needed two tarts.

So, in the small town of Port Colborne, population 18,450, calamitous events are followed by a meet & greet, butter tart reception.

Once is an accident, twice is an amazing coincidence, three times – Okay, can we all please get this straight once and for all – Judy's Bakery does not have, I repeat, does not have a freakin' drive thru! Okay?

Please understand that if you enter Judy's Bakery in your car, you're still going to have to wait in line behind the pedestrians that got there before you. And if you do enter the store behind the wheel of your car, no matter how much dust and debris is falling down, do not hit the windshield washer button. That's just going to make the sausage rolls soggy. Also, Judy wants it known that she is not responsible for any vehicle or its contents parked in the store overnight.

Although I must say that since the accident, the Crash Diet Muffins have been flying out the door and that special "50% Off Loaves of Bread with Tire Tracks" was a real nice touch.

Placing speed bumps under the cookie counter to give Joanne a bit of a head start next time – that was my idea. I also suggested a crossing guard for people going from the quiche display to the sticky bun shelf.

Resourceful but also a bit of a pessimist, Judy considered a new sign for the front of her shop: "JUDY'S BAKERY AND CAR WASH."

Judy's Bakery has recently moved to 517 King Street. I mention this only because she promised me a dozen butter tarts if I did. When I asked her why she moved, she once again showed that wonderful sense of humour: "More traffic."

And that's why I love small-town living. People don't die in a smash-up between a car and a bakery shop. They just gain a pound of two, if they stay too long at the scene of the accident.

SEPTEMBER 2011 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND