Sep24

be nice. (the world is a small town.) -austin kleon

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townies and visitors

listen to the powerful sounds of u’neek

at the end of summer sol festival

in the charming small town of pentwater

where we were visiting friends

realizing just how small it was

when we kept crossing paths with people

who we’d seen or met in other places

doing other jobs or in different circumstances.

chad was the fill-in musician between sets and bands

also the bartender at the ‘yacht club’

also the second place trivia night champion in town.

next we saw the guy who was the host

at the cafe across the street where we had lunch

now a paying customer at the festival pub.

then we ran into the artist who was also a caretaker for his parents and his dog

who we encountered on the beach an hour before

now sharing stories with my friend and dog-bonding.

—

if i lived there and had multiple roles, i would like to work one day a week at the magical toy store as a storyteller, work one afternoon a week selling ice cream at the beach, be known as the pretty good crossword puzzle champion in town, and sit on a bench in the park watching the town go by and writing my homespun recipe column for the local paper, like how to make my baked potatoes.

—

‘one of the important things about being a small-town reporter is knowing what not to put in the paper.’

-terry pratchett

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45 responses »

  2. a marvellous post and I thank you beth, for putting it so eloquently and lovely into words. I am exactly the same and that‘s why i love living in ‚overseeable‘ towns rather than in huge metropoles. i had both, i lived in Toronto, in the vicinity of Paris, but also in Zurich etc and always felt better when i lived in smaller communities. i adore how you put the ppl and their encounters together, so lovely, so human – just may our living places be still large enough that not EVERYBODY of the village/town knows everything about everybody…. THAT would be a no go for me. tks a lot for this description.

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  6. Fascinating. I am a reporter at a local radio station, and although this is a big city, the local aspect means it has the feel of being a much smaller place, and forever running into the same people putting a lot of effort into doing things. It sounds like a fabulous place, and yes, many roles I wouldn’t mind taking on either.

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  8. There is something so charming about living in a small town. As I get older, I find myself easing away from the dense urban lifestyle and gravitate towards the slower pace of the small town lifestyle.

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    • yes, there certainly is a certain vibe to it that is different. the pace is slower and people look out for each other, things don’t seem as intense and rushed. there are some challenges with privacy and opportunities I imagine, and it would be a matter of finding a balance and what’s most important to you at any point in your life. my friends recently bought a house there and seem to have embraced it –

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  10. Most people today would be surprised to learn that before “nice” took on the most common meaning it has now it meant many other things. Here are some of them:

    foolish; silly; simple; ignorant; weak; effeminate, of trifling moment; unimportant; trivial; overscrupulous or exacting; hard to please or satisfy; fastidious in small matters; delicate; refined; dainty; pure; apprehending slight differences or delicate distinctions; made with careful labor; suited to excite admiration on account of exactness; evidencing great skill; fine; finished; requiring close discrimination.

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  20. I was born in New York, grew up in Detroit and Milwaukee, and settled in Seattle (with a three year break for school in Washington D.C.) At age 43, my Seattle employer transferred me to Wichita, Kansas. The realtor told me that if I didn’t want to live in a big city, many small towns nearby were within driving distance. I told her, “Wichita is a small town to me!”

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