I was in the post office today, and a lady came in carrying a set of “Downton Abbey” DVDs. Sure that this meant we were kindred spirits, I said, “That looks fun!”
We spoke of Downton for a bit, then she told me there is another series she enjoys called, “Lark Rise to Candleford.” I’d never heard of it. She had a pen and I was holding a package, so I asked her to write the title on my package. She did, and now I have season one on hold at the library.
Isn’t that fun? I love small towns and I love making connections.
Our very first introduction to North Kitsap was sweet and small-town friendly. Our real estate agent, Cathy, spent a year helping us find the right house. A year! Nearly every weekend, we would show up and go visit a variety of houses and vacant lots in our price range, which would not make Cathy much cash. While Dirk and I discussed the merits of each spot, Cathy played with our baby girl. A friendly introduction to the typically welcoming area we have now called home for 21 years.
When my husband and I were married, we lived in another small town. We were poor college students, so our main form of entertainment was holding hands and going for long walks around the “downtown” city streets. As we walked by people, we would smile and say “hi,” they would smile and say “hi” back. That was what everyone did.Then in our third year of marriage, we spent a summer in Tacoma, and found that you don’t always want to smile and say “hi” to strangers on the sidewalks. In fact, you don’t even want to walk down the street — also known as streetwalking to Tacoma residents. Being slow learners, we still went for our walks. We cheerfully greeted a lot of interesting characters that summer. I think we confused them.
In November 2007, Western Washington experienced one of those major wind storms. Our phone rang. Someone had dialed the wrong number and got me. It was an older woman trying to reach a family member. I told her I could tell by the caller ID she was in Kingston. Was she doing OK during the storm? We talked for a minute or so, just being neighborly.
Some wonderful places to make little friendly connections:
- Get your hair cut in town. This is a lot of fun. People get talking in those styling shops, and you might come away with both a new ’do and a new acquaintance.
- Walk into the library. Libraries are happy places. Even if you don’t make a friend, it just feels good to be there. If you arrive about five minutes before it opens, there are usually several people hanging out waiting for the doors to unlock — perfect candidates for a quick conversation. Plus, the library ladies always make you feel welcome.
- Three-way-stop intersections. Smiling, waving, and many types of hand gestures help connect you to others in the intersection.
- If your kids are like mine, you make friends wherever you go without trying. When Jacob was younger, he would include strangers in our conversations all the time. Actually, he still does that.
In the foreseeable future, there will be the best place of all to meet people: the Village Green Community Center and Kingston Library. It’s getting closer, people! Keep an eye out for opportunities to help. It’s going to be awesome.
— Check out more from Denise Roundy at thetreesandi.blogspot.com. Contact her at dirkroundy@yahoo.com.
