Fuquay-Varina. Hard to say. Easy to love. Most of the time.
The below is a reply to a post in a local Facebook group for Fuquay-Varina. I haven’t posted the reply there yet because I’m not sure its productive, but it’s a feeling (maybe insight) I’ve had for years, so I figured I’d perma-post it here on my blog.
I think many people don’t realize that buildings have come and gone for many years here. Fires took some of the buildings and construction projects changed others. Skylines change. Maps change.
The so-called small town feel comes from culture more than size. A small-town feel is built through doing business locally, getting to know the business owners and employees, checking in on your neighbors, participating in community events, and helping those in need. I’ve met many people over the years who didn’t know there was a bakery on Main St. People welcome my business to town all the time even though I’ve had various studios downtown since 2011. If we all got out of our self-centered (not necessarily selfish) ruts, routines, and screen addictions and intentionally went out to be the small town we want, we may see that traffic is a nuisance, not a trauma. Parking a block farther than we want to is an opportunity to see an unfamiliar part of town and get a few extra steps in for our heart health. I do concede that handicapped accessible parking is a valuable argument regarding parking in town.
If we try some positivity and patience, we may see that if we’re in traffic, we are traffic. If all we do when we get together is complain, we don’t do ourselves or anyone else any good. Want a hallmark movie warm community? Behave like a member of a hallmark movie warm community. Want to continue to think everything sucks? Continue complaining about traffic, making stale jokes about mattress stores, and yelling on the internet. Because cynicism and hyperbole always ignite positive change! (That was cynicism and hyperbole and it makes me sound like an asshat.)
No, positive vibes and cheery behavior won’t solve income inequality, affordable housing crises, racial divides, government corruption, or any other serious socio-political issues. Those issues are for voting for leadership which aligns with your values or becoming a leader when there isn’t one to vote for. A better attitude and behavior will however help you be a part of the change towards a more hopeful and positive culture though. Every good small town should have a curmudgeon or two, but these Facebook groups seem to reveal a trend toward curmudgeon overload that’s seeping outside the containment of the Facebook cesspool.
-JG
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