I will never understand "blogs"

I might have mentioned some of the people in small towns are "quirky", but what can be quirkier than a book that starts on the last page. See what you are reading? It's part 2. Part 1 is down below this. Strange.

I was told before I moved here (by someone who didn't know) that small towns can fulfill the needs of small fish who want to be big fish in a small pond. In my two weeks here I haven't met any of those, only people who don't know if they are big shots or small shots, they just enjoy living in a community where they can know who needs help, who needs to be comforted, who needs information, and who wants to hear a ghost story (more of that in another writing.) Let me tell you a little about some of them without telling you their last names. (Are you kidding? I don't even have permission to use their pictures, much less give you their names.)




Let's start with Sean and Wendy. Sean is part owner (with his sister Kris and a friend named Kat) in the Gable Coffee Company (sound like an overseas trader in exotic beverages? I won't tell you how many employees they have ... you can guess). My first day here I met Sean and no one has given me more information about who lives where, who moved which business for what reason, and which ghosts he's met in which house he has lived in (he's even lived in the house I live in). Ghosts? YES. They are part of life here, as we will get to see in the future.

Sean and Wendy got engaged last weekend. I barely know Sean and I don't know Wendy at all, but you can tell by the way they talk to each other that they both know this is "the one." You don't get that kind of non-verbal communication in the big city.


Another of my "first meets" is Mike, who with his wife Stephani owns Mike's Four Star BBQ, graduating from the farmer's market circuit to a building which years ago served as an auto repair shop for Port Gamble.

One can easily see that taking the step to a "legitimate" business was a tough one for Mike, running the risk of loosing it all, yet being sure enough of himself, his wife, and his own abilities that he could make it. And they will. They have the "work ethic" that sees them there seven days a week, (they are open five) and the customer relations which had them accept a sign from me (see the photo) for their display of automotive oddities even though it doesn't quite fit. But they certainly know how to keep a customer happy. And as you should be beginning to notice, that attitude is common here. "Schmoozing" is not just a duty, it's what these people do because they love their customers, love their work, and love the people in this little town. Kris and I had dinner at Mike's tonight and he mentioned he's tired. "But it's a good tired," he said. Do you suppose someone coming out of a Seattle office building at 3:30, facing a 1 1/2 hour commute would have any idea what a "good tired" is? I hope so, but I doubt it.

(Mike's BBQ's website is at http://www.mikesfourstarbbq.com/ )


Next week, a few more people and "getting close to spring".