editorial

Something to celebrate

Villagers have an opportunity to feel proud of their town this Friday, Nov. 20, at the Best Hometown celebration. The event honors the village being chosen as one of the state’s 2010 Best Hometowns by Ohio Magazine, whose editors will be on hand to present an award.

Yellow Springs has been raking in accolades this year, having been named by Budget Travel magazine as one of the country’s “10 Coolest Small Towns,” and more recently spotlighted as an interesting destination by the National Geographic Traveler.

So perhaps someone needs to ask the tough questions: Is there a limit to how good we should feel about living in Yellow Springs? Might we be getting too satisfied? Will all this attention turn our collective head and make us complacent?

Not a chance. If Yellow Springs were a different sort of place — the sort, say, in which residents never questioned themselves or their leaders — perhaps we might feel a tad nervous. But it’s a given that someone in the village, at this precise moment, is already pondering how to be a better Best Hometown, an even cooler village and a more delightful destination. And if they’re not worrying about that, they’re surely puzzling over global warming, the war in Afghanistan or ways to attract students to the new Antioch College. This passion for making the world a better place — and the stimulating conversations that follow — has much do with our town’s singular character.

But let’s take a break from all this thinking. Let’s show up at 5:30 this Friday, Nov. 20, downtown outside the Senior Center. There will be dances and songs, cute kids, hot cider, and, later on, rock and roll with the Hoppers. We live in a great little town. Now, that’s something to celebrate.

—Diane Chiddister