Our friend Barry bought a building. Yay Barry! It is one of the few remaining old buildings in downtown Durham. Downtown Durham is still kinda scuzzy. But not to Barry. Barry sees it as the wonderful Oz; yes, maybe a little abandoned, maybe the munchkins look a little rough around the edges, maybe some weeds are peeking up in between the road … But Barry has a vision. Barry is buying a little piece of the magic, weeding the road to unveil the shinny, golden, yellow brick road.
Barry, we are drooling over your feverish, fearless (reckless?) pursuit of your dreams.
But it’s more than that. You see, Barry is one of those dreamers who, wants to make a profit on his saavy investment, sure, but he really wants to clean up those Munchkins and make Oz a happy place for everyone once again. And that is what makes Barry and his dreams so inspiring. Barry will invite you in, give you a tour, help you weed the garden and then send you home with a bushel of mint and an invite to come back anytime and take what you need.
In true Barry spirit, he and his friends decided to paint the ugly boarded up front of his new building. (Remember, Barry’s bought a dump and is painfully … I mean painstakingly restoring and reglamorizing it into a mixed commercial-residential main street kinda place.) Anyway, they didn’t just decide to paint it. They decided to let the community paint it. So they gathered spray paint and ladders and offered them both to random passers-by. The result? Believers. People who want to join you in the exitement to make it better. Make it lively. Make the changes we all want to see in the world.
So this one’s for you Barry. For bringing sparkle to the dinge. Laughter to the children. Inspiration to the work-weary.
Oh, and if you want to follow his adventures, and I encourage you do, read on at www.308westmain.com (also linked permanently from the right side).
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