The expression of “be careful for what you wish for” was never as right as that Saturday when I set up the Neighborhood Gazette booth at the Blues and BBQ Festival in Edgewater. Displaying a banner that reads “I will talk to anyone about anything” brought on more attention than I expected. The festival began at 11 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. and I barely had time for lunch. The number of people grew and the list of subjects they wanted to chat about was even longer.
The discussions included adaptive sports in Denver parks. The excitement around Taylor Swift and her concert in town. Edgewater Councilman Steve Conklin came by to talk about how much better mailing the Gazette was instead of the door-to-door distribution. One person wanted to talk about the Peshtigo Fire and how it’s been overshadowed by the great Chicago Fire. A young man wanted to chat about polyester suits and the chances of them coming back. A woman wanted to discuss which Led Zeppelin cover band was the best. A few people wanted to discuss Jeffco closing schools and what would be done with the buildings.
I really enjoyed chatting with the Edgewater police officers that stopped by. We spoke about the increase in population, home prices and the number of funerals using off duty officers to stop traffic.
Of course there were those who wanted to discuss issues that weren’t so friendly. Why is it so difficult to build a hangar at the Rocky Mountain Airport?
The negative aspect of having one common garbage hauler and the number of potholes on our roads.
I want to thank the young man (fifth grader) who came up to my booth all excited and wanted to ask me if I knew what was the capital of Mongolia (which I didn’t). We spoke about sign language (ASL) and even Gordon Lightfoot. Love the excitement in his voice and the opportunity to converse about his passions.
It was clear that people walk around everyday with thoughts running through their minds and are looking for an avenue to share, exchange and be heard. The art of conversation is definitely being pushed aside by the number of screens. The back and forth of messages being sent via an electronic format with minutes, hours and sometimes even days between each message is not a conversation. The debates between people that would have them trade opinions with passion. Arguing their point and learning much about each other. Now gone with one Google search for the right answer.
The Gazette booth will be back at the Carnation Festival (Aug. 11-13) at Anderson Park. We will have guest conversationalists. Bring us your questions and issues.
As always, thanks for reading.
Contact Neighborhood Gazette Publisher Guy Nahmiach at WRGazette@gmail.com or 303-999-5789.
