The man plucked at my elbow in the Post Office the other day. "You're that guy!" he exclaimed, "that guy who writes for the Messenger."

Relieved that he had not mistaken me for some old enemy, I nodded and smiled. "Wait a minute, I know you!" said the lady in Wal-Mart a few weeks later. "You write about wills for the paper." Pleased to be thus recognized, I allowed myself to be finagled into a short conversation on the topic of trusts. "I can't take you anywhere," muttered my wife. "People keep stopping us to chat."

The wonderful thing about doing business in a small town like Mount Airy is that people know people, and people care. Next year will mark fifteen years of this writer's business in our town, and long ago I discovered what so many others already knew and have learned since - that this is a great place to live, do business, and raise a family.

From a relatively new Main Street vantage point on the second story of a Park Avenue office building, after the 2008 Mount Airy Fire my clients and I have appreciated the opportunity to watch the town band together, rebuild, and get back to work. This is merely the latest in a series of opportunities presented the Town through setbacks and disasters, giving us the ability to demonstrate what truly makes Mount Airy great.

Long-time residents of the Town and environs fondly remember their youth while overlooking Main Street from what used to be called "Mr. Riddlemoser's Hall." More recent transplants from "down county" or elsewhere appreciate the historicity preserved within our Town. Conserving the best of our heritage while embracing our destiny can be tense at times, but the Town and its residents have worked together to seek a mutually acceptable resolution of differences.

A wise judge once commented that a legal settlement with which one party was entirely happy was probably not a good settlement, because it was one-sided. Working through different priorities in a small town can be the same way as long as everyone gives a little, the resolution is likely the best for all concerned. In our town, folks stop and chat on the sidewalks, wave from and at passing cars, cheerfully give way at our claustrophobic Twin Arch tunnel, and work together to make sure neighbors are cared for. Business owners know your name and your history, and care about your preferences and idiosyncrasies.

Because the Town is a small town, we have to pay attention to our neighbors and customers if we are to thrive. Mount Airy accomplishes this effortlessly and delightfully. It is a delight to be part of a community that so aptly demonstrates what American life can still be today, if the people care to make it great.

Let's keep doing our best to make the Town its best!