be yourself
Half way through town, you will see a restaurant with a bus parked in the middle of it. At first glance, you would think that the bus crashed into the building, but in reality, it is meant to look that way. Written on the side of the bus is, "Buddy Holly and the Crickets" and for all of you who don't know who that is, Mr. Holly and his band of merry men were a ground breaking group of early rock and rollers. Then Mr. Holly died in a plane crash in Clear Lake, IA which ended thick rimmed glasses from every being cool again. ( until Elvis Costello came around)
So the bus sits there. Inside the food is ify and yet people come. You have to. Maybe not more than once, but at least once. It's kitchy. It's touristy. It begs you to stop. After you're done, you are really done. I don't think many people have the place high on their list of places to come back too.
Sad, isn't it? That bus restaurant which seems to send a message from it's decor that, "we didn't get it right" isn't working out. Maybe if Buddy Holly had died in a bus crash the place would be doing better. But, still, it's sad. Sad because the restaurant is just being it's own self. Something we are told to do. Every time we start something new, move somewhere, talk to someone new, we are told by others to calm our nerves to, "just be yourself and you will be fine." Really?! IS that so?!
I have a terrible streak of mischief that runs deep within me. I can not help myself. I like to see what happens when oil and water mix. I like to see how things burn, or how much of one thing something else can take. I like that kind of thing. It's fun in it's own little way. But it's not a great quality to have when you are trying to make a "good impression". I actually struggle to not make a good impression so that I have room to improve. Being a good impression leaves you nowhere to go but down. Why not start off an ass and work your way towards goodness?
In my town, business are sprouting up. We have a cake shop. Just cake, no cookies. We have a new deli coming in. There is a semi-sort-of antique mall/craft shop/kids play house. There are four gas stations with unique personalities. We have five places to get an espresso. An outpatient hospital for non violent mental patients, who walk up and down main street all day long. There is a tractor shop, a lumber yard, a flower shop, four day spas, one semi-bar, and an eagles. What more does a little town need?
Customers.
When you open a business there are many things you need to think about. One, what kind of business. Two, where will you put it. Three, does anyone want it. Most of the time, these are pretty easy to figure out. Especially in a town with one main street. The kind of business and does anyone want it are the two questions that seem to elude the savvy entrepreneur here.
absent from town are clothes, shoes, food variety (we have two burger joints and three pizza places), late night entertainment, and a porn shop. All of things are needed here and there is always a great deal of hope that the next business coming in will satisfy one of those needs. Alas, it is not always meant to be.
Most of the building on main street are historical. And the historical society made up of very old people who remember when they were new, run the town. They get money from the government to keep the buildings looking the same and the old people like to think that the buildings need to stay the way they are. The rub here is, if you want to open a business on main street, you have to bow down to their wishes or they will make your life hell. Funny, the burger joint going into a building that has a bus driven into the side of it wasn't a hard call. But the gym going into the old furniture store, that was. One makes us healthy and is thriving. The other raises cholesterol and is dying on the vine. The historical society loves the bus.
Be yourself. Does it work? How often have you had to hold back to make a good impression? Don't you think that's why so many of us are angry? Holding back when we want to be ourselves? Just think what a world we would be in if we didn't feel the necessity to hold back. True, the first few years would be a lot of, "fuck you's" and "eat shit's", but we would prevail. If being yourself really worked, women would be turned on by guys who loved to play video games. Men would be turned on by women's compulsion to look prettier. Employers wouldn't mind a compulsive napper. Voters wouldn't mind acts of personal indiscretion such as affairs and money laundering. There would be no secrets because there would be no reason to hide anything. Ah yes, it would be something.
My town loves to be itself. It doesn't care if you like the food, the decor or if you come at all. We stay and we try because we have the type of town that likes to be itself. So, I encourage all of you to go out into the world and tell everyone the kind of person you are without concern for what they will think, I am sure it will work out just fine. The first person you should seek out and try it out on, is the person that keeps telling you to be yourself.
So the bus sits there. Inside the food is ify and yet people come. You have to. Maybe not more than once, but at least once. It's kitchy. It's touristy. It begs you to stop. After you're done, you are really done. I don't think many people have the place high on their list of places to come back too.
Sad, isn't it? That bus restaurant which seems to send a message from it's decor that, "we didn't get it right" isn't working out. Maybe if Buddy Holly had died in a bus crash the place would be doing better. But, still, it's sad. Sad because the restaurant is just being it's own self. Something we are told to do. Every time we start something new, move somewhere, talk to someone new, we are told by others to calm our nerves to, "just be yourself and you will be fine." Really?! IS that so?!
I have a terrible streak of mischief that runs deep within me. I can not help myself. I like to see what happens when oil and water mix. I like to see how things burn, or how much of one thing something else can take. I like that kind of thing. It's fun in it's own little way. But it's not a great quality to have when you are trying to make a "good impression". I actually struggle to not make a good impression so that I have room to improve. Being a good impression leaves you nowhere to go but down. Why not start off an ass and work your way towards goodness?
In my town, business are sprouting up. We have a cake shop. Just cake, no cookies. We have a new deli coming in. There is a semi-sort-of antique mall/craft shop/kids play house. There are four gas stations with unique personalities. We have five places to get an espresso. An outpatient hospital for non violent mental patients, who walk up and down main street all day long. There is a tractor shop, a lumber yard, a flower shop, four day spas, one semi-bar, and an eagles. What more does a little town need?
Customers.
When you open a business there are many things you need to think about. One, what kind of business. Two, where will you put it. Three, does anyone want it. Most of the time, these are pretty easy to figure out. Especially in a town with one main street. The kind of business and does anyone want it are the two questions that seem to elude the savvy entrepreneur here.
absent from town are clothes, shoes, food variety (we have two burger joints and three pizza places), late night entertainment, and a porn shop. All of things are needed here and there is always a great deal of hope that the next business coming in will satisfy one of those needs. Alas, it is not always meant to be.
Most of the building on main street are historical. And the historical society made up of very old people who remember when they were new, run the town. They get money from the government to keep the buildings looking the same and the old people like to think that the buildings need to stay the way they are. The rub here is, if you want to open a business on main street, you have to bow down to their wishes or they will make your life hell. Funny, the burger joint going into a building that has a bus driven into the side of it wasn't a hard call. But the gym going into the old furniture store, that was. One makes us healthy and is thriving. The other raises cholesterol and is dying on the vine. The historical society loves the bus.
Be yourself. Does it work? How often have you had to hold back to make a good impression? Don't you think that's why so many of us are angry? Holding back when we want to be ourselves? Just think what a world we would be in if we didn't feel the necessity to hold back. True, the first few years would be a lot of, "fuck you's" and "eat shit's", but we would prevail. If being yourself really worked, women would be turned on by guys who loved to play video games. Men would be turned on by women's compulsion to look prettier. Employers wouldn't mind a compulsive napper. Voters wouldn't mind acts of personal indiscretion such as affairs and money laundering. There would be no secrets because there would be no reason to hide anything. Ah yes, it would be something.
My town loves to be itself. It doesn't care if you like the food, the decor or if you come at all. We stay and we try because we have the type of town that likes to be itself. So, I encourage all of you to go out into the world and tell everyone the kind of person you are without concern for what they will think, I am sure it will work out just fine. The first person you should seek out and try it out on, is the person that keeps telling you to be yourself.
posted by Daniel Loomis | 9:35 AM
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