- Village Sewing Circle – 1917
Yesterday my blog entry concerned Friday’s hearing by the Oysterville Design Review Board. I was quite amazed at the interest it elicited from the greater community – that is from people who do not live in the village. I received comments through my website, on Facebook, by email, and even had two people call on me at home. Overwhelmingly, those who contacted me expressed concern that the ‘voice of the village’ be heard. Not only heard, but that it prevail.
At the risk of disillusioning all those friends of Oysterville, I had to ask, “Which voice?” Any thoughts to the contrary notwithstanding, Oysterville’s residents do not speak with one voice. They are not of one mind on the current ODRB issue or on anything else. Never have been. Probably never will be.
In fact, finding two people who agree on ANYthing here in Oysterville is a rarity. I’ve often felt that with our small population and even smaller full-time population (which is now at 14!) we lack the critical mass for a majority opinion. Rather than a village, or even a hamlet, we are a motley collection of individuals, and opinionated individuals at that.
Coming to consensus on an issue is not the trick in Oysterville. I don’t think that has even been attempted for years. The trick is to disagree (if need be) pleasantly enough with your neighbors so that the next time an issue near and dear to your own heart erupts, you might still find an ally or two in town. Disagreeing without burning bridges – that is the secret to village life here in Oysterville.
But I do love it that we apparently present ourselves to the outside world as unified. Over and over again, the people who contacted me worried that we would be unable to stick together on the current issue. I doubt that I was reassuring when I replied, quite honestly, that it’s not a matter of “sticking” – we aren’t very “together” in the first place. We all want what’s best for the village but we all have our own thoughts about what that might be and how it can best be accomplished. And so far it all seems to be working out just fine!
I love the picture and like your assessment. I think that sharing space, whether it is a house or a village, with another person is a matter of compromise and civility. You’re right about handling things in such a way as to garner respect for your opinion some time in the future. Sometimes we have to just agree to disagree, but I think it would be folly to attempt to live in such a tiny community unless one committed to give and take. Rather like the fact I cannot believe that Dave needs one more record album (his is well past 3,000), but he’s so good at doing chores around the house that I figure, oh well!