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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Hey Beck, your friend Barry is a unique kind of guy!!! He’s created great art for the community! He’s demonstrated…great spirit! And from this blog and his, it looks like he had GREAT FUN soliciting neighbor passer-bys to engage in his project to beautify Durham!!! I can only imagine that he has a GREAT Vision, and Passion for a good challenge!!! Hearing about folks who DARE TO DREAM! is magical and inspiring!! Good luck with your project, Barry!!!
Barry, if you should read this, I bet you could convince Becky & Conrad you could help them with their dream …help them paint their new condo in Harlem… whenever the bank decides the time is right for their transaction.
(IF THE BANK DECIDES TO WAIT &/or HOLD OFF ON THEIR MORTGAGE…GO OUT AND PAINT THE BANK FRONT ASAP, USING PASSER-BY’S AS HELPERS. This may be a stimulant to get their mortgage they requested passed
)….or not 
From Swansea, MA to Durham, NC and all places in between…dream on!!!
xoxoxo
Moma O
Moms: our consummate cheerleaders and lovers of all-caps! Gotta love ‘em
Oh, and also to mom, you may remember Barry as one of Steve’s partners in crime as the original host of our Steeplechase fiasco and inspiration for our own fin-flecked spin-off.
beck..i know that!!! i remembered steve mentioning barry’s name in reverence at the fish race this past labor day
!!!
beck… please take note…no caps in this one
mom