"Vermont Town Seeks a Heart"

Bill McKibben, who teaches writing at Middlebury College in Vermont, writes like an angel.  He really turned it on for an op/ed in The New York Times, "Vermont Town Seeks a Heart."  He opens,

If towns could write personal ads, this one would taking pen in hand for the first time in 42 years -- making a pitch for companionship, a pitch aimed at finding someone who might be willing to take a chance on something a little out of the Twittery Trumpy twitching mainstream.  

The something is taking over Ripton VT's general story, whose owners, Dick and Sue Collitt, are retiring.  The general store is the heart of the small town, a place with many of things you need in daily life, as well as mailboxes, conversations, and jokes, like the one on the ice box in front of the store.

Dick and Sue Collitt are selling the Ripton Country Store in Vermont, which they have owned since 1976.CreditJacob Hannah for The New York Times

Get it? The joke is so beloved, when they got a new ice box, with "ice" on it, they changed it back.  Vermont is like that, and so are a lot of places.  That is the thing about Main Streets that are working -- the locals get the joke, and want the beating heart of their community to keep on going.