I graduated from a small liberal arts school, Albright College in Reading PA. So when a friend of mine told me about a brilliant writer who has a community focused blog about Easton, PA about an hour from where I went to college; well I had to check it out. The website is http://www.neighborsofeaston.com/wordpress/. The creater and host of the site is Noël Jones. While most of the articles are local in nature, she does cover national level stories as well. I was absolutely blown away by her writing. So I clicked on the about section of the site and read a little more about her. I am going to quote the about section which truly grabbed my attention:
“About Noël Jones, Creator & Host
A native of Alaska, and having lived in New York City for 13 years, Noël Jones moved to Easton, PA in 2006 and bought an historic five-bedroom Victorian house in the West Ward of Easton “for the same price it would have cost to buy a rat hole studio apartment in the boroughs” of New York. She has never looked back. Blogger, poet, fiction writer, songwriter, community organizer, educator, public speaker and national slam poetry champion, she thrives in a town that is “a little rough around the edges and in need of some TLC, but brimming with potential for any artist or entrepreneur with creative energy and an industrious spirit.” An independent thinker and passionate advocate for the exercise of reason, Jones encourages readers of all perspectives to post comments to the blog, and to not shy away from disagreeing with her. “I am absolutely unattached to my perspectives, and I love to be persuaded–if anyone can make more sense to me than I make to myself, I am happy to adopt his or her opinion. It would be boring if everyone agreed all the time, and we all learn from each other by not wasting our time preaching to the choir…the discussions are always better when a commenter is not clinging to his perspectives like a pit bull with its jaws locked on the last vestiges of a shipwreck, but we get those too…it’s all part of the healthy conversation of a community hashing things out. The conversations on this blog are far more constructive and less polarized than the general debates conducted by our government, and if Congress followed the example of Neighbors of Easton, they might actually get something done.”
When I read that, and a few of her posts, I saw a brilliant, artistic mind desperately wanting to change her piece of the world. From all I can tell, she is the kind of person I inspire to be. I know some of my friends and alumni still live in that general area; if your not reading her site, you really should be. So if you are anywhere near Easton, PA or you just want to check out some fantastic writing, please go to her site.
