Side, Side, Everywhere a Side
When you grow as quickly as we have these past several years, there are certain things that, often slowly, come into focus. For one, there are always issues. And issues have sides. And perspectives. There are believers/non-believers, early and late adopters, hammer droppers and brake pumpers. And by definition, that’s what it takes to make something great. Opinions. Perspectives. Sides. But what separates us, the Jay Peak Collective, is also what connects us. The belief that anything worth having, whether through preserving or changing it, is worth discussing. Worth disagreeing on. And worth, eventually, coming to terms with. But for as much metaphoric bridge building that’s been done across these past years, we’ve also come across some truths that, if not universal, certainly orbit within the same system. Including things like:
The pizza coming out of Mountain Dicks is infinitely more edible than the pitchy, roof shingles being served out of Pizza, Pizza, Pizza, regardless of how deliriously connected we were to the old shitty sign.
Tetanus shots have dropped off a bit since the old Hotel Jay (and the Marquis De Sade era beds) fell to the ground.
Having a spa, and with it the ability to rub out the bad and rub in the good, hasn’t banished us into a blazing pit of devils and agony as the Jay’er- Than- Thou crowd oft-predicted.
We are certainly all defined by the area’s we ski and ride, and the notion of having a waterpark open (while you hammer yourself in Deliverance) still makes you a every bit the tough guy you so badly want the world to see. See? We see.
But still, in the darkest corner of our heart, we acknowledge that contrasts and opinions and sides are still our best, if not the easiest to swallow, medicine. And that’s why we’ve dedicated the whole of this year’s Jay Magazine to varying perspectives on a multitude of issues. Is the future dedicated to those taking up space there or the ones yet on their way?—make your own decision when you read about Bear and Alice and Andrew on pages 9 and 43-44. Flip to page 34-35 and take sides on the age old Defense vs. Offense debate with Jeff Serowik and his Pro Ambitions Hockey Camps at Jay Peak. See what our kid-critics Keaton and Maeve think about our new Disney/Burton Mountain Kid’s Learning Center on pp18-19 and for a look at our brother’s keeper and the things happening just East of here, check out pp 32-33 and see where you stand on growth at Burke. In between those, we give you plenty to read and plenty to talk about.
And you should certainly believe that, going forward, conversations about West Bowls and Bonnie Replacements and indoor climbing wall-movie theater mashups will help keep our conversations sided and undull. And that suits us. All we ask is that while you’re busy keeping your opinions known and open, you pay close attention to locking your mind into that same, upright, position. It makes for a much easier flight and, at the end of it all, we’re all headed in the same direction-whatever side we’re on.