Have you ever traveled our town like a tourist?
I don’t mean driving through downtown on the way to work or running down Homer Road to pick something up. I mean really looking at Minden the way someone who doesn’t live here might look at it.
Recently, I had the opportunity to do just that.
I was in town for a wedding at The Venue on Pearl, and instead of simply going from one obligation to another, I found myself experiencing Minden a little differently.
I played music bingo at Under Dawgs. I ate fried chicken from Cotton’s, something that should probably be on any legitimate Minden itinerary. I enjoyed dinner at Roma’s.
And I drove around.
That may sound simple, but when you spend enough time somewhere, you stop really seeing it.
We know which streets get us where we need to go. We notice the pothole we hit every morning. We remember what used to be in a certain building. We see the empty storefront before we see the businesses that have opened around it.
Familiarity can create blinders.
But this time, I tried to look at Minden through the eyes of someone visiting for the first time.
I saw the brick streets and historic buildings downtown. I saw places like Purvéy, Pippa Lane, Parish Design Co., The Farmer’s Daughter and other locally owned businesses bringing new life and personality to familiar spaces. I saw people eating, shopping and enjoying themselves.
Then I drove down Homer Road and noticed the growth taking place there, too.
The Minden I saw was not a town standing still.
It was active.
It was proud.
It was vibrant.
Now, in full disclosure, I also saw opportunities for improvement. There are things we need to clean up. There are properties that could be better maintained. There are empty spaces that need new ideas and investment.
Seeing Minden as a tourist did not make me blind to our challenges.
Actually, it did the opposite.
It helped me see both our strengths and our opportunities more clearly.
Sometimes we become so accustomed to focusing on what our community lacks that we overlook what is already happening around us.
And if all we see are problems, it becomes difficult to imagine progress.
But if we can see what is working, celebrate it and build on it, the paths forward become much easier to recognize.
So I have a challenge for you.
Sometime soon, take off your “always here” blinders.
Drive downtown like you have never been there before. Walk into a store you haven’t visited. Eat somewhere local. Drive down streets you normally have no reason to travel. Look at the buildings, the businesses and the people.
Try to see Minden through the eyes of someone visiting for the weekend.
You will still see things that need work. We should. Loving a community does not mean pretending it is perfect.
But I think you might also see what I saw.
A community with history, personality, investment, activity and plenty of people who still believe in its future.
Sometimes changing where we are begins with changing how we see where we are.
Take another look at Minden.
You might be surprised by what has been right in front of you all along.
David Specht is president of Specht Newspapers, Inc., publisher of the Minden Press-Herald, Bossier Press-Tribune, and BIZ Magazine.