[ahy-ren-ik, ahy-ree-nik]
adjective
- tending to promote peace or reconciliation; peaceful or conciliatory.
Ketchum is an irenic town. This is a wonderful word to describe it. People leave their cars unlocked with their keys sitting in the console. The first time I went to the Laundromutt (laundry and dog grooming in one), the owner helped me out with my clothes. I said, “I’ll unlock the door.” And he looked at me in surprise and said, “And just where do you think you are, honey? This is Ketchum.”
I explained how everything I owned was in my car and that’d be a real bummer to lose my Marmot sleeping bag or my Yeti coffee cup.
“Mmhmm well you’re the only one in town with a locked car.”
Irenic. It took a few months, but yesterday I left my keys in Sangria Kia because I wanted a neighbor to be able to move it if a snow plow came through while I was at work. It felt odd. Of course everything was fine, my car was even cleaned off for me when I returned.
Last night before the dining room opened, I received a call for a to-go order. It totaled $536. The fella ordering it said, “This is for the creator of the Grand Theft Auto video game.” As I was packing up all six bags of Idaho spuds and filets, I thought about how Ketchum would make a terrible Grand Theft Auto setting. Open door, take keys, drive off. Not a whole lot of challenge.
beth of fresh air 
That sounds a whole lot like Okinawa. With more snow.
Don’t let this secret out; of course maybe if you did it would spread the power of irenic community. Cheers, Beth
Many years ago, after college, I lived in a little town named Biglerville, Pennsylvania. We always left the keys in the ignition. We did lock the house door, though, with a skeleton key. Ha ha! Years later, I learned that anyone with a skeleton key could have opened the door!!!