bonhomie.

[bon-uh–mee, bon–uh-mee; French baw-naw-mee]

noun

1. frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner; friendliness; geniality.

Frank and simple good-heartedness. I type this out and just sit and stare at it with a smile. It warms the cockles (as Trish would say). Frank and simple. Not overanalyzed, not complicated, just old-fashioned good-heartedness. Assuming the best about people. Letting benefit defeat doubt. Holding doors, buying coffees, shoveling snowy driveways, picking up things dropped.

The amount of bonhomie I’ve experienced in this town is outrageous. I’ve been gifted snow boots, a down comforter, plants, warm jackets, a coffee grinder, firewood, and bags of coffee. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again right now, Ketchum isn’t even a fair case study as the setting of my How to Make Friends in Your Thirties book. The book will be short. “Move to Ketchum, Idaho.” Subtitle: “Where bonhomie reigns.”