Preach it, Brother Pilczynski: "The inside capacity of any city is limited."

What a difference a year makes.

Consider, if you will, this introduction to Wojtek Pilczynski in February, 2013.

FAF Gallery : New gallery bringing 'a soul' to the historic Henry Clay Building, by Melissa Chipman (Insider Louisville)

“This town is up to something,” says Wojtek Pilczynski, Owner/Director of the new FAF Gallery, located on the first floor of the historic Henry Clay building.

“I see a rising energy in Louisville.”

Pilczynski got his first taste of whatever Louisville is up to after Hurricane Irene tore through Woodstock, Vt., in 2011, leaving much of his gallery, Art Polonaise and Studio 47, located in a historic, renovated linseed oil factory, under water. The storm flooded the gallery and forced Pilczynski to dive for statues, he says.

What followed was a snowless winter, a tourism-killer for the ski area, and the gallery owner says, “the town just fell apart.”

So Pilczynski and his wife, artist Katarzyna Kociomyk, began crisscrossing the United States, looking for a new place to lay down roots. They traveled down the East Coast, stopping in places like Charleston, Naples and Miami. They flew out to the West Coast and visited Santa Barbara and San Diego.

But when they came to Louisville and had lunch at the 21C and walked around downtown, Kociomyk says, they were amazed by the “open mindedness” of Louisville and its “amazing spirit.”

It's 15 months later. Earlier today, I chanced upon a website called Louisville Outsider Forum. In the subsection "Who We Are," there is this:

My wife and I came to Louisville as two long time successful professionals. We came to Louisville with passion, open hearts, some capital to invest and a hardworking attitude. We believed that we could contribute with our experience and talents to make downtown Louisville a more desirable place to be. We wanted to add our small share to the renaissance of the city. In our line of work we meet hundreds of people, from the most powerful and influential to everyday folks, from very wealthy to very poor and no matter who we deal with we simply want to be who we are and share our talents with others.

Unfortunately, after a short time we found ourselves in the confusing web of social gatherings, accumulating business cards and phone numbers that led us nowhere. We conducted hundreds of conversations that had no substance or meaning, exchanged pleasantries at fancy parties, galas and business meetings, spinning the wheels of the same scene with empty talk and pointless photo opportunities. We were also bluntly told on numerous occasions that “we will not make it in Louisville unless we play the game, and please certain people”. We found those “conditions” very upsetting and discriminating and we were not willing to do that. Soon we started to express our views to others, and many people we met have disappeared from our lives very quickly.

We also realized that there are many who shared our view but were not sure if they were “allowed” to speak or if their voice would ever be heard. Like us, those people also wanted to be recognized and welcomed based on their talents and strength and had a strong desire to contribute. Some of those people worked so hard on fitting in that now they didn’t want to speak up because they were afraid of losing their connections and affiliations. They would express their unhappiness and struggles in the private conversation but never took the stand publicly. I felt that I needed to do something as I believe that the inside capacity of any city is limited and as the city grows it needs new resources to flourish and expand. I also believe that this is simply not right that possibly some of the most talented, dedicated and hardworking people are not being recognized and rewarded for their efforts, muffled by Louisville’s old status quo, “good old boy” connections and exclusive thinking.

You guessed it. Same guy, Wojtek Pilczynski.

Conceding that I have not met Wojtek Pilczynski or his wife, and know absolutely nothing about any of this, apart from what I've seen on-line, it's a compelling juxtaposition to go from amazing open mindedness to good old boy stifling in only a little over a year.

But what I most want to say in summary is this: I'VE LIVED HERE MY WHOLE DAMNED LIFE AND FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME WAY!