A letter to the editor in this newspaper a couple of weeks ago used some pretty strong adjectives to describe the impressions left on the author by his regular visits to Washington. Things he saw and experiences he had led him to use words like cheap, ugly, unsightly, blighted, shameful, dangerous, eyesores, disappointing, untrained, and more. The letter hit hard and got some dander up.

The very next day after the letter appeared, McDuffie Mirror publisher Jason Smith, in his column "Points Between," complained about some unsightly mud in downtown Thomson. The difference was that the mud was a temporary byproduct of an effort to revitalize the sidewalks in downtown Thomson.

"If you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, you have to turn over some dirt to revitalize a downtown," he said and he looked this way for inspiration, continuing, "And if folks need an idea of what Thomson could strive to be, they could take the short drive up to Washington, Ga., and see what a small-town downtown can look like." (He also went on to extol the virtues of Guillaume and Sokun Slama, the Fitzpatrick Hotel, and their restaurant Down Under.)

So in the course of two days we were slammed as an embarrassment and exalted as an inspiration for a sister city. The challenge we Washingtonians now face is realizing and accepting both as entirely correct.

We know that downtown is more vital, more attractive, busier, and diverse than it has been in most of our lifetimes. No other town in reasonable driving distance, or maybe even unreasonable distance, has anywhere near the beauty and charm of our downtown. Thomson can indeed only hope to be as attractive.

At the same time, we may not assume that once done, it will stay that way. It takes work to maintain a level of quality and we must be open to the fact that there are cheap, ugly ... untrained, and more problems that need to be taken care of.

So who's responsible? It's not just the city's job. It's not just the county's job. It's not just downtown's job. It's everybody's job. The letterwriter was right - civic pride can keep a gleam in the diamond that is Washington - with some leadership and vision, we can stay on top.

The time is now.