Troy Is Beautiful.

A handwritten sticker, placed on a metal telephone booth enclosure. It reads:
“Troy is beautiful much in the same way that you are beautiful.”

The first three words are in outlined lettering. “Troy” and “Beautiful” are in yellow; “is” is solid black and the ‘i’ is dotted with a heart. Below that, “much in the same way that” is drawn in a simple but lovely hand. At bottom, outlined lettering returns, with “You” filled in, “are” filled in yellow, and “beautiful” filled in black but over-drawn with yellow.

Someone added “[heart symbol] Graffiti” in ballpoint pen, barely noticeable, and a predictable naysayer wrote “Troy Sux!” in sharpie to the right of the sticker, with an arrow pointing thereto, but did not deface the sticker because they truly couldn’t deny its essential truth.

I spotted this ten years ago, stuck to a payphone enclosure in one of my favorite cities, Troy, NY (The Collar City!). Whenever I see it it gives me pleasure that someone shared a thought so lovely with the world.

Troy is beautiful.
You are beautiful.

I should really have this made into a cloisonne.