Date: Fri 29-Dec-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-New-Year's-resolution

Full Text:

New Year's Resolution

There is a shift that takes place in our thoughts at about the same time that

the sun shifts from the southbound to the northbound lane on the celestial

sphere. It is the point at which we stop winding things up for this year and

start projecting our intentions into the next. It is a kind of solstice of the

mind. This year we have a long weekend glide into the new year, which should

give us plenty of time to think about what it is we dare to hope for the year

ahead - where we want the coming light to shine the brightest.

Of course our nearest and dearest hopes almost always have to do with our

families and friends; we wish them happiness, health, and prosperity. Beyond

that, perhaps a general, unspecified wish for peace in the world seems to

suffice for us.

We suggest, however, that everyone devote a little time in these waning days

of 1995 to thinking about our town. What is it that we wish for Newtown?

Better schools? Safer roads? More places to shop? Less traffic? More and

better paying jobs? On reflection, we will see that all of these things can

have a direct bearing on the hopes we have for ourselves and the ones we love.

If these hopes are to be something more than mere wishes, but steps on the

path to a goal, our thoughts about the future need to be reinforced with a

little resolve - a little New Year's resolution.

If it is better schools that you want, pick a school and get involved; join

the PTA, volunteer in a classroom, attend school board meetings. If safer

roads are your wish, you can start by slowing your own car down. If you think

there isn't enough development in town - or too much - attend a hearing of the

Planning and Zoning Commission and tell it so. If you want more or better

paying jobs in town, give your business to local employers so that they will

prosper and grow.

There is plenty that can be done to improve our town, and consequently our own

lives, if we only take to the time to think of it and then act according to

what we think. The winter will pass of its own accord, and the days will get

longer and brighter no matter what we think or do. But a town's future does

not brighten automatically. It requires the resolve of its people.