First of all, I did not win the Mega Millions jackpot. Oh yeah, I never even bought a ticket. I figured I was more likely to get struck by lightning. I don't know what I would ever do with a lot of money anyway. People who win jackpots often blow it all on stupid stuff and end up back where they started.
Summer is over and we're back to, is it spring yet? Is it...yet? How about...now?
I've been busy. I'm learning just how many balls you need to keep your eyes on when you decide to accept your responsibility as an active citizen in your community. I love Jamestown, but there are issues...as in any community. And we can sit back and ignore them (and complain about how awful things are) or we can put on our hip waders, engage, and figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
As I said, I've been busy.
My involvement with Occupy Jamestown, which I wrote about a while ago, is pretty satisfying right now. I'm working with some really good people, reaching out and finding even more really good people, and together we're planning an event for May Day--which may or may not involve dancing around a maypole, we haven't worked out all the details yet. What it WILL be--is a gathering of some of the elements that make this a potentially GREAT community. Everyone is welcome to decide that they want to be a part of that. This is about unity, not partisanship, not militancy, not radicalism. It is about working for the best possible lives for our families now and in the future. We have musicians, we have artists, we have farmers and gardeners, we have geeks, dreamers and realists, and together we have great ideas about how to make Jamestown a resilient, sustainable community that can handle whatever life throws at us. We're full of positive energy and looking forward to a very good event. While other Occupy groups may be striking and protesting (and Lord knows there's plenty of injustice to stand against), we're attempting to take the next step and move forward and do things better.
You will definitely be reading more about this. Occupy friends--I love you guys!
Now, about some of those other things we need to keep our eyes on...
I met the new library director last night at a forum. And I asked her, point blank, why do you think they hate you so much? She came to town and took over four months ago. A firestorm promptly ensued. She apparently has a controversial "past"...I will just leave it at that. She has been thrown into the unenviable position of coming in as an outsider to pick up where decades-long local leadership left off, in an era of rapid changes. People hate changes. There have been communication issues, and longtime employees have been grievously offended. Rumors have swirled and grown into mushroom clouds. City council members have been deluged with phone calls.
Really, who knew there could be so much drama around librarians? I don't say this disrespectfully. I have always loved libraries and books and revered the people who labor to make them and keep them temples of learning. I have just not ever run into a situation like this before, and it perplexes me. As a relative newcomer to the community myself, I realize my perspective is not the same as it is for people who have lived here longer, some of them for their entire lives, and I cannot put myself in their shoes and receive an instant update on all of the history, experiences and nuances they have lived here in this community. I feel the discomfort of my friends and the general "disturbance in the force" caused by the arrival of this stranger in the community, and it makes me uncomfortable.
There is a great deal of fear about "what is going to happen to the library"--a VERY excellent library that nobody wants to see reduced to just another pop culture outlet, managed from afar by some McLibraries R Us outfit. But, is there evidence that anything like this is happening? Is there a way to keep it from happening without resorting to witch burning?
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