Make Some History of Our Own

The Minute Men are part of the history of our region and a national treasure. They were, if you will, the original first responders even before we were a country. In the nearly two hundred and fifty years since we declared our independence, we've had minute men and women of every kind for every challenge. 

Be it in response to attacks of war through economic calamity or catastrophic acts of nature, their response has always been immediate and unquestioning.

I'm thinking maybe we should put some time back on the clock and see if there are still minute men among us. Here in Norwich, we have a target-rich environment for those wishing to extend a helping hand. 

There isn't a Norwich neighborhood that doesn't have a household not in need of a friendly face that can visit with a winter-bound senior citizen for some conversation and some caring or who could read a child an after-school story so a care-giver had fifteen minutes of 'me time' before starting supper. None of that costs any of us anything but its worth is incalculable and impact, beyond measurement.

Speaking of children, the Board of Education has regular monthly, publicized meetings. That might be your chance to go beyond the headlines of one of our local newspapers (the other one, when not ignoring the Board's existence entirely offers little better than drive-by analysis) and to learn more about where the Norwich Public School system is heading and hear firsthand about what our children and teachers are involved in daily. 

And perhaps, most importantly, it's your opportunity to make your voice for informed choice heard.

We spend so much time talking about downtown economic development it's hard to remember it's also where people live and work. Too many of us use the Chelsea District as a shortcut to get us from one place to another. Too late we discover we're nowhere at all.

And sometimes, we're so focused on just downtown that it's hard for someone who lives on Jail Hill or in Taftville (to name just two places) to believe anyone, anywhere cares about his street or her neighborhood. Sometimes we really are ten villages in search of a city. And sometimes we get tired of trying to carry everyone on our back and forget we don't have to do it alone. That's why we've chosen to live in our city, so we can help one another.

A lot of what needs to be done takes resources we don't have (right now), and figuring out how to acquire them will be a critical part of that job. Many cannot happen overnight but will take months, and in some cases, years. But some things in the immediate here and now only take a minute, if we have the time and the desire to help.
-bill kenny