Es Wird Serviert

There's already been a lot of words written in review about this year, rapidly ending, and between now and New Year’s Eve, there’ll be a few more, I assume. 

These are not intended to be a part of that. There's something disquieting about the neuralgia of nostalgia--seen through the prism of the past; events often take on a rosy hue, far more in retrospect than you might recall they had at the time they were happening.

In other years, it was just a matter of weeks, and this, too, would become part of the 'Good Old Days.' And maybe that will still happen, but I find the last years so arduous and unrelenting that I'm hard-pressed to see a silver lining among the grey clouds. 

Instead, I suggest we turn the page on the calendar since, soon enough, we'll be at a new year and the start of the United States Semiquincentennial. I can't help but fear this will NOT be the joyous occasion we once thought/hoped it might be. 

As the Cheshire Cat once explained to Alice, "When you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there," and there are many signposts up ahead. Instead of arguing over who is holding the map, who is steering, and who’s called shotgun, let’s keep our eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel.

Let's promise one another to work to assure our elected officials, federal, state, and local, maintain their focus on the "Big Picture" while devoting attention to the finer details as well. 

It's not easy being an elected official anywhere in these United States, and I've often thought that sometimes, it's a little more challenging than it needs to be where I live in Norwich, Connecticut. As someone who is not from here but who lives here now, I don't pretend to understand why we seem to expect the worst. Maybe we’ve adopted a pessimistic mindset because that way we can only be surprised and never disappointed.

The City Council we elected in November has its work cut out for it as the twelve thousand or so registered voters within the City limits will be very vocal in making their unhappiness known every waking moment (that 45% of those registered to vote couldn't be bothered to cast a ballot last fall is another 'nevermind,' on the road to oblivion). 

Progress is never fast enough for those who want change, and is precipitously too swift for those who champion the status quo. But despite the dogs' barking, the caravan moves on. With or without our permission. 

Some of us will argue into the new year, and beyond, about the efforts, merits, and impact of City Council actions and decisions, but we are starting to learn to own the consequences of our decisions. Maybe the only way we can get to where we want to go is by going there together. That it's often not eaten as hot as it's served is a truth and a truism and is valid for where you live as well as for where I live. Grab a napkin and tuck in.

-bill kenny