I’m just writing to let you all know how overwhelmed and grateful Joanne and I have been for the going away events that so many of you have put together for us along with the many phone calls, email messages and text  that just keep coming in.   We never imagined that there would be this kind of outpouring.  It’s been humbling and very much appreciated.  It’s not that we regret moving to Marlboro.  We don’t and are actually looking forward to many of the things we will be doing out there.  It’s just there are so many of you that we are going to miss and there’s a vibrancy here that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.  

Last evening I attended my last meeting of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council where I’ve served for more than 8 years.   I was thinking back on all the residents that have served with me and all that they did to try and make this village a better place.  When I first went on the Council, I got hints of the decline in public involvement in Village affairs or the City over the years and there have been times I’ve questioned if it has been worth the time and effort we put into it. 

I recently found more than just the hint of answer in a box of ancient political memorabilia I discovered behind a load of trash in our attic.  I’ve been mesmerized by several of the long and detailed “position papers” that candidates from both parties used to churn out, but which they no longer do because people’s attention spans and overall patience have declined so drastically.  They put to shame the shallow, truncated PR talking point type material we are most often served today.   

Still,  a few forgotten paragraphs by Eugene McCarthy in 1968 highlight why the inattention of so many of our residents to local affairs has had no affect at all on the “public happiness” I’ve experienced from doing it. McCarthy argued that even the local work we do is a revolutionary defense of democracy and I think he was right.  

McCarthy restated the vibrant spirit that John Adams said helped to propel the American Revolution forward. “Adams said that what possessed the colonies, what people in the colonies had was what he called public happiness. It was not just a kind of glow and glee, but a delight in participating and carrying the responsibilities of citizenship. Adams said they delighted in participating in town councils, to deal with the problems of the Commonwealth, and having dealt with those problems, to make decisions and having made those decisions, to attempt to carry them out. This must always be the spirit that forms a democracy and which is alive and which is growing from within.”  

Those that don’t participate, don’t know what they are missing or the special friends they will meet along the way.    

Thank you all for your friendship.