Merry Christmas

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.  For anyone that I  missed, a Happy Holiday Season to you too.

This past year has been “challenging” to say the least.  A global pandemic has upended our lives.  Some of us have also suffered personal losses this year.  The pandemic made it impossible for my family to visit my mom during the last few months of her life.  The facility where she lived was locked down to protect the residents.  The ALF she lived in did allow us to come spend a bit of time with her the morning she passed away.  My in-laws are living in an ALF that is currently on lock down.  I pray that we can get the pandemic under control so that we can once again safely visit with them.

This year has seen the polarization of Americans, pitting one against another, to a degree I haven’t seen in decades.  All too often it seems that the extremists on both ends of the spectrum have gotten far too much air time on our TV and computer screens.  Most of us simply want life to return to some semblance of normal and get on with the job of rebuilding our lives, our communities, and our country.  It is time for us to quit screaming at each other and come together for the good of our community and our country.

Do I have thoughts on the way forward?  You bet!  There are a number of things that we can do to get things back on track.

I’ll save those for another day and close by wishing each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Safe and Happy New Year.

Rob Marlowe, Mayor