Topics for your consideration
Well, it's a cinch I am not going to discuss the weather this week
And moving on to other things, the Peabody City Council finished its meeting at 8:35 p.m. Monday night and I think the world should take note. That is the first time since I started attending their meetings six years ago that I have stayed until the end. Usually those guys drone on and on until midnight (and I escape hours before they are done). Maybe some of them have realized that since their days are numbered, it no longer matters what they say. But after the election in April, I guarantee we will have another group of councilmen in love with the sound of their own voices.
There is a brief story elsewhere in this paper about Bev Wilson, a local woman who has spent the past year knitting stocking caps to donate to patients in cancer centers in nearby cities. What a nice thing to do! Anyone with yarn leftover from knitting projects can donate it to Bev and she will whip up another stocking cap or two out of what you no longer need. That way you can help as well. She is listed in the phone book and I bet she would come pick up your donation if you call her.
I have had a lot of people ask me if I know why So-and-So is running for city council, mayor, or school board. The answer is "Nope, I haven't any idea." None of them sought my advice or my opinion about their climb into the firestorm of public controversy so I can't fathom their reasoning. Maybe they are just fun folks out for a good laugh. Or maybe they have an ax to grind. Or, here is a thought
Our job will be to care just as much and get to the polls and vote. We'll see how our communities do when that day rolls around. There will be some primary races to winnow down the list of candidates. Some races already are controversial. They will draw the voters. Some candidates are running unopposed and voters often think there is no point in marking the ballot when there isn't a choice. But there is always the "vote of no confidence." One man I know votes for the Old Yella' Dog when there really is no choice. Others write in a candidate they like. That is a vote of no confidence for the person running unopposed. I am not sure how powerful a message it sends, but if there are enough of them, it is bound to tell the candidate something.
There you go — a couple of things to think about that will keep your mind off of anything weather-related. But you didn't hear it from me!
— SUSAN MARSHALL
