Gazing Ball
Weekly update 11/29 to 12/5 #45
When I was a kid every other yard seemed to have one of those glass gazing balls in the yard. I don’t know about everyone else, but Mrs. Smith’s seemed to tell the future. After gazing into it we saw that Jason was gonna grow up to own a 1977 black Trans Am and ride around the country with a cute little brunette riding shotgun. Or maybe it couldn’t really show the future and a group of kids had recently watched Smokey and the Bandit since Jason really grew up to be a pastor in a little town here in Indiana. Before I explain how this has anything to do with serving as mayor let me tell you about my week.
I started the week meeting with Senator Alting from the Lafayette area. While he is not our state senator, he likes to meet with mayors around the state to get a feel for what is going on at the local level. We covered many areas and shared ideas freely. I have followed the sessions at the state house for several years, but this year should be interesting for me to see if anything I have suggested to various people makes its way into the conversation.
This week I had a chance to work with Park and Recreation for part of a day. We took a portion of the day to clean up some tires that had been dumped. While this doesn’t really fall in their wheelhouse, we knew it needed to be done and took care of the problem. We also had a chance to reflect on 2020 and discuss what 2021 might hold. With so many questions in the world, predicting next year is about as clear as the gazing ball in Mrs. Smith’s front yard.
This week we heard that Childcare Network received $1.8 million to develop a 120 seat childcare facility here in Seymour. This project is a great example of how different groups in Jackson County come together. Thank you to the Lilly Endowment for the support, and thank you to all the local organizations that committed to making it happen.
Throw in meetings related to a possible new fire station, current and future road work, contract negotiations, insurance renewals, and the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation board meeting and you have a small glimpse into my recent week.
When you begin to serve as mayor, it comes with a few keys and various items to get the job done. What it does not come with is a gazing ball that actually works. Instead, I have to rely on those I work with to have done their homework and to be presenting the best information possible for decisions to be made. I have to trust that they have used data available from the past to try and predict the future. We always have to remember, though, that not everyone sees the world through the same lens. I have been blessed to see the sunset and sunrise on the same bike ride. Many would focus on the pains such a ride would cause; yet I see it as a chance to experience the world around me, a chance to see the world’s beauty yet again. I realize at the end of such epic rides that I feed off of the energy of those around me. If everyone is down I will be down. Even then though, if one person enters the conversation with enthusiasm I will be lifted by them. This week I want to leave you with two quotes. Henry Ford says, "Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait." Let that sparkle in your eye shine and the swing in your step show for others to be revived because if Ralph Waldo Emerson is correct, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."