Portalet Perspective
Weekly update 6/5/2022 to 6/11/2022 #124
Ever had a conversation about a portalet that reminds you about your perspective on life? Pull up a seat and let me share more after some of my recent week serving as mayor of the best smalltown in America.
After a recent project update meeting with the Indiana Department of Transportation, I got to thinking about how blessed we are as a community. We have ten different Federal Highway Administration projects currently going on. These projects are five-year projects that are somewhere between the early stages of selecting an engineer and recently constructed waiting to be closed out. We also have two rounds of Crossroads Community Matching Grants that are open. Award 2021-2 is under construction currently, and 2022-1 is working its way towards choosing a contractor. Look for a future weekly update that will focus on road work and how both processes work soon.
I had a chance to join downtown merchants for a Seymour Main Street Merchants meeting. Director Bri Roll shared an update on many areas. One of those was the selection process of a company to work on an updated strategic plan for the mainstreet area. That process has taken the pool from four to two with a final selection over the next few weeks. Thank you, Bri and all of Mainstreet, for your hardwork in our downtown area. I enjoy our chats and being able to help solve problems and work together when we can.
During an event at Seymour Place, I had a chance to chat with residents and discuss topics across the board. Parks and Recreations, Planning and Zoning, Seymour Police, and Department of Public works all came up. If it is one of the new programs to engage our youth or some updated data about the Curb Appeal program, it is fun to get out of the office and visit.
Well, I guess it is time to visit that portalet again and share how that conversation reminded me of a story from a few years ago. One of my wife Zabrina’s students spent time working around the country at various farms. One of those assignments was in Alaska where her and her now husband were told that they would need to prepare their outhouse before they did much else. No biggie, they thought, dig a hole, find a base, sides, and a door from the assorted pile of outhouse pieces behind the barn. As they shared this story with me they said digging the hole was not to difficult. Finding a base didn’t take much time at all. The selection of sides and a roof came together pretty quickly leaving them with the majority of an outhouse to do their daily business. Only one little thing stood between them and a completed project. Well, really it was going to stand between them and the back of their cabin so they could have some privacy during that daily business. As they scoured the pile of parts, they kept finding half doors, but must have been late in the season to find a full door. As they tried different options, they kept focusing on that much wanted privacy between them and the cabin they would call home for the next few months. One of them, and I am sorry I don’t remember which, suggested maybe they could orient the outhouse to gain that privacy and still just use a partial door. As they made a 180 degree rotation they realized that with this they would no longer risk being seen from the cabin, but more importantly they noticed the beautiful view of the mountains they would gain. I share this story to remind you that just because we think we need all of a door that maybe adjusting to that half a door can lead to much more enjoyable daily tasks. When we are in those moments, take a deep breath and see how we can adjust to find an even better result. A Robert Frost quote comes to mind for me to end with as we always have options in life. Keep looking for a full door or choose a path less traveled and make the best of that half door. "Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."