THE VIEW FROM MAIN STREET September 12, 2014 As I write this, the gales of September are upon us with full fury. Batten down the hatches! Turn on the heat! Our majestic Lake Superior, which just a few days ago was a perfect calm sheet of reflective glass under a full moon, has unleashed her power and shown us her other side. Water levels are higher than I recall seeing them and the waves are splashing up beyond the beaches, washing up piles of ancient timbers. The recently installed barges at the Superfund site, aptly named “Poseidon”, meant to protect the big lake from any unearthed slicks during the upcoming pilot cleanup test, were no match for the churning waters. It seems our transition from summer to fall is an abrupt one this year. As with so many things in life, the weather around us is one of those things we have no control over and we are forced to just back off and take it all in. Sometimes it can be a challenge to appreciate the value of these events, which appear extreme to us. As much as I may wish otherwise, external changes can be jolting and unwelcome. I wasn’t quite ready to let go of the brief summer weather yet, but it appears I have no choice. Yet, as with all things, change of any kind, welcome or not, brings hidden blessings. We get to choose whether to embrace the changes and try to enjoy them, adapt and tolerate them, or we rail and wail against them. There are a lot of changes happening in Ashland right now: the Blue Wave development on the west end, Co-op expansion in city center, Culver’s construction on the east end, an open ore dock and clean-up process on the lakeshore, and planning for a new fire station. Depending on your point of view, some are welcome and long awaited, some we might not be sure about, and some may be dreaded. Seeing new and unfamiliar buildings or refurnished old buildings emerging in the City may be challenging to us. We may not understand the need for some of these. They change the landscape in ways we are not sure that we appreciate. The old ways of doing and seeing things is comforting and takes us back to a safe place in our minds. At the same time, our rational brains can appreciate and accept basic ideas such as that in order to move forward and thrive as a city we have to be willing to allow new changes. Change can also create conflicts between us as our viewpoints and priorities for the city may clash. An example of this is the recent public debate about the fate of the former Grubies/Smith building on Main Street adjacent to the site of the new Co-op parking lot. In spite of a shared desire for an expanded Co-op, citizens of goodwill and differing opinions showed up and engaged in a passionate but civil dialogue about what we want the future of the city to look like and a compromise was reached. An important discussion has begun to emerge about what is important and practical for us as residents of this place to preserve of our past and what we can let go of in order to make room for the future to happen. It is a discussion and debate that we had earlier this year in relation to whether or not to preserve the ore dock base. In both cases, a brave and difficult decision was made to try to preserve some part of a past artifact, while adapting to the realities of loss of physical pieces of the past. Life is full of surprises and if we are lucky, those surprising changes in our lives and in our city can lead us toward good things that we could never have imagined beforehand. I am proud of the many people in the city who are working hard to try to create a more positive sustainable future: ordinary citizens who care enough to step up and voice their opinions, or better yet, to constructively volunteer their time and talents to help make their vision a reality. A big part of getting through the storms in our lives is being able anticipate good things ahead. I know on this stormy night that I can look forward to the best parts of fall ahead: the autumn color show, cool nights, and brilliant crisp sunny days. Bring it on! But bring out an extra blanket in the meantime. So, too, during times of controversy that arise over the future direction of the city, we can be assured that good things are coming. It may take us awhile to get there but bring them on! Until next time, stay warm and be well. Mayor Deb Lewis
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 13:14:43 +0000
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