Curmudgeon's Corner

This is the time of year when many of us take time to reflect on the past, enjoy the present and anticipate the future. It is a time of year that we all might benefit from more often than only at year’s end, but that seems a near impossibility given the hectic pace of our daily lives.

Maybe my curmudgeon’s eyes are viewing things a bit differently during this time of year, but it seems that I am seeing the softer, gentler side of folks. These are people whom I know not but who strike me as moving just a bit more slowly during this holiday period. I see a few more smiles returned. Most people seem more forgiving than I expected even though parking spaces are in short supply and people are anxious to get from here to there quickly.

Can it be that we are more forgiving of others’ perceived transgressions at this time of year? Is there something more than mere lip service to this “peace on earth and good will to men” theme that permeates our environment? Is this merely my altered perception or is there something more to it than that?

I hope that it is not simply my perception but, if that is all it is, I am content to see the world through my own version of “rose colored glasses” if need be. I see people helping people whether by dropping change in a red kettle, or singing carols from door to door, or hosting parties for family and friends, or simply Moms and Dads enjoying their children as they shop.

I see in Germantown a growing community that is managing to keep its “smallness”, its character and its priorities pretty well in order. I talk with people who have moved away but who wish they were still here. I drive past the custard stand and see people busy cooking and delivering Thanksgiving meals to those less fortunate. I see colorful decorations and children playing in whatever snow they’re able to find. I see a piece of Americana that welcomes us home at the end of busy days.

I am very happy to see a small community that rivals my memory of the small town in which I grew up. There is hope that we’ll be able to control our growth and our quest for more wealth while maintaining our grounding. There is hope that we’ll do the right thing even when no one is there to witness it. There is hope that the Holy Hill desecrators are an aberration and not the norm. There is hope that our police officers will enjoy the relative boredom of peacefulness more rather than less. There is the hope that we will find ways in which to solve the problems, largely man-made, that seem to plague our greater society without too much strife, too much shouting and too much hurt.

Nonetheless, it is nice to know that, at the end of the day, we can come home to Germantown and feel happy, safe, comfortable and at peace…if only during this one season of the year…while we continue to work toward securing those same feelings for the whole year.

Each one of us can make a difference in the life of another every day with so little effort. How about adding that to the list of resolutions we struggle with for the coming year? Better yet, why not stick to this resolution even after we’ve stopped the weight loss program or lost our zeal for exercising?

Let’s each make one person a little bit happier every day in 2007.

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
Author: Aesop