My Answer: What the Future Holds

This is sort of a surreal column for me to write this week. While it’s not my last column ever, it is the last one to be in print…for now.

If you would have asked me, almost three years ago, I never would have thought I’d have been writing for a newspaper at all. I never went to school for journalism and didn’t have a ton of experience writing for the public. Sure, I wrote a lot, but it wasn’t always for everyone else’s eyes to see.

Roger and Erin needed help, and they took a chance and invested in me. Sometimes I wonder how Roger edited some of those first articles, but he always did and made them sound better than the ones I submitted.

Then they gave me the chance at this column, which I absolutely love writing. It’s easier for me than an article. It still requires some thought and research, and even a little editing, but for the most part what you all see when it prints is almost word-for-word what I wrote.

Through this column, I’ve met some really wonderful people. I feel like through it, you all have gotten to know me a little, and I you. Each time one of you sees me and says, “Great column this week,” or “I really like reading your column,” or “Any chance you have some time to sit and chat about the column last week,” it makes me feel like what I say matters, and it resonated with you. When one of you sends a text or calls into the BVD office with a message for me, you help give me the courage to keep on writing, and I appreciate the feedback.

I feel like it has connected so many of us, and I hope it continues to do so. It has enabled me to share my opinions, listen to the opinions of others and hopefully shown that even with similar, or differing beliefs and opinions, we can discuss them and not let those opinions divide us.

Another area where I believe we, as individuals, need to come together is as a town and for our town.

I’ll be honest, the future seems a little scary right now. The newspaper - a hub for where people regularly find out about things in town, who to contact, and even their kid’s photo making a great play in a sporting event at the school - will no longer be in print. Churches are losing their clergy and places to meet. Businesses are continuing to close. Organizations that benefit the town and individuals in the town are in danger of folding. Our “old guard” folks who have been part of Lincoln since, well, forever in my opinion, are passing away at alarming rates

Our community organizations are something we need. Volunteers are needed desperately. I served on boards and belonged to more organizations than I can count over the years. Every board was always looking for help, for volunteers and for board members.

We are all volunteers for these organizations. It’s the volunteers who give of their time, money and energy to ensure things happen in this town. Instead of sitting on the couch, around the kitchen table or on a local barstool complaining about how volunteers do things or have done things in the past, and saying how much better it would be if you were running the show, here’s a thought: get off your respective a$$es and do something besides complain.

One of the biggest reasons I resigned from the Chamber, and several other community boards I used to sit on is this: those who had a problem with something that happened five or twenty years ago on any particular board, organization or event would sit and complain about how so-and-so, or what-the-what did this or that, and they didn’t agree. So, they swore they’d never go back; back to a meeting, back to being a volunteer, back to a specific event, etc.

The final straw for me was being bombarded and yelled at over Thanksgiving weekend, from family members, about the placement of a local business on the Chamber website and how their particular business should have been listed more towards the top.

This is where we need to come together, rather than attack the volunteers for doing what they think is right for the organization and town. They are generally doing the very best they can at that very moment with the limited time, money, people and resources they have. If we could all remember that instead of the past hurts, we might have a shot at the future.

There are several new folks to town, a lot of whom moved here because they like Lincoln. Or they came and visited during an event or holiday weekend and thought they wanted to be here, to have more of whatever “that” was. This is a chance for all those new folks to get involved, be part of the solution and to keep things going.

It’s time to let go of the past. The past hurts, the past annoyances, the past petty bulls#$!, and think about the future. Be part of the future. The past is the past, and the future is what we have - if we fight for it.

** Afterthought: For those of you who have expressed to me that you won’t be able to read these columns anymore because you don’t have a computer or internet, I want to remind you that our local library has computer and internet access at no charge, and the staff is wonderful and can help you navigate to be able to read this column and other stories from the newspaper. **