City of Bellemeade

I need to apologize for my complaining.  I do not have a problem with the neighborhood - I just feel the need to respond boldly to posts that are trivial or just complaining.  I have been very negative just to strike back.  I will try to curb my emotions and simply respond/post in order to benefit and not harm.

I really liked your point that the neighborhood as a whole is not so negative.  That is true.  The negativity and complaining just sparks anger - no neighborhood is going to function well like that.

I do not begin to imagine the time and energy that our Mayor puts into the neighborhood.  I imagine that he must feel very unappreciated just from posts on this site.  I do not wish to contribute to him feeling this way.  I apologize for any posts I have made that do anything other than let our Mayor know that I support him for working so diligently for us.

I hope to post positive, encouraging solutions in the future.  Once again,

I apologize - Mayor, do not give up.

The nature of posts on this website or any other website are much like beauty - they are what they are in the eye of the beholder.  What one person writes as a legitimate concern may appear to be trivial to a reader.  What one writer says as a truly frustrated call for much needed help may be viewed as complaining by a reader.  To a resident of Blaine Road, the requests (and later demands) for a solution to a very serious speeding problem by a resident on North Chadwick or Bellemeade Roads may sound like complaining, but to the resident on either of those roads who has had a speeder drive through his yard or nearly hit his wife, his words are crucial.

Passing judgements on the actions (and words) of others is a tricky activity and we seldom get it right.  I think the point there is, don't. Your post is an apology; in my way of thinking, you don't owe me an apology because what you write on here is protected by our Bill of Rights.  Saying what you think is good citizenship; you could make the statement that serves as the prelude to THE solution to a serious problem. BUT, no one (and I repeat, NO ONE) has the right to label what another person says as "negative" or "complaining."

I can't buy the contention that what I say makes me responsible for someone elses actions done out of anger.  Anger in itself is not a bad thing.  Uncontrolled anger is dangerous.  Anger management is a personal responsibility.  If someone makes me angry, it is my responsibility to control myself - period.

In your heart when you know you are right, you owe nobody an apology.  Little things left undone grow into big things undone  Big things left undone grow into GIGANTIC THINGS left undone.  The eventual net result is an insurmountable situation  Problems are best resolved when they are still at a manageable stage, but at that stage they are often not universally seen.  Only the people closest to the problem see it.  If those folks do not ask for, cry out for, or demand (if necessary) help from the powers in charge, the mole hill will become an unscaleable mountain on its own.

Even if you wrote a blistering post about one of my posts or one of my actions, I would hold no ill will toward you; if I did, I would be a hypocrite.  The reason I am allowed to speak out freely is the same reason you are allowed to disagree with me. I respect you for speaking up.

Anger?  Anger is a good thing; uncontrolable anger is a bad thing  And as far as the mayor, becoming a public official does not come with a critic-proof vest, nor does it come with a magic wand that assures (or insures) perfect solutions to each and every problem.  I have said more than once, Larry is a good man.  And sometimes that becomes his biggest problem; he thinks he can do everything by himself.  Doing that gives the impression that he is non-caring or that he is not listening to the people he serves.  Many times the solution to a problem comes from a critic on the outside who sees the situation from a completely different perspective.  The most valuable lesson I learned in my entire nearly three quarters of a century came to me as a very young US Army Second Lieutenant:  "Listen to the people around me, even my most harsh critic; one of them just might save me a ton of grief."  Larry would do well to learn that same lesson, and I say that with generosity, not with animosity.

I can like a person and still think they need to do better at their job (can't we all?).