By Ted Sylvester
To
everything easier said than done, a toast
(From 1987)
It seemed such a simple
task.
Do-It-Yourselfer was
instructed by his wifemate to purchase a dozen or new water glasses. You know.
The eight-once variety. Over the past couple of years DIY had managed to crack
or smash several of the sets in the cupboard so that wifemate could not set a
decent table, in her mind, because there were not enough glasses of the same
variety to go around.
No problem. DIY trekked
off to his favorite department store. There were no packages, sets, or
individual tumblers that could be found. Oh, there were packages and packages
of tumblers of all shapes and varieties. But to get a dozen of all the same
size would have required purchasing an equal number of other sized glasses,
which he didn’t want. There were 16-glass sets and 24-glass sets, each of which
included small juice glasses, a set of what looked like whiskey glasses, and
then the regular kind.
It simply was another
case of merchandising blackmail. DIY would not pay the ransom and went home
empty-handed. Now glasses or tumblers have been added to the blackmail list
along with automobile floor mats (one now has to purchase four to get two),
shoestrings, and flashlight lamps and batteries.
Manufacturers are
certainly masters of the merchandising game. But DIY vowed to collect a set of
jelly glasses before he would succumb to blackmail.
Another
example of the public
being misled is that the taxpayers of Rockland are being asked to provide
programs and facilities for all to enjoy. The city is the center of attraction
for the entire area. Everyone, especially the small-town folks, hold the city
folks up to be the renegades and bad guys of the area. Well folks, the city
provides many things that are taken for granted of which outsiders pay little
or nothing.
You want a for-instance?
How about recreation.
City facilities are used virtually for free by the entire area, while the city
taxpayers pick up the tab. A review of three budgets will quickly show you that
Rockland is being taken for granted.
The 1987 recreation
budget for Rockland was $96,847. There are 16 full- and part-time employees in
the department. Besides a full-fledged swimming and picnic area run by the
city, there are numerous ball fields, playgrounds, and the recreation center,
used by just about anyone.
The Owls Head recreation
budget for 1987 was $300. The 1987 budget for South Thomaston was $150.
Compared on a per capita
basis, Rockland pays $12.22; Owls Head, 19 cents; South Thomaston, 12 cents.
Pretty piddling amounts when compared with Rockland. Where do you suppose the
children, and adults, of those two towns look for recreation? Oh, you can argue
that each small town has a tennis court that Rockland people sneak in and use.
But so does Rockland. And they all were built with federal matching funds.
There is hardly a week
that goes by when some announcement or other is not made, inviting all to
become involved with a recreation program that will be run in Rockland. Many of
them are private, and many require entry fees. But who provides most of the
facilities?
Many times Rockland gets
all the bad ink and the bad reputation of not being able to accomplish anything
without a battle. A little assistance and encouragement would be helpful in combating
the negative outlook that many have. Especially those from small towns who
think that Rockland owes them something. It’s the other way around, folks.
There is one project
that is getting some support from all around. It is the efforts by a group from
the Chamber trying to put together a package to try to attract L.L.Bean to
locate a new telecommunications center here. Richard Lovejoy, who initiated the
effort, said this week that the city was still in the running despite reports
that Bean was not interested in coming here. A letter was sent to the famous
company asking that if they did not want to look at Rockland’s proposal to let officials
know. There was no response, Lovejoy said, which he saw as a good sign that at
least Rockland will have an opportunity to show what it has to offer.
It’s this type of
positive outlook we need to bring the city ahead. A little encouragement from neighbors
would be welcomed.
(I’m
not sure if things have changed much regarding this subject since Ted wrote
about it in 1987. There has been a lot of progress to be sure, however, in
Rockland’s transformation over the last several years to one that attracts
visitors on a national and international basis.)
