To the Editor:
In February I wrote about our community. Since then, we’ve seen changes, things are being built and torn down, and many are afraid.
However I noticed today from a deli window an emerging paradigm; that many confuse the physical “town,” with the community who lives within it. The town is the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge, while the community is the Adult Diplomats or the teenage students standing on that bridge — both taking selfies with the JUNe Day Flags.
I see this community from many angles. I notice often how we’re learning from each other and helping each other. We’re developing and growing as the town does, while staying comfortable and near as a community.
We worry about the future of our community, but I’ve noticed that our future is bright.
I noticed in the aisle of Michaels a group of Staples boys starting a conversation and game of catch with a random kid who was bored while his mother shopped. That’s community.
I watched as Earthplace campers pitched their tents for the night — those kids, who were strangers just days earlier, figured out how to pitch a tent together and were proud that they did so without adult help. That’s community.
I watched as a middle schooler put down his ice cream at Saugatuck Sweets to tie his friend’s shoe when he admitted he didn’t know how to. That’s community.
I noticed when a kid, no older than 7, walked up to a random adult to ask if they were okay, how they were doing, when they saw the adult with tears. That’s community.
I noticed a few of yesterday’s Staples graduates stop to pose for a photo with the Westport EMS ambulance on-site, the same one that they volunteer on to save others’ lives. That is our community.
I urge all of you to get out into the community; grab a sandwich at Winfield Street Deli, or an ice cream at Saugatuck Sweets, or take a hike at Earthplace, or go meet our EMS volunteers.
Neighborhoods are developing, the town’s map is changing, things look different — but look at your kids, look at your neighbors, look at our future: our community is doing just fine.
Jaime Bairaktaris,
Westport
