Recently I created this blog to blow off steam. People's reactions were varied. Some said they liked what I had to say. Others had very different reactions. One firefighter that I work with said, "I saw your rant. Wow, you are angry. No not angry, crotchety." Crotchety. Me, CROTCHETY!! Now you listen here kid... I am not ***** crotchety. He looked at me as if to say I had just proven his point.
Perhaps my previous post was a bit negative. There are far more good things about Waterbury than bad. I shouldn't let my ranting, as it has been called, make people think that I am really down on my home town. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Perhaps my favorite thing about The Brass City is the many, and varied groups and associations that make up it's population. There are neighborhood groups (both formal and informal). Groups of people that work for a common cause or just get together to socialize. There is not a day that goes by that I don't run into someone from the neighborhood that I grew up in, from the schools that I had attended throughout my life, people that I was in the Boy Scouts with or whom I played little league baseball with.
Church groups, ethnic groups, musicians, artists, and so many more make this vibrant city what it is. Waterbury is where I grew up and where I live now. I am proud to call it home.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Not enough room on facebook to vent.
I decided to start this blog because facebook did not allow me enough space.
Today, while training with the fire department, one of the firefighters commented on how nice one of the homes we were training at probably was several years ago. I agreed with him and really started looking around. There were some beautiful homes in the area that had fallen into a state of disrepair. I remembered visiting some of these homes as a child as some of my relatives had lived in the area. It was heart breaking to see the condition of some of these buildings.
As we drove to our next evolution we passed by the house that belonged many years ago to my fathers Aunt Eileen. I couldn't believe it! It was very well kept! Right next door however, was a vacant house in very bad condition. Why is it that some people take pride in their homes and others do not. You could blame the economy. The economy could possibly be blamed for not undertaking some major repairs. The bad economy doesn't explain refuse of all kind strewn everywhere.
Arriving at home this evening, I looked at the newspaper. On the front page was an article regarding unemployment in Waterbury. The unemployment rate was 10.9%!! The seven town Waterbury area labor market had the worst unemployment rate in the State for the 105th time in the last 106 months.
Is there a connection, other than economic, between unemployment and the deteriorating infrastructure of our city? I believe there is. If we developed a sense of pride and cleaned up our neighborhoods we might attract some new businesses to the area. New businesses mean new jobs. Come on people, lets make the Brass City great again!!
Today, while training with the fire department, one of the firefighters commented on how nice one of the homes we were training at probably was several years ago. I agreed with him and really started looking around. There were some beautiful homes in the area that had fallen into a state of disrepair. I remembered visiting some of these homes as a child as some of my relatives had lived in the area. It was heart breaking to see the condition of some of these buildings.
As we drove to our next evolution we passed by the house that belonged many years ago to my fathers Aunt Eileen. I couldn't believe it! It was very well kept! Right next door however, was a vacant house in very bad condition. Why is it that some people take pride in their homes and others do not. You could blame the economy. The economy could possibly be blamed for not undertaking some major repairs. The bad economy doesn't explain refuse of all kind strewn everywhere.
Arriving at home this evening, I looked at the newspaper. On the front page was an article regarding unemployment in Waterbury. The unemployment rate was 10.9%!! The seven town Waterbury area labor market had the worst unemployment rate in the State for the 105th time in the last 106 months.
Is there a connection, other than economic, between unemployment and the deteriorating infrastructure of our city? I believe there is. If we developed a sense of pride and cleaned up our neighborhoods we might attract some new businesses to the area. New businesses mean new jobs. Come on people, lets make the Brass City great again!!
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