Letters to the Editor - The Lakeville Journal - 1-7-21

Staff at Sharon Hospital helped so much with COVID recovery

This is my commentary on what a wonderful, supportive community we have here in Sharon.  

Early in Christmas week I was forced to enter Sharon Hospital with a bad case of COVID-19, in which I stayed for six days. I must say that I got the most excellent care I could have received.  The entire staff — doctors, nurses, attendants, physical therapists, cleaners and kitchen staff — showed superior care and attentiveness. I appreciate everyone’s kind and quality attention.

Also thanks goes out to our friends, relatives, acquaintances, the Sharon Methodist Church community,  Sharon Pharmacy and Dr. Harvey Hayden who intervened on Christmas Eve day with a cat emergency while my wife, Andrea, was home dealing with her own case of COVID. Our needs have been fully met by all of the above. It is at times like this that we recognize the importance of community in our lives.

John Bisbing

Sharon

Just when it all ought to be over

The Twilight Zone ride at Disney World is a tense upward grid, the side of the building collapses tens of stories above the park, no salvation — breathstealing — then the car freefalls: it’s the terrorized feel of  the 2020 Election. Just when it ought to be over — all constitutional Ts are crossed, votes counted, certifications certified — another leak showcases a secret call placed by the U.S. president not to Ukraine but to Georgia (the state, not the former Soviet satellite). Another executive extortion. 

This New Year enters with Time Square empty, the Russians in our cyber-underware and members of the U.S. Congress openly renouncing their oaths of office. A dirty dozen has conjured up a full disregard of democratic precepts as documented in the Constitution to support a loser staging a coup?

 In November, Gillian Brockell of The Washington Post quoted from the concerned writings of “An Old Whig” Founder regarding presidential refusal to leave office. The Old Whig envisions the “man is without the virtue, the moderation and love of liberty which possessed the mind of our late general [Washington] — and this country will be involved at once in war and tyranny.

… We may also suppose, without trespassing upon the bounds of probability, that this man may not have the means of supporting, in private life, the dignity of his former station; that like Caesar, he may be at once ambitious and poor, and deeply involved in debt. Such a man would die a thousand deaths rather than sink from the heights of splendor and power, into obscurity and wretchedness.” 

- Antifederallist No 70.

A dirty dozen senators Cruzing once again in a self-serving escapade: three are up for re-election in 2022, at least two are wanna-be presidential candidates in 2024, four are newly elected, not yet under oath.  We find ourselves a dozen short in the U.S. Senate and perhaps 100 short in the House of persons, of leaders having “virtue, the moderation and love of liberty.”  

I have converted my Advent calendar from # of Days to Christmas to # of Days to Decency. January 20th is coming. 

Kathy Herald-Marlowe

Sharon

The responsibilities of being stewards

A Letter to the Editor in the Dec. 24 edition of The Lake­ville Journal, “What would Dr. Mary Alice White do?” took exception to statements I made — characterizing them as “emotional rhetoric.” So, I ask, did the writer actually know Dr. White? As to her intent, I rely more on the statements of her children, or those in the community who knew her well, rather than an individual who self-identifies “as a relatively new homeowner on Lake Washinee.” That statement implies that he never met Dr. White. If I assumed this in error, please correct me.   

To understand why I consider that “easements are a sacred legally binding covenant” seems quite straightforward as a declarative statement of belief or ethos. The sanctity of Nature is an enduring tenet of human societies throughout history. John Swanson wrote in “Experiencing the Sacred in Nature” that the revelations of Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and Black Elk occurred during their vigils in wilderness. The sacred in Nature has inspired writers, musicians, artists, theologians, prophets and philosophers for millennia. If I am mistaken to refer to Nature as sacred, then I am in very good company with Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rachel Carson, Henri Rousseau, Manuel Mendive, Antonio Vivaldi, Wangari Maathai and St. Francis of Assisi, to name but a few.

The word “covenant” is a binding and far-reaching reciprocal promise, and in the case of conservation easements, codified in legal instruments. When I ceded development rights to multiple house lots spanning half of mile of Housatonic riverfront, as grantor I entered into a reciprocal commitment (covenant) with the recipient land trust, the grantee. The covenant we entered into was to secure in perpetuity those unique aspects of these lands, safeguarding Nature not only for the present but the future. 

I agree with the writer of the letter that there is a need to recast this dialogue, moving beyond the paralysis of disagreements. Pope Francis writes extensively about synodality (from the Greek, synodos, “walking together”). The goal of the synod is not to forge agreements, but as much as to recognize, honor, and respect our differences on a higher plane, where the best of each of our perspectives is retained. 

The notion of individual sovereignty over Nature, referred to by Locke as “the commons,” is a most appropriate concept to consider here as the Lake is not owned by any single entity, nor in fact owned at all. What we do own and share is a collective responsibility to be stewards of the Lake, whether we live around it, canoe through its marshes, or view it from afar.  

Michael W. Klemens, PhD 

Lakeville

Sharing joy with friends

 First, my gratitude to The Lakeville Journal for allowing me, after many years, to reconnect with you and secondly, to share some joy. One of the hallmarks of The Lakeville Journal is its ability, over many decades, to bring together the Northwest Corner community by sharing news from all of the regional towns. I say reconnect because approximately 44 years ago (Yikes! Time flies!) I moved out of Lakeville. However, being born at Sharon Hospital and raised with my five siblings by our parents, Frank and Sadie McArthur, Lakeville will always be the place I call home. 

In addition to my biological family, extended family helped to shape my life. I grew up (graduated from Salisbury Elementary School, 1965; HVRHS, 1969) when Lake­ville was a bustling little New England town where you met your friends, classmates, neighbors, teachers, clergy and town officials at familiar places: the Lakeville Post Office, Barry’s Jewelry Store, Gentile’s Apothecary Shop, Danny’s Shoe Store, the Grove, Ben Franklin 5-10, Church, the baseball field, to name a few. Attending HVRHS afforded you the opportunity to enlarge your family by including folk from what seemed at the time, the far reaches of Canaan, Sharon, the Cornwalls, Falls Village, and Kent. I share this because in truth we are not self-made. We are the products of many relationships, from and nurtured by an imperfect community of love, wisdom, and encouragement. We also grew up in one of God’s most life inspiring slices of heaven; a bucolic masterpiece. I would not have had it any other way than to grow up in and be launched from such a place. 

Which brings us to the joy part. After serving as a United Methodist Minister for 35 years, three years as missionary in Japan and a psychotherapist for 20 years, I retired in July 2018. I learned quickly that retirement doesn’t mean you stop work or that God puts you out in the pasture to graze in your golden years. Since retirement I returned to Tokyo, Japan to serve as the Interim Pastor of Tokyo Union Church. Most recently I was asked by the Special TIME Edition Magazine (STEM), now owned by Meredith Corporation, to write an article for their current STEM publication, “The Power of Joy.” 

While I am not in the same league, my article, “Having Faith in Joy,” is among articles written by the world renowned His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu. We are living in a very difficult time — our nation is deeply divided, racism is on the rise, and even though help is on the way with a vaccine, the number of  COVID-19 cases is increasing daily. 

Could it be that God’s joy is the vaccination all of us need right now? I think so. STEM is a national publication. It can found at checkout counters in supermarkets, pharmacies, paper/magazine stores, ordered from amazon.com and will be on display until Feb. 21.

Douglas A. McArthur

Mt. Bethel, Pa.

Gratitude for community support on a grand level

Kent is a very special community of people who support one another in times of trial. The result of this support is evident everywhere we look. Assisting our neighbors is part of our fabric, and, in many ways that our residents will never realize, because these kindnesses are performed quietly, without fanfare or expectation.

The Kent Food Bank is one of the beneficiaries of these acts of kindness. Without the ongoing support and generosity of so many folks, many of whom are not Kent residents, and Kent businesses, we would simply be unable to provide the help our members need to feed their families and provide the comforts of home. The list is endless, but includes never-ending thanks to: Davis IGA, which continually provides packing prowess, financial assistance, donation space, food donations and advice, all on a regular basis, and always with a smile on the collective faces of the warm, friendly staff; and to our local organizations, which include The Kent Lions Club, The Kent Chamber of Commerce, The Kent Community Fund and The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation. 

We are grateful to our local farms that so generously provided fresh produce through the summer, and to Bulls Bridge Body Shop that donates IGA gift cards on a very regular basis, to The Kent School and the very devoted group of teachers and kitchen magicians who helped  us endlessly with Christmas meal planning. Thanks also to our local restaurants: The Fife ‘n’ Drum, Cozzy’s Pizza and The Kent Pizza Garden, which, though facing such difficult and untoward circumstances themselves, continue to assist The Kent Food Bank in any way they can. 

The list goes on and on, and our gratitude, and that of our Kent Food Bank members, knows no bounds. We thank you all.

Leah Pullaro, LMSW

Director of Social Services

Debbe Christensen

Administrative Assistant

Social services, town of Kent

Kent