“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality.”
Leave it to Hammerhead to “hit the nail on the head” with this eye-catching quote. Eagle-Eyes didn’t spot it. It was ‘Me, Myself & I’ who discovered these encouraging words when they Googled “Belva Davis.” Here’s why this discovery is so timely.
Remember what was quoted in the “Adjusting our sails for a new direction” blog? Unless local community life can be restored, the public will never be able to resolve its most urgent problems.” (John Dewey) We (all five of us) – ‘Eagle-Eyes, Hammerhead, Me, Myself, &I’ have shared a new dream about how people- at the neighborhood level – can come together and collectively identify their most pressing needs and concerns – and, then, pooling their personal wisdom, intelligence and creativity, come up with a plan of action.
Add to this picture another dream, our municipal government embracing this approach even though they do not have (at the present time), the necessary funds or personnel to allocate for the creation of NETS – Neighborhood Enhancement Teams. That’s OK! Citizen volunteers have step up to the plate before and carried out the functions necessary to coordinate and implement what is essentially a citizen-driven program. (Think about the current CERT program – Citizens Emergency Response Teams. This is not a new concept. The model already exists in the form of a Citizens Corps. Other cities have already established official departments or offices that have adopted names like Neighborhood Action Groups, Livable Neighborhood Program, and Good Neighbors.
As we stated at the beginning of this blog – “it’s a dream!” But, citizens can make it happen and become a reality. Who’s willing to stand up and be become a “sparkplug” and generate interest in their neighborhood? Who in city government will push the buttons necessary to get an OK to move forward? Who will attend and participate in public gatherings designed to explore the stepping stones necessary to follow in pursuit of this dream? If you want to be part of PetalumaNET (2.0), please e-mail your name, street address, and phone number to this Volunteer Cybernaut – whammer@petalumanet.org or phone 762-6593. If “people will come together,” we can “make it happen.” Thank you Belva Davis.
P.S. ‘Me, myself & I’ selected this particular date to post this PetalumaNET2.0 blog because it’s “you know who’s” birthday. She was and still is a model for creating “enhancement” teams or groups of people. Both Hammerhead and Eagle-Eyes reminded me that bringing people together in order to create community benefit projects and thereby empower the organizers to take charge and nurture their initiative has been something she has done all during our marriage. Happy birthday! – ‘you know who.’