When it Matters - 11-4-09 Editor's Column

Given the events of the last three days, I would feel irresponsible if I didn’t talk about them in some way.

We currently find ourselves experiencing something that most people, in the back of their minds, hope never happens in their lifetimes in their community.

And why wouldn’t they? More often than not, when one moves to a community, the idea is to move somewhere that feels safe and somewhere with a feeling of home.

Unfortunately, that feeling is likely missing for many in Mahomet today.

However, no one should question whether or not Mahomet is a safe place. As horrific as it is to consider what took place this week, this is still a community in which everyone should feel safe to walk down the street and where residents can go to bed with comfort.

Should we be shaken? Of course we should. But to that end, we should be questioning something other than the safety of our town and exploring something other than how we can prevent something like this again.

Instead, we should be taking this time in the wake of the death of a young woman to come together as a community and demonstrate that we are exactly what the news said we are Monday night while reporting on the matter: “tight-knit.”

For example, our children will more than likely have questions about what happened that we will have to answer with the best of our abilities.

We will likely have friends and neighbors who will need calming and reassurance through the conversations that we have over the course of the next several weeks.

Even our own senses of safety will come into question as many of us will likely end up asking that popular two-letter question, “What if?”

Fortunately, we have the opportunity to be exactly what we need. We can be exactly what our children and our neighbors and even what we ourselves need as we gather more details on this situation.

After all, what’s the point of calling ourselves a community if, instead of banding together for the sake of those around us, we splinter and avoid the chance to talk about things?

In this instance, just as it should in all instances, our social status has no bearing on the fact that we are a community of people who need each other right now.

Now is the time to embody what so many of us take pride in with this community - our ability to band together when it matters the most. Because right now, we are all extensions of same individual, asking the same questions, feeling the same fears and trying to maintain the same calm.

Lending a hand - 10-14-09 Editor's Column

As the weather changes and the foliage follows suit, many of us are likely thinking the same thing: it is time for the plethora of holidays that make the fall and winter months so enjoyable.

Some of you may have already taken care of some necessary preparations for upcoming family gatherings such as Thanksgiving and even Christmas.

Similarly, those of you looking to avoid the rush have probably gotten some holiday shopping done early.

However, there is another aspect of the impending season that may go overlooked if we aren’t too careful: the time we can spend helping those who need it.

Though there is a need for help every month of the year, there is certainly not a lack of needs during the fall and winter months, especially for families who may need help staying warm or putting meals on the table.

Additionally, there will certainly be families who will need help providing gifts this holiday season for their children.

Though finding these opportunities may seem time consuming, it is actually easier than one might think, especially in a town that is as giving as Mahomet.

All it might entail is a phone call to the Mahomet Helping Hands to help with a distribution day or to help sort food, or maybe even just to provide something that they need more of in their store rooms.

Alternately, local businesses often have food drives and toy drives during this time of year to benefit those who are in need, so it might simply mean an extra trip to one of those businesses to drop off a toy or some cans of food.

Even schools become involved, so if your child comes home with an opportunity, maybe you can give a little extra and not only benefit someone else, but also show the spirit of giving to your child as he or she continues to grow and develop the sense to do things for others.

Take the time to consider how you might be able to lend a hand during these next few months, and while you learn more about yourself, be sure to enjoy the view.

Dealing with 'What if?' - 10-7-09 Editor's Column

We’ve all said it. Some of us probably said it today. Still more of us will say it at some point in the coming week. “What if?” Those two little words that can cause so much distress or cause us to lose focus.

What is it about “what if?” that has us so unknowingly infatuated? Perhaps it’s the fact that on some of the occasions when we ponder it, the outcome may have been more favorable.

You know what I’m talking about. Those moments when you’ve just completed a task that didn’t end the way you had hoped and, though you know there is no going back or doing it over, you ponder, “what if I had done this?”

Then you dwell on what could have been instead of focusing on what is. Instead of learning from the less than desirable outcome, you try to understand where you went wrong, diverting your focus from the next time and therefore hindering yourself.

Another area that we let “what if?” get the best of us is when we are trying to complete everyday tasks.

For example, you have a task set in front of you that should be simple enough, yet instead of working to complete said task, you try to work all the angles before you even get to them, asking “what if” this happens or “what if” this goes wrong?

It’s easy to get caught up in this - we all do it. However, there must come a time when we save the “what if’s” for the sake of progress and growth as individuals.

Perhaps the next time a situation doesn’t work out in your favor, instead of getting stuck on “what if?” you can focus on how you will perform differently the next time.

Similarly, instead of second guessing and trying to get ahead of yourself on whatever project you might be working on, you simply take a step back and experience things the way they were meant to be experienced: With a desire to complete your task and learn from it, not dissect your task and be consumed by it.

We will always ask ourselves “what if,” however if we can come to recognize those situations that don’t require it and might actually be better without it, we might be able to enjoy life a little bit more.

Just be sure to enjoy the view.

Discovering what fall is all about 9-30-09 Editor's Column

Depending on who you ask, many things could represent “what fall is all about.”

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to experience some of those possibilities by simply driving around Mahomet and spending time with local residents and visiting citizens.

For instance, this past weekend saw the conclusion of the community wide garage sales that I had the opportunity to take part in with my wife and my mother.

While out and about, I was able to see some familiar faces, meet some new people and pick up a few items that had stories of their own.

Two such items were some simple folding chairs that had been painted orange and blue and been given the traditional Illini “I” on the seat-back.

Upon talking to the woman selling them, I learned that the chairs had been her mother’s and that her mother had used the chairs at every home contest the Illini had during tailgates.

I wouldn’t even try to put a guess on the age of the chairs, but they have had their fair share of use over the years, sporting the blemishes that come with time.

Yet, those very blemishes are what I have come to believe make these chairs so valuable, which is why I look forward to continuing the stories that these simple chairs will collect.

Another sign that fall is here came in the form of a fall-favorite past time on Saturday afternoons: football and barbecue.

For those of you who were unable to make it to the first annual barbecue cook-off at the Hideaway of the Woods, it was a great example of why communities such as Mahomet are so valuable.

It brought friends and strangers together to compete in the name of the great love of barbecuing and fun. Between the bags tournament, the variety of tastes and the football game (however dismal), the commonality present was the good time that everyone was having without having to put too much effort into it.

Despite the threatening rain and the brief spits of precipitation, people were enjoying the weather, the food and the new-found friendships.

Obviously the list of things that remind us of the season could go on, but being able to experience them first-hand is what really makes them special.

Who knows, maybe this coming weekend you’ll encounter something new for your list. No matter what, though, enjoy the view.

The View From a Little, Green Park Bench - 9-23-09 Editor's Column

The places we go and the things we experience there have a funny way of resonating throughout the courses of our lives.

We always remember some of the tiniest details about places we have been based on how good or how bad the memories we have there are.

For example, I lived in Champaign until I was five years old before moving to Mahomet, and the things I remember about the house I used to live in often astound me.

I recall the stairs just inside the front door and time that I tried to mimic the movie Home Alone and sledded down them in a suitcase.

At the opposite corner of the room - the family room - was where we always put the Christmas tree and I would magically find the presents my parents had stayed up all night wrapping to keep me believing in Santa for one more year.

From there, we would walk through a doorway that led to the kitchen on the left, with a view of the backyard.

And, my personal favorite spot, was the sand pit that I would play in for hours on the west side of the house. Many G.I. Joes fought bravely there.

And that’s just the beginning of this iceberg that so many of us call life.

Recently, I added another location to the many that fill my mind as important places in my life, and this one has the simplest of demeanors: It is a two-seat, green, shaky park bench.

It’s located here in town and I had the opportunity to sit on it earlier this week, as I have so many times throughout the last year, and enjoy good conversation with good people.

The reason this simple bench resonates so much with me now is because even the best memories we have - the ones that stick out to you the most for whatever reason - don’t have to come from time spent on vacation or away from home.

Sometimes the best memories are made in places where you have good friends and good conversations.

I know for a fact that I’ve had some great conversations sitting on that simple bench, and that conversely, some of the conversations I’ve shared there have been about sensitive topics.

However, I can say with confidence that I’ve learned a great deal about myself and about people and my thoughts on them just based on the conversations I’ve shared there.

For those of you who know about the bench I’m referring to, the next time you sit down for a conversation there, think about how that conversation might open up new doors in your life, new windows in your views and new paths to your train of thought. Just make sure you don’t forget where it took place.

Whatever the case, and wherever the conversation takes place this week - green park bench or not - make sure you enjoy the view.

Those Before Us 9-16-09 Editor's Column

Perhaps this will sound a bit morbid, but each time I look at an obituary - especially those of senior citizens - I can’t help but think about what the world lost with that person’s passing.

I sit and wonder about the things that each person accomplished while on Earth and what kind of impact it had or who was inspired by it and what that meant for those who followed in their footsteps.

Then I get to thinking, am I taking advantage of the people in my life who have done great things or have great stories to share about their life experiences?

The best example of this that I can cite are my parents. There is a lifetime of experience that they have and things that even I have never heard about, but I’m sure many lessons that I could apply to my own life.

In that regard, I do try to glean what I can from them when they have advice or when they share a story that I haven’t heard before.

After all, why shouldn’t I? While the popular response is to suggest that people my age think we know everything there is to know already, I take no shame in admitting that there are a lot of things that I have yet to do that my parents, grandparents and many of my family members have done first.

While generational gaps will provide plenty of moments that my parents will need my knowledge, I know for a fact that I have asked more questions of them than they have of me.

The fact of the matter is, there is a wealth of knowledge resting directly in the hands of the generations that have come before us, whatever the age.

While there is a great deal of history to learn about from books and what we hear about in school, there is also a great deal of it that we can learn from the people closest to us who actually lived it and were part of history.

That being said, I would encourage everyone to take the time and ask someone who is your senior about his or her life and what happened in it. Perhaps you’ll hear about a great accomplishment that you never knew about. Maybe you’ll hear about a new perspective regarding a historic event.

Don’t let the knowledge and experiences of those before us go without being shared. After all, we are the ones who will carry on the stories and the memories.

And remember, with each new story, be sure to enjoy the view.

Correction to 9-9-09 Editorial

In the Sept. 9 edition of the Mahomet Citizen, the editorial regarding annexation incorrectly indicated that residents not living within the village limits did not contribute to the schools that their children attend. This information was incorrect in that village residents and non-village residents alike pay school district taxes on their properties, especially if a student is attending a school within the district. The statement indicating the contrary was made in error and the Citizen regrets this error.