Embracing the Challenge
By Danny Watson
On a beautiful Saturday morning in the city of Darlington a group of citizens, city and county workers came out to do their part to make our city a more lovely place. I don’t think that the city of Darlington or any city for that matter is ever in the business of not getting things done. Sometimes there are things lacking that will keep it from coming about. Among those things could be time, manpower or the all-important factor of money. All budgets are finite and I mean all budgets not just some, not most, but all. So how do things get done when you don’t have the money or the manpower to get them done? You have to step outside of the box and take another approach to the problem. A small strip of grass in front of a business just on the other side of the sidewalk doesn’t belong to that business does it? If it is in the right of way, who does it belong to? It’s right there in front of that business right before the building or the parking lot. One more pass with the lawn mower or one more pass with the weed eater could clear up the issue immediately. Doesn’t really seem like something that would take a Herculean effort to fix. Seems that a reasonable conclusion would be to take just a little bit more effort, a bit more grit, to make everything look better. One strip of grass left unattended that could have been mowed very easily detracts from all the effort that surrounds it. Our city can look better if each person will go just a little bit further. Our city can be better if each person will embrace the challenge of doing just a bit more. How far you go is up to you. The community cleanup day was a shining example of how much can be done when people come together for the benefit of all.
Look around at all of the wonderful things that were done in a single Saturday morning by people who were willing to give up a few hours of their time for the benefit of all.
So here’s the real challenge, not letting what has been done go to waste. By picking up that bit of trash, cutting down those weeds and grass just in front of our homes or just in front of our businesses can make a huge difference in how our town looks to us, as well as to the people who travel through it. Shouldn’t our town be a town we are proud to call our own? Shouldn’t we beam with pride when people come through and remark about how great it looks? A lot of work that changes something dramatically is wonderful. The real success however, is in the continuing commitment to keep those positive changes permanent. The city or any government entity can’t do it alone. It takes people who are willing to be a part of maintaining that change to make it last. I can only suggest you look around you and see how you can be a part of making what surrounds you better by embracing the challenge to do so. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of making a positive difference in the way our community looks. I applaud the efforts of the many people who didn’t just think it would be a good idea to make things look better, they went out and made their vision a reality. So to the city workers, county workers, city officials and citizen volunteers thank you it was a job well done.
