Children cannot wait for Christmas! They get giddy just thinking about all those exciting things they’re going to receive. However, as we grow older, that childish giddiness recedes. For my wife and me, we tend to prefer a weekend in New York or Philadelphia, along with a concert, ballet or play.
Not only do Christmas wishes change, but what we enjoy out of life changes as well. I used to work to bring home a living; but, at my age, I seek satisfaction, and fortunately, my work at the Herald fulfills that for me. My wife and I had one child when we moved to Cape May County in 1974, then added three more. Cape May County is our home, and life here has been good. I’ve been blessed. What now brings me satisfaction is my efforts to give back.
So what do I want this Christmas? To see our community thrive like never before. To this end, I am enormously blessed to be able to work with a community group which shares that desire. I am referring to the Cape Issues group, which has been working for the last 10 years on our respective projects and who meet monthly for discussion.
What types of things do we work on? Education, for one thing, because it is key to the long-range success of every community. America has lost enormous ground in our educational standing amongst the developed nations of the world, ground we must regain. What form should the educational system take in Cape May County moving forward? We are looking for answers to that question.
We are also focusing on economic development, but not in a vacuum. Economic development, education, and training must be pursued together.,
Infrastructure is an integral part of any advanced community. What form should our roads, bridges and public transportation take, both within our county and beyond, connecting us to the metropolitan centers which surround us?
What about the health, beauty, art, culture, and environment of our county? We are studying these topics.
What about our governmental and taxing structures? We have entered a new millennium. The world has undergone a sea change; for us to thrive in this new world, we must rethink everything.
Cape May County is ever less a community of year-round residents. How do we structure ourselves to be responsive to property owners who don’t vote here?
What is my request of Santa? For the efforts of the people of Cape Issues to bear much fruit so that Cape May County may thrive.
If you have interest in joining our work, please contact me.
Merry Christmas!
