Sylvia's Journal

Yesterday was all about money, some big for us, some big for the town. First there was the signing of our new mortgage which got us the lowest rate ever just the day after interest rates are going up. For once we are lucky on that front. It will shave a few 100 dollars of our payments to the bank each month and thousands off the interest we are paying. We hope this is the last time we have to do this. Fifteen years from now we should be the proud owners of our house. We will be in or close to our eighties.

The annual town meeting took place in the elementary school gym. Years ago I had to sit on the bleachers where the non-voting members of the public have to sit. That was before I became an American citizen. Now I could vote.  The annual town meeting is a highly choreographed form of democracy with lots of rules that are either law, Roberts’ rules or the veteran town moderator’s established ways of keeping things moving, people in line and the input limited.

One item on the warrant that did not pass was a classic example of the proposers not having done their homework (or at least most of them – some had), polarizing viewpoints rather than finding the common ground that, I am sure, is there. It pits one group (historical preservation) against another (wealthy home owners) in a needlessly confrontational way that obscures the common good behind self interest. Too bad.

We quietly left the meeting when item 18 (of 29) was up for vote, because it was, after all, a school night, with the next day my first day in the office in nearly 2 months.

The ride to work is easier now, leaving in the semi-dark and arriving in full daylight – it makes the commute slightly easier. I discovered I am sharing my office now with a new arrival. It feels a little cramped.