The Observation Deck

Will their be peace on earth and peace in Lakewood?

Will we learn to love our neighbors and our "perceived" enemies?

Will we join Gary Rice for a rousing chorus of Kumbaya?

Sometimes we have the best intentions (in our minds) that may seem offensive to others.

In the end everyone wants the same thing: a quiet clean town, generosity and understanding.

Hopefully these things will come in the New Year.

Then again, maybe not.

Happy Holidays!

Hi Sharon,

Many years ago, if I recall correctly, John Lennon and Yoko Ono put up a billboard in New York, saying "War is over, if you want it".

All kinds of war can be over for each of us...if we want it.

When we were young, we thought that we could change so many things, and maybe we did, after all. We have a woman running for President, there is no active drafting for the military presently gong on, and we did in fact, get out of Vietnam.

Of course we would be deceiving ourselves if we thought that things are better now, or for that matter, were worse back then.

Peace really does begin in each of our hearts. Maybe more Lakewood peace will begin at Jimmy's LO bash on the 20th of January at Mahall's from 3-7?

Maybe we will sit down with our fellow 'Deckers and find more common ground, or civility? Hopefully the bowling balls will go DOWN the alley, and not land on someones toe, or get shoved into cannons...

I hope that we all will one day realize that, while differences with points of view will always be a part of our lives, the vicious rhetoric of mud-slinging and hate speech that seems to so often prevail around us, does not have to be what we must do in response. We can choose peace and conflict resolution within ourselves; each in our own way.

Quakers have a great saying when they arrive at impasse and cannot seem to compromise on an issue. They simply say "Way will open", meaning that the future will reveal what must be done, even though a solution is not presently clear to them.

And you know, way always does open...

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year and Kwanzaa to everyone.

Peace to you all. Kumbayah, indeed.

Gary

I believe that a higher consciousness for all of mankind and womankind (world) is on the way in 2008.

2008 will bring us tax season, election season, more global warming, higher gas prices, more foreclosed houses, a new mayor to solve our problems, 12 books to read from Oprah, Beijing Olympics, and that all to familiar saying "our team will do better next year."

Joe, you seem a little pessimistic.

I do agree that it will bring us a new election season. Maybe I'm an optimist. With every election season I see hope of us having a better country and better world. Now to the realistic side (I've only picked the presidential candidate in all my years of voting right 1X). But hope springs eternal.

At this point I listen and I wonder if we will follow Dennis Kucinich's single payer health care program. I wonder if we will listen to Ron Paul's message of getting out of our intanglements in other countries and stopping the war and bringing our troops home and either returning that money to the taxpayers, bringing down the debt or taking care of domestic problems.

I wonder if we will follow Obama's message of harmony and the fact that we are our brother's keeper or Edward's message of getting rid of the two America's.

I wonder if we will listen to Ron Paul's message about our economy before it is too late. Will we listen to Al Gore's message about Global Warming? Will we listen to McCain's message that torture is wrong?

We are having hot debates in our home about who is the best leader for our future. I'm optimistic that we will choose one of them.

2008..... Reading the five or six previous postings, I think I am somewhere in the middle. One thing I can say in disagreement with Joe is we had a heck of a year in Cleveland Sports. For the first time in Cleveland Sports history if the Browns can pull a win out this weekend, all three sports teams will be in the playoffs in the same year...That is a great accomplishment, not duplicated by any other city in America in the last 10 years.

What I hope for in 2008 for the city of Lakewood, is a few things; first, I hope our elected Mayor does an effective job of transition the city. This is crucial in early success of his term. I hope he is open minded to economic development projects, and finally I hope he finds a way to balance our budget without having to raise taxes on property owners even higher than they already are. Second, I hope the city finds a means to assist the Police Department meet the needs of the changing landscape of Lakewood. We have a dated headquarters, and small jail facility. We need to find a way to meet the demands of our great police force. Third, I hope more people step forward and take an active interest in the city. As I said before, the only way things can get done is if more people express their views and get more involved. Fourth, I hope our Public Education gets better, we have seen our school system continue to struggle to meet minimum state requirements, yet we keep throwing money into the schools and not seeing any better results. Finally, I hope we see strong leaders emerge for the city over the next 12 months, people who are in for the long haul to make tough decisions and stick with them and see them through.

Maybe I am asking too much....but I think we can continue to grow Lakewood, and move it forward starting in the new year.

A bowling party January 20th to be announced shortly.

A new larger family.

A new effort in Lakewood.

Dog Art, and Walks to go with them.

Thursday LEAF get togethers

Music and jugglers in the streets.

Midnight rides and tour busses.

A new positive energy that pushes this city forward, with or without the help of others.

It is all good.


.

Remember the Law of Attraction - what you think about you get.

The universe is a fascinating place and we would all be wise to pay attention. In my own personal experience, I can say that what I thought about, I got, and then some. 2007 was truly a spectacular year and 2008 is looking the same or better.

here's a thought - what would happen if we all decided to think positively? If we all said every day, 2008 is Lakewood's year. 2008 is the year Lakewood soars.

Try it on for size. As my grandmother used to say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!