The Boss (DR) tells me that we need a person to make telephone calls for donations. 

Is this you?  Is the phone your thing?  Are you magic on the cell? (I'm not).  Leave your name under 'volunteer categories' if you think this is calling out to you (I know you think that this is a pun, but in fact it is me trying to avoid getting all religion-y and talking about 'calling')  (Great- now I have).

So there's that.  Also, whatever reason you have to be festive at this time of the year, I hope that it treats you well, and doesn't stress you out, but gives you actual renewal of energy.

Over and out.

"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is"
-Winston Churchill

Read that quote a second time and think about it.  Then look at this, from the police log quoted in Peabody Patch, under Nov. 30th:

"11:58 a.m. Police said some drugs that were found in a sandbox at the Welch School were turned in at the station. No further details were available."  (The actual link is here)

Drugs.  At the school our children attend.  And you know where the only "sandbox" is, right?  You guessed it:  where the playground used to be.

Now, keep in mind that the realities of modern life and of the community are what they are.  This drug activity could just as well have gone on in this location if we had the nicest, most expensive playground in Massachusetts.  It likely happened at night when no one is on a playground anyway.

On the other hand, perhaps this seems like a good location since relatively few people are there at night.  Perhaps relatively few are there at night because there's no playground, or because this sort of thing is easy to hide in sand.

But like it or not, explain it away however you want- the truth of the matter (assuming Patch's information is correct) is right there before us.  And I for one don't want to think about my child attending a school where drugs are found in the very place they play.

I suppose that could sound like an accusation against the school, but please don't take it that way.  It certainly isn't my intention.  I know the people who work to make the school what it is, and they are hard working, giving people who love not only the school but the surrounding community.

Instead, I share this and say these words to strengthen our resolve.  As the old quote saying goes, you can either light a candle or curse the darkness.  And do you know how much difference cursing makes to the darkness?  None.

Maybe there are more issues at play here than we can take on all at once.  That's unimportant.  What is clear and present, is that this undesirable element seems to think Welch is a good and safe place for them to be.  And one thing that can change that, the thing we have chosen to do,  is to get a playground built for the children of Welch School.  One to be proud of.  One that can be a well-lit, well-maintained beacon that says we care about this school and those who don't aren't welcome on its grounds.

I hope that this strengthens your resolve to help us make this playground a reality.  I know it does mine.
-Rob
_

Just wanted to say hi and then we can get on with getting some playground built.

My name is Rob and I have a kid at Welch School.  I like to spend time outdoors, at the beach, in the various state parks around the area, etc.  My favorite thing, the passion of my life, other than my family, is cycling.  Mountain biking, mostly.

I grew up north of Pittsburgh, PA, and went to college there, then moved to MA in 1994.  I'm not sure, but I think that makes me a New Englander pretty soon.  I moved up here to attend seminary.  Yeah, that's graduate school for preachers.  I did that for awhile, but I'm not right now.

This is a rather hard thing to write, actually, because you're here to learn about getting a playground built for our kids.  Who cares about me?  Nobody, and that's how it should be.  It's also how it will be, after this first post.

To finish, let me just list a few of my biases, so that you'll know what to expect from me.  I hate litter.  I think it's lazy and disrespectful- not to others, necessarily, but to the person doing it.  Like fouling your own nest.  Also, I don't have much patience for process- I always want to get things done now.  While the intelligent part of my brain (such as it is) knows this is how it has to be, don't be surprised if what you read from me comes across as a little dramatic sometimes.

And... that's all you need to know about me.  I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog posts.

PTO meeting tonight - please come if you can! Not just playground focused obviously, but we will talk about it. The interim superintendent- Dr. Levine - will be joining us.  The next playground meeting will be in January. I will let you know what the date is asap.