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A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
8
December 20, 2012
Next month, after all the holi-
day events have ended, the deco-
rations come down and been
packed away and the gift returns
completed, the 31st Annual
Plymouth Ice Festival will take
place.
The event, originally conceived
to help businesses during one of
the slowest times of the year, will
bring about 100,000 people to
downtown Plymouth to see ice
carvings of all sizes and shapes,
carvers competing with chain
saws and a lot of entertainment
and outdoor activities.
It's all free.
Why then, we can't help but
wonder, does there seem to be an
almost antagonistic attitude from
some individuals about such a ter-
rific event?
Last year, a chamber of com-
merce representative reportedly
told several people that the festi-
val was in jeopardy of not happen-
ing. This year, the city manager
allegedly complained publicly
about unpaid fees and threatened
not to put the required city per-
mits on the city commission agen-
da.
It would seem to us that any
community lucky enough to have
an event which has proven to be
such an overwhelming success
should be supporting and promot-
ing the festival. Perhaps there are
problems we are unaware of, but
we cannot fathom what those
might be, and nobody we ask has
any specific complaints.
We realize that there are issues
of police protection, lots of extra
work for the DPW and a big
increase in the use of some other
city services. But this event brings
people into the downtown during
a serious downturn in business
and festival organizers pay for
these services. Shouldn't the
chamber of commerce, the down-
town development authority and
the city administration be sup-
porting and helping such an
undertaking in any way they can
rather than spreading salacious
gossip and rumors about the very
future of the event?
Many other communities are
now attempting to copy what
Plymouth does at this festival
every year. Some do a very nice
job, others, well they have a long
way to go. All pale in the shadow
of Plymouth, however, where the
professional ice carvers, the TV
celebrities, the skiing and snow-
boarding demonstrations and the
entertainment make it worth the
trip for so many families who
need something to get them out of
thehouse inmid-January.
Do they all shop in the stores
they pass as they walk through
town looking at the carvings busi-
nesses pay to have put in front of
their shops?No, but many of them
Who knew one could pay off
theirmortgage atMacy's?
Seriously, that is the only expla-
nation for the time it took this
morning for the woman four peo-
ple ahead of me in line at the reg-
ister to dowhatever shewas doing.
I was, like just about everyone else
in the world, Christmas shopping
for gifts and very, very short on
time.
This lady obviously had all the
time in the world, however,
because we waited and waited
andwaited….after the first 15min-
utes the bargain-priced crockpot I
was trying to buyweighed about as
much as Dumbo and my arm was
trying to leave my body at the
shoulder in protest. I also had sev-
eral other packages I was attempt-
ing to juggle because, of course,
Macy's had run out of shopping
bags. Not to worry, however,
because the nice clerk assuredme
some would be delivered by that
afternoon, maybe. That would be
after the boxes were resupplied
because the store was out of those,
too.
All of this added to my bright
and cheerful holiday mood as I
stood there, baking in my winter
coat, waiting in line for
Tallulabelle or what-ever-her-
name-was to finish whatever she
was doing. Seriously, what on
Earth could take that long?
Whatever it was, she had all
three clerks involved in helping
her do it. To say I was having
uncharitable thoughts that were
certainly un-Christmaslike would
be putting it mildly. I don't take to
that kind of situation with any
grace at all. None. These situa-
tions, among others, prompt my
sarcastic and abrasive nature to
reveal itself. I have, I admit, in the
past been responsible for riots in
these situations. And, if you have
ever carried a crock-pot for 25
minutes, you understand that
those puppies areheavy.
First, I mumbled under my
breath as I attempted to juggle
packages to keep my arms from
stretching out like that cartoon
superhero. Thenmy remarks got a
bit louder. I made comments like,
“Please, don't hurry, the rest of us
in line here have all the time in
the world,” to
which
the
women in front
and back of me
began giggling. Then I may have
said something like, “Maybe I
should have packed a lunch.” At
that, several of my fellow “wait-
ees” began to smirk. I suspect that
when I pulled out the big guns,
that remark about the mortgage
payoff, the rest of the line started
to get ugly. Then, although I know I
shouldn't have, I asked if anyone
had a deck of cards because I was
sure we had time for a few hands
of pinochle.
By this time, all three clerks
had enlisted the help of amanager
and the four of them were all
doing whatever they were doing to
accommodate the woman STILL
at the register while the rest of us
stood there, sweating and aching,
The school shootings in Connecticut have prompted com-
ment fromevery news sourcewithany access to an audience.
The scenes of those rescued children being rushed from
the building by teachers, parents, police officers and EMTs
will not soon be forgotten by anyone. The horror and pain
etched on the faces of thosewho lost children, sisters, friends
and fellowstaffmembers is burned into ourmemories.
And this week, when the photographs of the children
killed, along with the school principal and teachers who lost
their lives, weremade public, hearts across our country liter-
ally achedwithdespair over such senseless cruelty.
We've heard pleas from those who demand more gun con-
trol, we've been inundatedwith cries formore help and a bet-
ter attitude about mental illness and every aspect of every
action taken by every person involved has been reported and
analyzedbeyond reason.
In school districts across America and here, in our area,
officials have been attempting to communicate with parents
about the best ways to talk to their children about what hap-
pened and reassure those parents about safety procedures at
the schools they attend.
We commend them for those attempts to help and are sure
that the schools in our area are as safe as possible for the
children who spend most of their day in them. Those efforts
to try and help and reassure parents and students are laud-
able, but still, ineffective in the face of the determination and
planning of a sickmind at work in theSandyHook incident.
This tragedy was not a failure of the school or its systems.
It wasn't a failure of parenting, of the mental health care sys-
temor any one of the other factors the news media continues
to harp after, seeking someone, something to blame for this
horror. That flailing about, seeking somewhere to level blame
is part of human nature, we suspect, but futile and counter-
productive in this situation.
This was, we believe, the result of a combination of too
many factors to measure, too many circumstances to exam-
ine and toomany bad ramifications to ever consider.
We do know that the bravery and dedication of the teach-
ers at that school cannot ever be overlooked or overempha-
sized. Teachers hid children in bathrooms, in closets, in
cloakrooms, warned them to be very, very quiet and told
them they were loved while gunfire sounded through the
hallways of the school. Two of those teachers, trying to pro-
tect their charges, were reportedly gunned down while the
children they hid remained safe.
That kind of heroism, that sacrifice, cannot go unnoticed.
That dedication to protect the youngest and most helpless is
an indication of the true heights to which the human spirit
can soar.
While the gunman represents the very worst of the human
psyche and mind, these teachers represent the very best. We
don't believe for a moment that these teachers are alone in
that dedication and determination to educate, care for and
protect the children in their classrooms every day.
We should all be grateful that people of this character and
moral fiber are taking care of the children of our country and
our community.
What happened in that small, quiet town is a tragedy
beyond comprehension. It also marks some of the most hero-
ic actions of our fellowman.
‘Frosty’
attitude is
puzzling
Then, although I know I shouldn't have,
I asked if anyone had a deck of cards because
I was sure we had time for a few hands of pinochle.
”
We do know that the bravery and dedication
of the teachers at that school cannot ever be
overlooked or overemphasized.
”
A little shopping sarcasm to brighten up the season
Sandy Hook showed us the worst and the best
Commissioner sends greetings
To the editor;
It has been a pleasure serving as
your District 12 Commissioner. I
am proud to have served and rep-
resent you for the past two terms
on the Wayne County Commission.
I would like to thank all of those
who have relayed their concerns to
me over the years and I hope that
those concerns have been properly
resolved.
I would like to thank each of you
and the three communities of
Westland, Inkster and south
Livonia for givingme the extraordi-
nary opportunity to make a differ-
ence in Wayne County. As the
author of the Ethics Ordinance, I
know that I have left a mark on the
Commission and have high hopes
that we, with your help, are headed
in the right direction.
The Wayne County Commission
districts have been redrawn and
will take effect at the beginning of
the New Year. The current district
will be split up between four of the
newdistricts. Depending onwhere
you live, your new commissioner
will either be Diane Webb, Laura
Cox, Kevin McNamara, or current
State Representative Richard
LeBlanc. You can find the new dis-
trict maps by visiting the following
web
page:
http://www.co.wayne.mi.us/docu-
ments/elections_docs/Plan060111.p
df . I wish them the best of luck
throughout their terms.
Letters
See
Shopping,
page 9
See
Festival,
page 9
See
Letters,
page 9