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Editorial: Uncomfy ... in a good way
Op-Ed · July 24, 2014
West Branch makes us ... uncomfortable, in some ways — ways that we think are good.
In the last several weeks we’ve noticed things around town that made us stop and think, worry for a few moments, but then move on with a bit of reluctant faith.
• A lone boy, possibly in first or, at most, second grade, rode his bicycle near the Eastern Iowa Brass Band performing on July 4. The boy lingered around the creek and the bridge, but never got too close to the crowd. He found another boy there about his age, played for a while, but then rode adeptly away on his bike, alone.
• Two young boys, with the oldest perhaps in second or third grade, walked together with backpacks through the downtown. They crossed streets after looking both ways, never broke into a run and did not take time to horse around. Then they made a stop, turned around and walked back they way they came.
• At the West Branch Public Library, gobs of children roll up on their bicycles. Sometimes they fill up the bike rack, sometimes their bicycles get laid down on their sides, but can anyone remember seeing even one locked up?
• Likewise inside, during the school year, especially, the hallway leading from the vestibule to the interior library turns into a stack of backpacks, lunchboxes, musical instrument cases and jackets, not to mention school laptop bags. But how many go missing? Even if something should disappear, it does not seem to phase the rest of the crowd into lugging their belongings along with them.
• Right now, take a walk across the Oliphant Street football field, or through one of the Hoover Elementary playgrounds. Try to walk from one end to the other without seeing a perfectly good basketball, kickball or soccer ball. It seems apparent that balls and other equipment do not get left behind because they were lost, but because somebody had to leave and they figured the items would still be there when they got back.
Some might read the above and fret with worry that a parent or child behaved recklessly or carelessly. We admit that it gives us a level of unease when we see children of such young ages without supervision, and that we’re surprised when things of value get left out where just anyone could come along and pick them up.
But what if, time and time again, young children walked safely about town? What if items of value continually get left behind or laid down, yet their owners not only find them when they go looking, but they forget to worry that they may get stolen at all?
We’re not saying that West Branch is without crime. The police department this past week received reports of a theft inside a retail establishment, a driver under the influence, and damage to a hotel room.
But it is clear that the presence of the criminal element in this city is far less powerful than those who keep a watchful eye — or at least, seem to — on others and their stuff.
This is a big reason why small towns like ours are a great place to live. This is something we should pass on to our children for generations, even if it gives us a bit of unease.
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