Amenities: Longtime residents might overlook community’s best assets

No one ever really has anything nice to say about the town in which they live.

Sure, there might be a nostalgic moment or two when you contentedly sigh that your town is “the best ever,” but when it boils down to it, there is always something wrong — traffic, too far from civilization, too close to civilization, too much crime, lack of a certain restaurant or coffee shop.

You name it; you can find a reason to critique your current address.

The same is true for those who hail from Wayne County.

Ask a newcomer and he or she can tell you all sorts of reasons to love living here. That’s what happens when you are new and don’t see all the warts and drawbacks that come with intimate knowledge of a community.

And it doesn’t hurt to have a little perspective on just how much other communities are lacking. Just ask those from the Air Force who have traveled all over the world and choose to make their retirement home right here. They must know something.

For those who have been here a while, they know where every problem is and are so used to the advantages that they do not notice the good points anymore. After all, the lack of a Red Lobster or Cracker Barrel seem so much more important when you aren’t thinking about not being stuck in traffic for 45 minutes.

So, while there are reasons to challenge the administrations of Wayne County and Goldsboro to continue to push to improve the offerings in both places, there are also reasons to focus on the potential rather than the shortfalls.

Wayne County is a family-oriented community with amenities that suit that sort of lifestyle. We might not have the hustle and bustle of the big city, but we have one right down the road and several within easy driving distance.

We might not be on the beach, but we are close enough to make it a weekend trip.

And we might not have a Red Lobster — yet — but who knows what might be coming in the future.

Towns stall when those who live in them stop remembering their good points and stop pushing their leaders to think ahead.

Wayne County’s strength is that there are a whole bunch of people — newcomers and old-timers — who aren’t willing to accept “can’t,” “won’t work” and “too expensive” when it comes to doing what is best for the future of this community.

And as long as they continue to push — and the leaders of the city and county are still listening, who knows, maybe this region can continue to attract new investment, new residents and new attention.

All it will take is a little determination — and a stubborn refusal to see the glass as half-empty.

Published in Editorials on August 1, 2007 10:42 AM