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Montebello E-News

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all.

February 14, 2009

 In government offices which are sensitive to the vehemence and passion of mass sentiment public men have no sure tenure. They are in effect perpetual office seekers, always on trial for their political lives, always required to court their restless constituents.
 
It is perfectly true that that government is best which governs least. It is equally true that that government is best which provides most.

Walter Lippman

 1. Announcement

2. A Young Woman’s Frog in the Well

3. About Montebello E-News and "My Montebello"  

Better Late Than Never.  It is sadly amusing that our city’s communication system stops e-mail to city staff and, to compound matters, our community as a whole does not consider communication a priority.  But there are exceptions, like the following from Spotlight on Montebello, February, 2009:

Have you heard the slogan, “ Montebello :  Model of Mediocrity for the New Millennium”?  When I look at the rumination below, from an eleventh grader, I think that we need not be in thrall to mediocrity.  (I say “rumination” because her eloquent writing is but an e-mail in reply to my remark about her Web site, where she had a symbolic frog in a well looking up and seeing only a piece of the sky.)  The student does not attend in Montebello Unified School District , but I wish we had a hundred like her.

When I used the metaphor of the trapped frog, it was meant to be a comparison to me. However, I have found that this metaphor can be coined for many (if not most) people on the planet. I say this in two ways: 1) some people are too focused and concentrated in their world to even ponder if they may be a bigger world out there (whether by will or force, that is a different question) and 2) others are mentally afraid to leave their comfort zone. Most are victims of the former; however, I do think many teenagers today are in the latter group. They know there might be a different world out there, one with opportunities and dreams yet they do not pursue it for the fear of "inconvenience" and "attention". I am, I guess, a bit of both.

Many unknowingly built the invisible walls of the well and trapped themselves in it. These people are surrounded by endless bricks that weigh down on their conscience. These bricks, though I speak figuratively, are actual stress like family, friends, work, etc that weighs down on these poor people. The bricks only serve to build the wall taller and thus, the sky above only becomes smaller. Soon the sky is no more but a figment of imagination. What was once freedom now becomes a dream. The frog, similarly, is trapped and can only dream. Thus, the frog will only see a tiny area of the sky. It does not know of the world out there.

Furthermore, many young people built this mental barrier to distance themselves from reality. So, they cannot see outside this well. Unfortunately, they ENJOY being in the well were there is food and shelter. These people prefer to be comfortable rather than be out there are explore the world.

In conclusion, the walls are mentally placed by ourselves and not really there. For humans, we built the well. The well closes the surrounding area and the sky. Hence, we cannot see outside. The only difference between us and the frog is that we ourselves CHOOSE to be in the well. The frog cannot control his surroundings because he was born in the well. Humans are meant to place bricks on his own castle and fortress not to enclose himself in a well. The frog, sadly, cannot do anything.

To learn about this newsletter, Montebello E-News, and the accompanying, growing Web site, “My Montebello”, visit www.mymontebello.com.  Also, you will find instructions and contact information for submitting announcements for publication in this newsletter, and for submitting stories to “Montebello Memories” at the Web site.