Dear Harold:
What you are feeling is quite normal. Even adults often think that things
would be better in other circumstances. We are always looking for better jobs,
better houses, better places to vacation, etc. A lot of people think that
Sudbury is a dump, not a place where they want to spend the rest of their life.
Read the little story that follows, called "The Golden Windows". It
is about a young person who thought the same as you.
There was once a young boy living on a farm which seemed like so far away
from everywhere. He needed to get up before sunrise every morning to start his
chores and out again later to do the evening ones. During sunrise he would take
a break and climb up on the fence so in the distance he could see the house with
golden windows. He thought how great it would be to live there and his mind
would wander to imagine the modern equipment and appliances that might exist in
the house.
"If they can afford golden windows, then they must have other nice
things too." He promised himself that some day he would go there and see
this wonderful place for himself.
Then one morning his father told him to stay home and his father would do the
chores. Knowing that this was his chance, he packed a sandwich and headed across
the field towards the house with the golden windows.
As the afternoon went on, he began to realize how he misjudged the distance
and something else was very wrong. As he approached the house, he saw no golden
windows, but instead a place with a broken down fence. He went to the tattered
screen door and knocked. A boy very close to his own age opened the door.
He asked him if he has seen the house with the golden windows. The boy said,
"Sure, I know." and invited him to sit on the porch. As he sat there,
he looked back from where he just came where the sunset turned the windows on
his home to Gold.
So, Harold, what appears to be "golden" is sometimes just an
illusion. You may not realize it, but there are a lot of things about living in
the Sudbury area that people in other places would love. To them, you are the
lucky one. You have everything they are looking for - all you have to do is look
at things the right way.
In the story, the first boy saw the sun reflecting on the distant windows
each morning. To him, that was the place where all the riches lie. To the other
boy, who saw the sun reflecting on the first boy’s windows as the sun set in
the evening, that was where the riches must surely lie. It’s all a matter of
perception.
You will have your chance to discover for yourself what lies outside this
region. When you get there, however, don’t forget to look back once in a while
and see the golden windows that we have in Sudbury.
Robert Kirwan: Editor
