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It’s not all that different

Commentary

While chaos reigns in our nation’s capital with partisanship seemingly to be in control, in our neighboring village, infighting continues among trustees, and fingers are pointing in all directions. But on the shores of Lake Erie this small slice of Chautauqua County is becoming the destination for many of our area residents.

Summer is coming to a close, and before we know it Labor Day will be here and it will be back to school for our children, digging out the winter coats, gloves and hats and preparing for shorter days and longer nights. That’s just the way it is up here in Western New York — everything is cyclical.

As for me, I don’t like chaos or infighting and I learned long ago that when one points their finger at someone else, there are always three more pointing back to themselves. When it comes to the ending of summer, that is not welcomed by me either; I love summer! Right now, my tomatoes are ripening faster than I can eat them or give them away; my peach tree is loaded with sweet juicy peaches, the apple trees will provide enough apples for more than a few pies and the limbs of the pear trees are bending downward from the weight of the fruit hanging from them. Yessir, I love summer with its easy warm days and gentle breezes.

Summer also brings a myriad of outdoor activities. There are farmer’s markets, concerts in the parks and music on the pier. It seems there is always a county fair somewhere, beach bashes, canal side, softball tournaments and of course swimming and fishing in the lake, all of which help to make this time of the year in this part of the country special, no matter in what village, town, hamlet or city in which one lives.

But, alas, summer will leave us and we will once again enjoy the colors of Autumn like no place else in the country. There will be the aroma of the grapes wafting across fields as they ripen on the vines, pumpkin patches will deliver a plethora of great orange gourds, and the children will begin to think of what ghoul or goblin they will dress as for Halloween. But I fear the chaos in the political circles will remain. For, this is an election year, albeit not locally.

Will there be a blue wave or will the color of the Congress remain red after the mid-term elections this November? With tell all books being released from past Whitehouse insiders such as Michael Wolff’s “Fire & Fury,” Fox News’s Howard Kurtz “Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press, and The War Over the Truth” to be released in January, or the most recently release by Omarosa Manigault Newman, “Unhinged: An Insider Account of the Trump White House” one must wonder what this winter will bring.

I find it almost amusing at times when I see one politician blaming another for the chaos or lack of progress whether it be locally or nationally. It seems to me that the very idea of getting to elected office with the promise to serve the people is forgotten immediately when the title changes from candidate to that of the office for which they campaigned. When President Trump said he was going to Washington to “drain the swamp” it seems to me that he brought along a few alligators of his own to replace those who left or are leaving — from where I sit, the swamp remains a swamp. It takes work from an honest broker to make a difference — just look at where there is progress happening versus chaos and infighting right here in our own little corner of the world.

I share with you an excerpt from my book, “Thunder of Silence,” “Sometimes even Angels weep for promises made which we can’t keep. And footsteps follow us which we cannot hear, until their silence turns into fear.” I believe there may be some national as well as local politicians who are regretting some of their promises today, and who feel the fear of silent footsteps. Maybe it’s time for some self-reflection among these elected officials.

Ah, summer, must you go so soon and leave us to the cruel winds of winter that will surely follow the joy of children going door to door singing out “trick or treat”, the falling of the gold and red leaves to soon be covered with snow, and the looming mid-term election with its both old and new faces, and yet to be determined promises to be kept along with chaos, in-fighting, finger pointing and let us not forget the swamp. Until then, I’ll enjoy the peaches, tomatoes and sitting on my patio with a glass of wine.

Everything is cyclical after all.

Have a great day.

Vicki Westling is a Dunkirk resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com

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