Many hands make the work light

The distance around the world, the equatorial circumference, is about 24,900 miles.

Tonight, as I write this column it is nearing midnight in Lyon, France, 4,849 miles away from home. And, as I think of home, of loved ones there, I know it’s still daylight and their lives are keeping them busy. They’re each very close in my heart, if not in reality.

One of my first cousins is in Chian Mai, where it’s early morning, pre-dawn, and the new day is beginning.

Each of us is inextricably linked, connected by love, by blood relations, by thought, and yet are physically far removed, so far removed that if it were 1900, our hopes of seeing one another from these localities would be slim. But, today, with modern travel amenities, technology that seems to eradicate distance, and our propensity to view life in instants, we are not far from one another at all.

Some say “perspective is everything.”

I disagree.

Yes, perspective is important and can make a great difference in one’s opinion of a situation. Two people (or more) can view an incident and, because of their physical perspective, or relational perspective, tell diametrically opposite tales. And, both may be accurate. But, they may not be “right.”

For you, the reader, in Pea Ridge, your view of Pea Ridge is colored by your perspective — whether you’re relatively new in town or come from generations of native Pea Ridge residents.

Pea Ridge has changed in the past 10, 20, 30 years. But, we all have. Is it for better or worse? That depends on your perspective. But, unless you have a better plan, maybe you (and I) should do what we can to make the best of what we have.

This week, the Planning Commission members will hear several plans for new businesses and developments in town. The task these people face is monumental and thankless. They work regular jobs supporting their families and then give of their time to study the plans presented by developers and consider them in light of what is deemed best for the city. Until recently, few people from the public attended the meetings and seldom did anyone say “thank you” or commend them for their tireless work.

So, too, City Council members who spend more hours researching issues than they do at meetings trying to make wise decisions.

And, School Board members, who are not paid for their work, meet monthly (sometimes more) evaluating the business brought before them to determine what is best for the students of Pea Ridge School District, an area far larger than the city limits.

There was a time when the residents of Pea Ridge (and much of Benton County) worked and lived on their farms, traveling to town once a week and maybe into the county seat once a month. That is no longer the norm in northwest Arkansas.

There are more and more people calling Pea Ridge home, but fewer stepping up to the plate to help govern the city.

“Many hands make the work light” my greatgrandmother used to say. If each of us would contribute some time to help the city, the school, the community either in volunteering or in serving, maybe we could help smooth the process of the rapid growth that has descended upon us.

We may not all have been born here, but we’re all here now and we each have both the privilege and the responsibility of calling Pea Ridge home.

Let’s join hands in working together to make it the best it can be.

Editor’s note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County, chosen the best small weekly newspaper in Arkansas for five years. A native of Louisiana, she moved to northwest Arkansas in 1980 to work for the Benton County Daily Record. She has nine children, six sonsin-law, a daughter-in-law, nine grandsons, four granddaughters and two more granddaughters due soon. The opinions expressed are those of the author. She can be reached at abeard@nwaonline.com.