An interesting thing has been happening over the past few months: I’ve been getting irritated more often – and smiling about it.
You read that correctly. Mild irritation seems to be happening to me more-frequently these days. Then, upon reflection, I smile about it.
Before explaining, I should offer a bit of background. Johnstown has been my home for almost 40 years. Around the same time I arrived, local jobs started to leave.
For 30 years I observed and reported upon the community as a journalist. While my practice of journalism largely stopped about 15 years ago (with the exception of this column), my long-time habit of observing the community has continued.
During all of that time, I’ve lived in the same neighborhood, driven down the same streets to the same traffic lights and made the same turns. So, when something changes – even something subtle – I tend to notice.
Lately, those turns have been taking a bit longer to make while I wait for a few extra vehicles to go through the intersection. Because of my practice of doing everything at the last minute, I’m almost always in a rush, sothese slight delays are irritating.
Why would this be a source of smiles? Those extra vehicles suggest that traffic is growing a bit – and I’m sensing this not just around my neighborhood but all around town.
While I can’t measure it, my observations are suggestingthat Johnstown is getting busier. And that thought makes me smile.
Some other, equally non-empirical observations have been supporting this opinion. Property improvements seem to be increasing.
A lot of it has been taking the form of demolition, mostly of blighted, abandoned properties. That’s a mixed blessing, since the usually resultant vacant lots are just marginal improvements.
But I’m noticing more true improvements as well to both residential and commercial properties – not dramatic improvements for the most part but improvements nonetheless.
This could be the latest example of my eternal optimism at work. For strong arguments could be made that Johnstown has never been in worse shape.
Death listings for people in their 20s and 30s have become far too common. Brazen acts of violence regularly occur on city streets in broad daylight. Obesity rates are off the charts for both adults and young people. High-school dropout rates in some City neighborhoods are nearly 50%. Too many people are living in poverty.
But for every negative trend, there are two positive ones. A community improvement program, called Vision 2025, has inspired hundreds of volunteers to tackle challenges that have meaning to them. Three local foundations are awarding millions of dollars in grants annually for worthwhile projects.
Greater Johnstown’s activity calendar is crowded year-round. There are at least a half-dozen sizable festivals and two major sports tournaments that draw visitors from around the nation.
Economic, business and cultural organizations are exploring new collaborative efforts. Recreation groups are developing new resources along the Stonycreek River and around Quemahoning Lake.
People are working hard to develop new businesses and preserve old buildings. Active efforts are underway to improve the community’s appearance and create a cultural district.
I’m seeing a community that’s getting busier. And I suspect this is not just the case in Johnstown but elsewhere around the Alleghenies as well.
How many of these same observations could be made in your community? Consider the activity currently underway around you and compare it to what you observed one decade, two decades, three decades ago.
Yes, we have serious problems – with no simple solutions – that exist in all of our communities; problems thatwill persist for the foreseeable future. And, yes, we clearly aren’t busy enough.
But I’m seeing a region on the rise. Call me Pollyanna, a hopeless optimist, naïve or rosy viewed. I’m more than ready to grin and bear it – and the irritations.