The FRANKE FLYER
arrived in the Trailside lobby on the day after the annual national holiday
completely without fanfare. It just
showed up. A copy was hung on the bulletin board (like stockings by the
Christmas fire) and extras were laid on the table to be taken at will by any
resident.
This is another example of how residents in Franke at Seaside want to know what
is happening to whom, where and when. Why being optional. It brings to mind the
effort our former neighbor Ned Hogan put forth to get a bulletin board in
Trailside (and ultimately in the three apartment houses.) Ned started putting
notices on the walls of the elevator, scotch taping such items as came to his
attention and needed (in his opinion) to be distributed. There was of course,
the usual objection (someone always objects to something) but resistance gave
way and this lead to a bulletin board on an easel in the lobby for a couple of
weeks. It became a major hit in the Trailside lobby so much so that it was hung
on the wall and remains there, although Ned has moved on to his new home
somewhere in Texas.
I thought a similar bulletin board in the Burges Center near
the in-house community mail rack (not USPS controlled) would be a good idea. But the one that went up has a
lock on it and is used only for “official” notices. My original thought was how
can a cottage dweller tell others what is on his or her mind? What if a cottage
dweller wants to sell a sofa, buy a used sauce pan, or donate a computer? How
would they get the word out? Print flyers and distribute them to every
slot in the community mail boxes. Not very cost effective. Would a resident’s bulletin board
be tacky?
Sometimes we have to relax and live a little. Instead of
fretting about what something might turn into, why not let it happen and see
where it goes. If it gets out of control it can be corrected. In all too many
ways we are besieged with information and someone’s idea of what is news. All
around us there are daily and weekly newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines,
newsletters, books, radio and TV, the internet, gossip, and plain old verbal
mischief (aka:BS). The information age is upon us ad infinitum. All of this is
information coming down on us. It is not information going up or among us. It
does not satisfy the un-yielding urge, the passion if you will, to communicate
among each other.
Long live the FRANKE FLYER. May it flourish and one day
takes its rightful place alongside the printing press, the computer and the
wagging tongue.
