Pleasantville

Think back to the movie Pleasantville. The world seemed perfect. There were firemen who never had to put out a fire, the basketball team never missed a basket, and no matter how much butter there was on the pancakes they never gained a pound. When you look past the superficial layer of the town, there was one thing about that neighborhood that everyone watching the movie longed for, and that was a sense of community. In the movie, as people would walk down the street it was certain that they would see someone they knew.  There was never a worry because there was always someone looking out for you.

Now think back to your current neighborhood. Do you sometimes feel like your neighbors decide to turn their music up around the time you decide to go to sleep? Maybe your neighborhood is quiet, but you do not know the people walking past you every morning?  For those of you who do know your neighbors do you feel like there are not activities that bring the community together? The recently established Brownsville addresses these issues and more. Realizing that this is the 21^st century and people like to have their personal space, the homes in the neighborhood are not close together. There is a large amount or lawn space allowing you to either sit and enjoy the scenery or invite your neighbors over. The center of the town is in the midst of all the houses. The park, schools, stores and offices are within walking distance of each other. This not only encourages people to interact with each other, but it also lessen the amount or carbon produced by cars. When the day is all said and done you are able to retreat to your homes with your families or go to the park to hear a concert with a few friends. Of course each community would have its problems and that is why we’ve set up a town hall forum that is in the center if the town so that if someone has a problem they can go to the town hall to discuss it. If the problem is within a smaller group such a block of homes, there is a block association that would be able to help solve the problem. If there is a problem with your children at school, we have staff available to meet with you when it best fits you so that our children can get the best of their education.

Think back on men such as Ben Carson and Thomas Aquinas. When Ben Carson was younger he did not do well in school, in fact many of his teachers wrote him off as stupid. However, Ben went on to go to Yale and became a well-known neurosurgeon. The same for Thomas Aquinas, when he was in the university, he never answered any of his teachers’ questions. His nickname was the Dumb Ox. However, whenever someone misspoke about a particular philosophy, Thomas Aquinas was the first to correct them. Aquinas became known as one of the most influential theologians of the Church. All great things have a rough beginning and that is why we have programs set up to help ease the transition as the community gets built up even stronger.