Thursday, November 22, 2012

One Big Turkey


I have many things to be thankful for one of which is I am a cancer survivor and many in my family have worked to beat this dreadful disease, some we have lost because the beast was stronger and some are still fighting the battle.   I am also thankful that the town that I live in supports so many wonderful events that help to fund research for things such as this, but with that said thankfulness went out the door this morning when loud music and voices traveled across the borough to awaken not only me, but many residents on a day where we should have had the choice to sleep in.  Today November 23, 2012 Downingtown held a Turkey Trot, to benefit West’s track team and two very worthwhile cancer charities, which in itself is a great idea, but when an event bypasses ordinances of said borough and awakens residents before 7am then I am not so sure that the idea is such a good one.
According to Code 173-6C "No mass gathering authorized pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be held or conducted between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.” yet I and several other people were rudely awakened before 7am by music and voices over loud speakers.  People began asking on JCG’s Facebook page what was going on and several were not exactly thrilled to have their day of rest arrested “173-6I. At no time shall music be played by mechanical devices or live performance which annoys, disturbs, endangers or might annoy, disturb or endanger the public's health, comfort, safety, repose and peace.”  Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but those of us who live in Johnsontown live at the very edge of the borough and should not have heard the loudspeakers like it was happening in our own neighborhood, and even people on the east end of the borough were able to hear the hullabaloo.

In addition to the noise, Downingtown officers who were on night shift were required to work from 7pm to 11am instead of the normal 7pm to 7am and then will need to return to work at 6:45 this evening to work until 7am tomorrow morning.  This means that they get no time with their families if they expect to be rested and ready to start their shift tonight which requires them to carry a firearm.  Public Works also had to work overtime for this event because the course went through parts of town.   West Chester had a Turkey Trot also this season, but they managed to have it without making it a nuisance at best and a non-holiday at worst.
To start with there was no reason that this event had to be held today.  Today is a day that should be spent with families and being thankful for what we have, not having our sleep interrupted by overly loud speakers spewing music and voices before 7am in the morning, having our officers and public workers spending extra time on duty and for people to say I did the Turkey Trot.  There are other days leading up to and after Thanksgiving Day that the event could have been held with the same amount of enthusiasm.

 Downingtown is known to be the place to have your event, but it shouldn’t be known as the place to have your event at the cost of the residents, officers and public workers and on a day that should be spent at a long table speaking to family we haven’t seen since last year and consuming food that could feed a small country, wondering if you are old enough to leave the kids table and being thankful enough that we are alive and for all we have.

8 comments:

  1. A few manners just might kill you. A Turkey Trot is not fitness it's self agrandizement. Besides what you call fitness should not infringe on other people's day PERIOD!

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  2. I love how people grow a set of testicles under a cloak of anonymity. If the first poster had any kind of character, or even courage, they would at the very least sign their full name to it. These are the kind of comments one sees on the internet because there is no repercussions for actions. They do not have to see a hurt look, or answer for anything. I think this is one of the reasons why the internet is so popular. It fills my heart with sadness at the lack of courtesy and decorum that is found in blogs like this. Someone blogs about a serious issue that had an effect on many people. Then some low life scum bag, nuttless oxygen thief comes on here and makes a hurtful snap comment, to inflate the lower then whale poo self esteem they have of themselves. People like that show me there is a reason for a place called HELL. I too heard the loud speaking and noise generated by the Turkey Trot from my home. I am up before the sun is up anyway so it did not wake me up. If my kids were still babies and lived at home this would have been a much bigger issue for me. SHAME on the people who run this event for not being considerate to the people who live here. Good cause or not !!

    DOWNINGTOWN RESIDENT

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  3. If you have a problem with when this event was held and the volume of the loud speakers, it is perfectly within your rights to speak up about it without someone insulting you about your fitness or lack thereof.

    You go beyond the pale, however, when you get personal. Then you seem surprised when someone gets personal with you. You try to negate the good deeds of your neighbors (most of whom had no idea who had to work overtime), whose time and effort were selflessly spent raising money to help fight childhood cancer. You publicly assume the worst of their generosity of spirit, calling it "self-aggrandizement" and assume they are inconsiderate. Interesting, too, is someone hypocritically calling an anonymous person a coward--anonymously, hoping that they will go to hell, and calling another human being an oxygen thief. Which is the worst of these sins? Could good points have been made without the attacks? Absolutely. Since someone has brought hell into the conversation, maybe he/she should recall the gospel of Matthew:

     “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

    “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

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  4. First of all I applauded the efforts just not how it was brought about in the first place, nor when it was held. Yes admittedly I was not so nice, however it was after I was told to "get my butt out of bed and go get some fitness", so you might want to go back and read what was written all the way through before you comment as you have. If you have a beef by what was said by someone then address them not make a general comment because as it is your quoting scripture looks like nothing more like hypocritical speech....that which of course was portrayed by the Pharisees and the Saducees since they were scholars of scripture, but had no clear understanding of it.

    Yes it is self agrandizement when an event such as this is held. Rarely do you see anyone saying I helped cancer research by running a 5K on Thanksgiving, no what is usually said is "I ran the Turkey Trot" with no mention of the charities that might have been helped.

    If you are giving of your time for an event such as this then you should be aware of who will be needed to work and what will need to be done and if you aren't then shame on you for not finding out.




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  5. Actually, you first made the self aggrandizing comment on September 21st in the comments section of your post called "In Pursuit of Special Interest."

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  6. By the way, the part of that verse that applies here is that we will be judged by the same measure with which we judge others. The person who thinks someone should go to hell for that nasty fitness comment should take heed. That is a very strict measure by which he assumes someone else should be sentenced to eternal damnation. None of us will make the cut if that is the case.

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  7. Good to see that you are reading my blog. However, if you will notice that I said that in conjunction with the rules being bent and broken. I won't point specific fingers, but why not check and see if and when a mass gathering permit was submitted for this event, find out who initiated the race being held and then tell me that when rules are forgone or just completely broken that an event is strictly for charity, or rather a big "Look at Me!" statement.

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  8. Admittedly Downingtown Resident may have been a bit overzealous, however if he/she is saved and repented then he/she's sin is under the blood. While Jesus talks about not judging unless you chose to be judged in the same manner He also does not call for universal approval of bad behavior, nor should we throw out all discernment. Approach may need to be tempered, but he/she was protecting me and for that I am grateful.

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