Peter Pan and Ahoy, Dan Malloy in NW CT this past week!

After seeing a stellar performance of Peter Pan at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, and Spring Awakening in Sharon (note the comment section of the blog for coverage of taboo topics in the play and our current world), I was invited along with thousands online but with a hundred others showing up to see Dan Malloy at the Cornwall Town Hall.

While the nature scene on the small stage behind him was set for the Grumbling Gyphons show of Pinocchio(and maybe that's an reminder to all of  US to be as honest as possible, given a situation but of course in politics and serious decision making like tribal recogniton to really think long and hard before promoting what would be best)  tonight at 5pm (8-8-14),

A friendly intelligent, seasoned leader, Dan stood on the same level as those seated to hear his progess of reducing a 3.5 billion dollar deficit in CT to a surplus in the millions. Roberta Willis opened the talk with an impressive summary of STEAP grants to assist small towns with special projects, including in Cornwall and Kent as well as Falls Village.

I will add more from my notes later but want to acknowledge the events that enliven our communities and spur us to dream out loud and follow up our ambitions with hard work.

Apparently CT has more millionaires now than it did before taxes (or revenue) were raised to address the dire situation we were in during 2011. Governor Malloy created and Energy and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) as well as a Culture and Tourism Department (which invested wisely to put CT on NE Maps, but also promotes the revitalization of key venues such as in Waterbury). UCONN schools and medical outfits are getting huge infusions of funding to promote more skilled bio-tech research and programs in the health fields as well. Roberta and Dan both spoke to the critical need to promote early learning opportunities for pre-K and up

I asked Roberta initially of investing funds (even from curren education budgets) to enrich the lives and support of young children, including pregnant women,infants and toddlers. I still feel the research is saying we do 'a lot of good but too late for it to make a meaningful difference to close the gap and really to give all children equal access to health which iin turn is linked to how they learn in school and do in life'. Maybe we can create more forums for ourselves.

I said 'Ahoy, Mr. Malloy'  in code not in actuality at the end of his full length Q and A, when the pitch was made for 'one last question' (which in turn opened up the floor for about four more with some fireworks at the end).  In so many words, I asked, 'Can we promote Toastmasters International as a model or program for more citizens to join voluntarily to promote greater civic participation and success in all facets of life?" I'll expand on that now for a moment.

Could we offer something comparable to www.Toastmasters.org to get a better ROI (Return on Investment) of time, gathering people together and coaching one another in our daily speaking and writing skills (the two are linked)? Governor Malloy (who uses far fewer ums and ers while gathering his thoughts than most politicians) has heard of Toastmasters, of course, he answered.

He approved my comment as a PSA (public service announcement) when I asked too that more schools, colleges, workplaces and towns encourage participation in Toastmasters at about $80/year not including conferences which are optional. Typically a meeting covers a few talks with people taking turns at filling roles for timing talks and giving warnings of t he last 1-2 minutes of a 5-7 minute long prepared talk.

Evaluators take a turn (one per speech) at giving feedback for 2-3 minutes. One of the highlights is table topics wherein a person addresses a topic for 1 to 2 minutes, somewhat like these shorther blog posts. Well, I was not filling everyone in on those details, but by all means feel we could have something like this type of meeting in each town, school and group and even family promoted weekly or monthly.

The total time could be from 30-90 minutes, depending on the group but generally an hour will suffice. A people's version of Toastmasters would allow for free sessions and others which may involve some costs if people wanted to allow for that with a budget of less tthan $2K a year.

The last question (which set off fireworks energy and words such as 'casinos springing up' and major resistance from town and state leaders) from Kent Selectman Bruce Adams asked Dan Malloy to address the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) issue which is deciding whether the Federal Government will give recognition to three tribes in CT, including one in Kent. See the comment for more which got cut off. thanks.

Maybe we need to glean the messages from the Peter Pan story and learn to make peace with Natives...any Tiger Lily's in the house...maybe that would be every woman and every man interested in finding out the truth of all matters before insisting on certain incomes, and having a spirit of cooperation and good will even if the facts do not play out in one's favor in hopes of bringing about a peaceful reasonable resolution...not unlike what is needed in many parts of the world and even echoed in families and friendships which can need healing from issues old, new or anticipated...