In a changing city, choose listening leaders
Mary Henkel Judson

Port Aransas is a far cry from the town it was when Murray, Libby (3 months old) and moved here permanently in 1983.

Back then, we knew just about everyone in town. A trip to the Family Center would take couple of hours. Not because it took so long to get there and back, but because you knew everyone you passed in every aisle, and it took 10 minutes - at least -- to move on to the next person.

It was the same thing with the post office. Murray made most of his ad sales there because that's where he'd see just about everyone in town.

Eating out was almost a family affair. If you wanted to have a private conversation, it was best to plan to have dinner out of town because it was a given that you'd know everyone at every table within hearing range.

Those were the days when you communicated on a first-name-only basis. We all knew whose kids we were talking about when we said, "Nick, Ian, Katie, Marilee, Nathan, Robert, Chris, Justin, Aly and Libby".

Those were the days of the Black and Red Ball, which was really a "new thing", created to raise money to build Roberts Point Park. It was, initially, a "community reunion" - we danced, we laughed and we raised a lot of money. Roberts Point Park stands today as result of that camaraderie.

Those also were the days when chamber banquets were held at the party room at Island Retreat. It was in the hey-day of Patsy Jones, and we gals would gather around while Patsy sang, and we'd try to be the chorus. We thought we were wonderful. (We were, weren't we? The sad thing is that today we are missing Patsy and Barbara Sheppard, my primary cohorts in fun.)

Those were the days when city council meetings were forums for heated debates, after which both parties would convene for a congenial drink. That's what sold me on fact that people agreed to Port Aransas - the fact that people agreed to disagree agreeably.

It was Barbara's other half, Bill Sheppard, who showed me the way.

He stood before the city council and advocated raising the hotel-motel tax to raise money for advertising for the economic health of the entire community. He was in the hallway outside the council chambers during a break after his presentation, and he was making plans to have a drink after the meeting with his opponents when we were introduced.

"What's a girl like you doing in a nice place like this?" he asked.

I've loved him ever since.

A lot has changed since then. I don't mind a lot of it. What I do mind is our inability to agree to disagree and remain friends. That will suck the heart and soul out of us, and that's not a good thing. We need to remember that we are neighbors sharing a love and appreciation of Port Aransas, whether we agree on all counts or not.

We didn't buy the South Jetty in 1981 because we thought it would be a financial drain

Cactus Pryor - we had no money, so there wasn't anything to drain. We had hopes that it would be financially viable, in fact, profitable (FYI: Profit is not a four-letter word). We thought Port Aransas had a promising future as a tourist destination, and that it would be a positive investment.

Like us, many of you live here permanently now because you were lured by our amenities and/or the prospect of economic success.

Whatever brought you here, you had to realize that Port Aransas had, and has, potential, and that requires change.

We may not have control over whether Port Aransas changes or not, but we do have some measure of control over how that change takes place.

The key is recognizing that change is a fact of life.

Port Aransas is going to change.

How we direct that change through planning for the future, and how we handle the differences we have with one another, will make the difference in our quality of life.

Think about that as we consider who leads us into the future.

Port Aransas needs to elect leadership that is willing to listen to, and be respectful of, differing opinions in our diverse community. Our leaders should not only listen, but also seek out those with differing opinions to develop a consensus from a broad base of the population that is reflective of the community at large.

If we elect this type of leadership, we have a chance of maintaining the heart and soul of our community even as we grow.