Do we really need a cell tower?

I get pretty consistent cell service with my Verizon phone.
If I happen to be stuck in a ditch in one of the few spots that doesn't get reception, I
am willing to take that chance.

This "rural" community is starting to seem more and more like it is pushing the envelope and
yearning to be something it is not, or should ever be.

We want the perks, but we also want to keep it the same.
I hear an awful lot of contradiction and hypocrisy with what some people
have to say about what they want and don't want to change here.
Downtown Copake  is an "eyesore"?

I think it's just a small town that is in an economic slump, pretty much like everywhere else,
yet it still has held on to the basic needs and services anyone should want out of their small town.

Two banks
A diner
A deli
A gas station
A few mechanics
A pharmacy
A laundromat
Dairy farmers
Doctors
lawyers
Realtors
A library
And plenty more

Yes, there are some empty storefronts.
They will be occupied again, in time.

What's the hurry?
If you want a fancy cappuccino, or a $50 meal, you know where you can go.
You want culture, you want a NY Times, you want free Wifi. It's already here. Maybe you have to drive a little.
You all made a choice to live here.

This town is just fine the way it is.
It will have a livelier downtown in due time, then it will slow up again, and so on. It's been like that for many, many generations.

In the meantime, get a cellphone through Verizon, buy a delicious, inexpensive breakfast or lunch
at the deli, and if your car breaks down, we are lucky enough to have one of the most dependable, honest, and professional auto body shops anyone could ever need.

This town is not broken, so stop trying to fix it.
If you try to have it both ways, you'll get it, and things will never be the same.
Take a nice deep breath of clean, sweet air, stop worrying about your cellphones, stop complaining about the cow manure,
look around, get outside of yourself and love this bucolic slice of heaven for what it is and what it used to be, and not what it "could be".

-Steve Rosenzweig