Westword, Volume IV

WESTWOOD – We are fortunate to live in a wonderful and prosperous community. In countless surveys and examinations of economic statistics, Massachusetts is one of the best states. Within it, Norfolk is one of the top counties. And Westwood is certainly part of the cream of the Norfolk County crop. Thus we are in the best of the best of the best (remember all this the next time it takes you 45 minutes to get from Route 128 to Medfield Center!)
 

A few years back, one of those big CNN polls ranked us at #13 for best places to live – not in the county, but in the COUNTRY! So, what makes our town special? Why have we thrived? How did we end up with the Wellesleys and Westons when folks speak of the nice, leafy Western suburbs which start with a “W”?
 

Some would say it is the school system, which still ranks highly despite those greatly exaggerated reports of its impending demise. And really, our schools have had quite a boost since the 1970’s. I mean, seven Resha family members have matriculated, spanning six decades, six schools, two family tree branches, and maybe about three detentions…but only one or two that I really truly deserved, okay?
 

Some would say it is our location, in the sweet spot southwest of the Boston, near the intersection of the major highways that connect the northeast to the rest of the USA. Close to the action and right in between Boston and Providence, making it easy (if you can avoid Friday afternoons!) to drive down to the Cape or up north to New Hampshire and Maine vacation points.
 

Some would say it is our mix of residential and commercial tax bases, which provide the town with the funding needed to operate our great schools, police and fire departments, and municipal services. The town has done a great job balancing the two. A strong commercial tax base helps provide the revenue we need to grow and prosper. But good leadership is needed to manage that revenue and prevent overreliance on commercial growth, which could expose us to the inevitable boom-and-bust cycles that have destroyed industrial towns across the generations.
 

Look, some would just say “all of the above.” And they would be partly right.
 

But I would posit that what really kick it through the goalposts are the PEOPLE. For it is people who built this town, people who raise their kids in this town, and people who have made the right choices for this town – choices which have attracted good homeowners, businesses, teachers, and civil servants. You hold in your hands one little testament to that.
 

Contemplate the people and the places here; consider all the connections we make that go way beyond being added to a customer contact list; remember the decisions made and partnerships forged which blazed a trail out of the farms of West Dedham, and into those “W” lists and the best of the best of the best. It is not just a town. It is US, and it is OUR town. We are both the caretakers and the next trailblazers.
 

May you be accompanied, as I am, by these notions as you go shopping…or watch a Friday night football game at Westwood High…or choose a location or marketing strategy for your business…or possibly lecture, then forgive your kid for getting a detention or two.
 

Lastly, always know that we have precious little, without one another.
 

Westwood Living? No…thank YOU for living in Westwood. See you next month, and I look forward to hearing from you any time at jayresha@comcast.net.