Here’s A Poem For ’25: Hey, We Made It Out Alive!

With 2025 now almost finished
365 days diminished
Some goals achieved; some (sadly) dashed
Some bills came due; some checks were cashed
We’re older now by near a year
And closer to our end, I fear
Our thoughts turn this morning to “auld lang syne”
A phrase I’m sure that once was fine
Though what it means I have no clue
So let’s move on, and give our due
To folks in town who merit praise
(And probably too, a nice fat raise).

We say congrats to our selectmen
Led most ably by Christie (Kevin)
With help from Wistreich and O’Day
All chosen the electoral way
“Selectmen,” though, sounds anachronistic
It doesn’t take a seer or mystic
To divine that all of them ain’t male
But let’s not gnash our teeth, or wail
We only need to change one word
And presto: Hail, our new Select Board!

Sure, the year brings challenges new
Along with the ones old, tried and true
Like what to do with the bridge Cribari
A span that has been used to carry
Cars and light trucks — no eighteen-wheelers
Though now state pooh-bahs put out feelers
To build a replacement — wider, higher
An idea some locals fear is dire
The process may drag on for years
Cue agita, angst, frustration, fears.

And though the Hamlet plan is dead
Another may rise there soon, instead
Affordable housing? An 8-30g?
More retail? More restaurants? We wait to see
What some developer has up his sleeve
With a vision, a dream, in which to believe
For a sliver, a slice of old Saugatuck
Let’s hope we don’t say, “What the f—?”

To all board chairs: Goldstein and Dobin,
Lebowitz, Ezzes et al, we’re hopin’
That instead of blather, bitching, moaning
And meetings filled with speakers droning
That we all act like family: sisters and brothers
(And adults like adults: fathers and mothers)
Show civil discourse, speak with respect
Despite ideas we must reject
Let’s not be filled with bombast and bile
Come on, you guys! At least, try to smile!

To schools superintendent Tom Scarice
We wish you a year filled with peace
May classes proceed without buzzing phones
And hordes of kids busting teaches’ stones
With their pleas, “pretty please, are Air Pods fine?
I’ll be quiet, I promise. I won’t ever whine.”

Let’s shout to the rafters our thanks for the wonders
Of all our spectacular, great first responders
Police, EMS, and (for sure) firefighters
Whatever the need, they pull all-nighters
We hope too that Christmas was merry
For new parks director, Eric Barbieri
He’s taken over with insight and smarts
Its programs, its staff – all its many parts
He’s learned about every Rec cranny and nook
And – hosannas will ring! – he will give Hook’d the hook.

We cannot forget all our organizations
And volunteers who, with hard work and patience
Keep us warm and inspired, healthy and fed
Offering food pantries, hot meals, a bed
At the top of the list is the great Homes with Hope
But so many others groups help us to cope
Like VFW Post 3-Nine-Nine
Where everyone’s welcome to drink and to dine
And American Legion – that’s Post 63
Plus of course their great female auxiliary.

ABC gives young scholars A (Much) Better Chance
The Woman’s Club offers plenty of grants
Westport Pride (for the LGBTQ-plus crowd)
Westport10, for Black men, active and proud
Start-up Westport, our entrepreneurs’ hub
And for disabled adults, there’s the 203 Club
Town Farm, Farmers’ Market and (forget not) Earthplace
Fill the very important green-eco- town space
Along with Sustainable Westport, we add
If we’ve forgotten some others – well sorry, our bad.

The Playhouse has been here for (it’s true!) 90 years
Its shows and productions still draw (mostly) cheers
Huzzahs too to the Levitt, our favorite pavilion
For all those free evenings – Bravo! Thanks a million
A few yards away, ‘cross a shared parking lot
Stands a building that helps make Westport so hot
Our library is books, sure, but also much more
It’s concerts, it’s artwork, it’s programs galore
You can meet there and make things, and even record
Your own podcast or music – you’ll never be bored.

Let’s raise now our glasses, and toast all our teachers
Rabbis and imams, pastors and preachers
Custodians, paras, bus drivers and cooks
Tutors and tweeters (but not DC crooks)
Mommies and daddies and day care magicians
Dentists and vets and our favorite physicians
The heroes who gave us our “great generation”
And today’s servicemembers: our grand veneration
Young  people and teens: the hope for tomorrow
Though today we pass on a world brimming with sorrow.

We’re nearing the end of this holiday poem
Hailing the wonders that make our town “home”
So let’s cram in as many more as we can
Of all of these others, we are a huge fan:
Downtown merchants, like Savvy + Grace
Old Mill Grocery & Deli – we must save that place!
All of our realtors (like KMS Team)
The YMCA – livin’ the dream
Restaurants galore, like Pook’s Jeera Thai
The great Dylan Curran – we all love that guy.
And hey – thanks a lot to Westport’s other news source
The Journal (we check it daily, of course).

Now finally, a hat tip to all of our readers
Some just moved here; some are town leaders
Some comment often; most, never at all
Some email us daily; some text or call
Some suggest stories; some like to complain
Some think our town’s sunny; some just see the rain
But all are important; you’re the reason we post
Without you, this blog would soon be just toast
So to all of you out in the “06880” sphere
Here’s wishing you all a spectacular year
May two-thousand-and-two-six be a small bit of heaven
And let’s pray we all make it to year ‘27.