Last month, a former Westporter returning for her near-60th high school reunion asked “06880”: “What has happened to our beautiful town?”
She described Main Street as “a disaster…dirty and abandoned.” She called town property “neglected.”
Before the comments veered off — as they often do here — on tangents like zoning regulations and the redistribution of wealth, several readers took issue with the opinions of our returnee.
They pointed to the beauty of the beach, Longshore, even the people.
One person told her to stay away, and keep her “negative karma” out of here.
Those folks sure won’t like what Marcia Bingham has to say.
The 1960 Staples grad came back a couple of weeks ago, for her 50th reunion. She’d seen the previous story on our “seedy” downtown. She walked around. She didn’t like what she saw. She bit her tongue.
But then — a few days later — she emailed “06880.”
Marcia said:
The reunion was a terrific series of events. It was wonderful to be back in Westport after so many years.
However, I was very surprised by the town’s appearance. Perhaps age has modified my memories, but I remember Westport as a clean, cared-for town. It was disappointing to see a town with the cachet of Westport looking so unkempt.
I don’t know who is responsible for all the things that keep up a town’s appearance. Whoever they are, whether it is the merchants, town maintenance or someone else, they have fallen down on the job!
I hope Westport will regain pride in its appearance.
Pretty straight-forward. One woman’s opinion, sure.
But before you kill the messenger, know this:
Marcia took photos.
She offered proof of what she saw: overflowing dumpsters, trash in the alleys, crumbling stone walls, faded signs, weeds, branches, general detritus and schmutz.
If you’re tempted to blast her, the way you blasted the previous correspondent, at least look below.
