Letter inside the Aspinock Historical Society’s Time Capsule

Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger  --- Starts 30th year July 14, 2022
Wow, what do I write knowing that when you read this, the paper will probably be gone?
Though I loathe writing in first person (not allowed in newspapers. wink), Linda Lemmon and the Town Crier are one. A call to my house: “Is this the Town Crier?” Yes it is.
And so …. 
When I started the paper in 1993 I joked that I didn’t know any better. Keeping the business lean and keeping the journalistic standards high, was no joke. Hard work by the “microscopic staff” (me).
Joking aside I wake up every day with this looping through my mind: “Make a record. Make a record of today for tomorrow.” I consider myself a storyteller — in the Native American sense. The keepers of history for those who follow. For Native Americans the recordkeeping was oral. For me it flows through my fingers. 
I remember 9-11-2001 when the US was attacked. Twin Towers came down, the Pentagon was burning. Shock. I felt paralyzed. I sat in St. Mary’s Church. It was empty. I watched the dust swirl in the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows. I had no idea what to think … except “Make a record. Make a record.” I did that. And I left a page in the newspaper blank and urged readers to write down their thoughts and feelings, to always remember.
My thoughts for you, shouted from the past? Hmmmm
— “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Pablo Picasso.
— No community can thrive without each of us (bringing our own unique gifts) working together for the greater good. It’s not someone else’s job, it’s yours. 
— Be kind. 
(And write it down so those who follow will understand you and the world you lived in more deeply.)

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