About four years ago I almost met Bob Dylan at a Blues and Roots festival where I was working backstage. At the time I was surprised to see him as a far cry from the young, gangling head musician that stole many hearts back in his heyday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nonetheless, I held my breath in anticipation waiting to be swept away in the time capsule of early 60s anxieties with ‘Blowing in the Wind’ or the chronicled perspective of sociopolitical issues in 'The Times They Are a-Changin', as the ricketty, arthritic fingers touched the strings.
Slowly the anticipation vanished, replaced by a heir of disappointment over the crowd as people began to realise he wasn’t going to play his old classic songs, but perform his whole concert from tracks from his recently released record, sung and played half-heartedly. Many of the other listeners had lost interest by this stage and had begun to move on.
Once he had finished, I attempted to approach him to congratulate him and shake his hand, after all, no matter how terrible the performance was, it was Bob Dylan. He shuffled past me and the many other eager faces with not even a side glance.
What made me revisit this story is, of all things, the recent discussions about Fit for the Future and the chance that we may be amalgamated with surrounding council areas.
The NSW government policy, Fit for the Future, lists the Yass Valley Council as ‘not for change’ under the review panel's recommendations. It does not mean that change does not happen, unless we as a community can prove that we are able to ‘stand-alone’.
How is Bob Dylan and Fit for the Future even remotely connected? It was the fact that our expectations can sometimes be disappointed with reality. I attended that concert in the hope of hearing a great man play the golden oldies, instead of a great musician trying something different in the hope of attracting a different generation of listeners.
Change is always upon us. It is important how we react to change. It is easy to criticise the driving factors that run our lives, but it’s quite hard to take part in being one of those factors or an advocate to keep the things we love alive.
This makes 2015 an opportune time for community-wide discussions about the future. What do we want our public spaces to look like in 10, 20 years? What do our neighbourhoods need in terms of resources and infrastructure? What steps can we take to encourage a thriving, sustainable local economy?
Perhaps you are of the mind that an amalgamation of surrounding councils is of benefit to our community, perhaps it would resolve the issue of agreed standards by Fit for the Future. Would it address the big-picture issue of the role councils need to play in delivering the sub-regional plans that will shape the Yass Valley for the next 25 years?
Local councils need to “own” these plans and shape the region not only to support and shape the communities growth and development, but also provide many of the services and infrastructure that ensure a competitive and liveable city.
My point, is that change is painful but things will get better if we choose to make them so. We shouldn’t sit back and criticise whether or not we disagree, but be proactive in our future and our children's future.