Waterville is booming? Define 'booming'

Thursday, October 20, 2005

It is certainly nice to know that Waterville is now a booming community. I had no idea we were growing by leaps and bounds. Heck, the Elm City is even a good place to raise children. What's next?

Mayor Paul R. LePage, mayoral candidate Donald Dufour and REM Executive Director Faye Nicholson joining hands and singing "Kumbaya"?

I went looking for that booming on Main Street just the other day.

In between Ken-A-Set, Goodwill, tattoo parlors and the flea market, I saw a dollar store, pawn shops, abandoned storefronts and homeless people. Nope, no booming here.

So I took a drive through the city. Found plenty of Rent-a-Centers, more dollar stores, two porn emporiums and ghostly empty buildings (the old Boys' and Girls' Club, YMCA, Hathaway, Gilman Street School, etc.), but no booming.

Wait a minute! How could I be so blind? Of course, business is booming in Waterville!

If you are a prostitute, crack addict, drug dealer, escort, welfare recipient or Dumpster picker, the future is bright.

Want to launch a lucrative career in massage? Go for it. We have plenty of downtown establishments that will provide hands-on experience. No education necessary.

And then there is local politics, such as our City Council.

Where else can one face indictment, fines and jail time and still be qualified to overspend public money? An inspiration for every impressionable child.

Rod Labbe

Waterville

yendor@mainester.net