Viewpoint: Departing publisher shares her dreams for Marco

As I write my last viewpoint, I am on deadline. I don't know what I will do without deadlines; it's the pressure that makes me comfortable and productive. As publisher of the Marco Island Eagle, I have tried to stay on top of the issues of the day, one step in front of past issues and a half step into the future.

In retirement I will either learn to live at a different pace or drive those around me crazy. I'm still not sure which will happen. But before I go, I want to praise this community. I have deep affection for it and the people who work daily to improve it.

Marco is a faith-based community with people who share their money, time and talent to make life better for others. Despite its outward appearance of homogeneousness, it is diverse in culture and philosophy.

When new residents come to the island from other places — as we all did at one time — new concepts and skills become part of its fabric. And each time a newcomer crosses that bridge, those who have been here a while listen politely to many of the same conversations they have heard before. Thank you to all those listeners who have done so with patience and civility.

There are august people here, but their names are not always in the headlines. There are bold people who make significant changes completed so quietly we fail to recognize them. And there are true heroes, present today and from yesteryears that deserve our admiration.

If I may be so bold, I will share my dreams for Marco Island one more time.

I urge the community through its city government to work to improve our parks and to purchase as much green space as we can possibly afford. Open land in a primarily residential community allows for civic activities — places where we can meet with our neighbors to enjoy good times and teach our children how to relax.

I hope that the concept of a performing arts center stays on the front burner. Arts of any kind enrich a community and encourage creative endeavors. We need to foster talent at all ages and for all people because art speaks to us in a language deeper than words.

And since my life has always been measured by the number of words that will fit on a page, I use these last ones hoping the community and city government continue to mature and reach a time when old friends in casual clothes can sit on the lanai and swap stories or discuss ideas in peace and comfort.