What a relief it was to see our community come together last week as Harwood Union boys varsity hockey advanced from the Division 2 semi-finals on March 11 to the championship game against U-32 at Gutterson Field House at UVM on March 15.
In the semis, Harwood shut out Middlebury 5 to 0, but the real excitement came in Sunday’s game which was tied and went into two overtimes before the Highlander’s Milo Levit scored the winning point.
To coin a phrase, the crowd went wild. It was pretty exciting and the victory parade of the buses through Waterbury, led by the fire department, through streets lined with cheering friends and family made it that much better.
It also brings home the point that we can get along and enjoy shared community victories. We can take pride in our young athletes and celebrate their hard work and recognize how much it matters to their peers. We can do all those things and disagree on how to solve school funding issues in Vermont.
We can disagree on state and local policies and still celebrate things like Harwood’s second hockey championship in a row.
For many of us, turning our focus to something as specifically local was a welcome respite from the world we’re living in right now. It’s not easy to watch our nation get drawn into an expanding war on foreign soils while our president points out that it is also his prerogative to topple the government of Cuba.
It’s never good to stick your head too far in the sand and it’s really not easy to bear witness right now for those who can’t forget our forays into Iraq and Afghanistan.
But at least for last week and this weekend we had something fun to focus on and we got good news we could all share and revel in. As community members we have a lot in common, including all the students who attend our schools and participate in athletics, drama, music, student government and so much more.
Shared values come in many forms, sizes and colors. This weekend was a good reminder to celebrate these areas of connection.
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