Reflections on light and darkness

Reflections on light and darkness

I understand that at this time the city officials in Sharon are in deep discussion of snuffing out 400 street lights and putting many areas in darkness to save $73,000 a year. With many of the loyal residents, I am gravely disturbed by what harm may come out of this darkness.

When I heard of the opposition coming from the residents, I thought of the words to a song by P.P. Bliss describing a sailor struggling in the sea for his life in the darkness. The writer states, “Let the lower lights be burning, send a gleam across the wave, some poor fainting struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.”

He speaks of the dark nights, the angry billows roaring and how the watch for the lights along the shore could save one’s life. He even speaks of trim your feeble lamps; make them shine as bright as you can for that day and time.

It is just as important in our own time to keep the upper lights burning as bright as you can, in the darkness of the night, sending a gleam across our streets and alleys to protect our senior citizens, our children and our beloved residents from the dangers of the darkness where there are many crimes such as purse snatchers, robbers, drug attics, beak ins, rapes, shootings, etc.

I think city officials should reconsider before they pull the plug on all these lights and let the upper lights be burning and send a gleam across our streets and alleys.

It is high time that we realize that we are in a recession and people will do anything to make a dollar. “Let the upper lights be burning.”

George Gibbs, Sharon