I think having land and not ruining it
is the most beautiful art that anybody
could ever want to own.
~Andy Warhol

Friday morning’s near freezing temps set up perfectly for misty conditions with the ground warmer than the air and damp from Thursday’s rain.

It was still dark when Max and I walked to the river, but by the time we reached the Town Common I could see a thin fog hugging the ground. Whoever makes decisions around landscaping is doing a good job of keeping that balance between the beauty of mature trees and enough grass to make sure the space remains an actual common.

I’m not sure if enough people understand the unmatched value of having such a historic green space in our town. Sure it’s nice to know that George Washington may have taken a hike here back in the post Revolutionary era… but it’s way more significant that we can still do it today.

So far as Max Retriever and I are concerned, the Town Common is our very own back garden and we walk the short block and a half from our house to enjoy it usually two or three times every day.

There is a sense in which these green spaces ground us as a community; not just in history but in the good Earth.

To piggyback on the quote from Andy Warhol, the privilege of “having” something is not enough. It is even more important that we take good care of it. So far, and after 266 years, Tarboro is doing a good job.

Of course, a historic Town Common needs a well-maintained historic district around it, and this is where we have some more serious work to do as a community.

“If you can keep it…”

This reminds me of the famous Ben Franklin 1787 quote as to what kind of a government the Constitutional Convention had given the people. “A republic,” he said, “if you can keep it.”

Well we have a treasure here too… if we can keep it.

It turns out that a town common, a historic district and a republic all require a certain level of commitment, and accountability, to keep in good order. I hope and pray that we are up to the job – DEREK

(a collection of Tarboro Common shots over the past year)