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Wethersfield.Net
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Why is "Cottone Field"?Where is "Cottone Field"?What is "Cottone Field"?
Unfortunately, "Cottone Field", to some, is becoming an epithet for what is seen in town to be the brusque efforts of others to force their will on the balance of the citizenry without meaningful deliberations and a referendum. How do those who knew, loved and benefited from the life of Mr. Joseph F. Cottone feel about his name and legacy being sullied by otherwise well-meaning sports enthusiasts no less. Sports can help to build character by showing that teamwork and individual brilliance are both needed to constantly adjust to ever changing conditions on the field to achieve a "victory." To honor Mr. Cottone's legacy, we should acknowledge that, unlike most games where there is a winner and a loser, the goal of life of our town is the peaceful and meaningful coexistence of many individuals who must frequently compromise for the greater good of the citizenry at large. Games will come and go. Winners and losers will come and go. Trophies that gleam today will be dusty or discarded with time. Muscles once taut will eventually lose their tone. Our living town, however, is an ever-renewing community which looks to the best examples of its citizenry, current and past, to sustain itself and to inspire its spirit. Mr. Cottone has beome one of these spirits who breathes life into our community, now and in the future. "Cottone Field" is not a piece of dirt or turf nor a concrete and steel shell bounded by geographic coordinates in perpetuity. "Cottone Field" is rather an acknowledgement by a significant portion of our town that this honorable eponym has made a lasting, beneficial effect in and on the lives of many of his student athletes and, through them, the community of Wethersfield at large. If the unexpected, unavoidable, or otherwise unthinkable occurred and this land with the "Cottone" name had to be utilized in some other way, would that mean the end of "Cottone Field"? Of course not! We would designate a new site as "Cottone Field" without hesitation and in utter respect for the man and his contributions to the people of Wethersfield. The same is appropriately said of Mr. DiCicco and our acknowledgement of his ongoing accomplishments and spirit. Accept that the goal of naming a monument of stone, or steel, or land is to give the finite person a semblance of immortality. Accept that events often can alter each of these tangibles like some lost treasure of the ancient world regardless of the original intention or plans. (Who could have anticipated the terrible loss of the World Trade Towers on 9/11/2001?) Then, surely, we could move what has been designated as "Cottone Field" with no dishonor to him or his scholastic or familial progeny, if that would be the best for our Town. The option to move this eponymous field must be kept on the table and not illogically removed. In the end, let all of the voters decide.
(c)K.E.Sokolowski 2004
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Edited by Wethersfield.Net Published: 2004.03.06 Revised: 2004.03.06 |
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