As a kid who grew watching TV in the 70s, I've seen more than my share of situation comedies. One of the interesting things about sit-coms is that while the actors and situations may change with the decades, the plots remain the same.
One of the best time-tested sit-com plots can best be described thusly: A couple - husband/wife, brother/sister, roommates - suddenly can't stand each other. In fact, they can't bear to share the same living space. So they decide to divide the house in two, usually by painting a white line right down the middle of the room - "You stay on your side, I'll stay on mine".
They've used this story on I Love Lucy, The Odd Couple (obviously), Gilligan's Island (I think they divided the entire island in half), and countless others. Oh the laughs.
What does this have to do with Hillsborough? It's the first thing I thought of when township officials announced last week that they were taking the under-utilized storage room near the library, and, with a little help from Congressman Mike Ferguson, turning it into the new Senior Center. Here is where the comedy potential comes in. Hillsborough has two seniors groups - Chapter A and Chapter B - and they don't mix.
Chapters A and B are divided loosely, and unofficially, along political lines - yes, our seniors are partisan! Each group participates in its own activities and organizes its own events - with not much sharing. But they will be sharing this new room.
How will this work exactly? Well I'm not sure, but it's bound to be contentious - and comedic - as long as someone remembers to bring that big can of white paint. "Virginia, I'm home!"
The Municipal Building was recently expanded. Why wasn't the Senior Center taken into account at that time?
ReplyDeleteHi Midnight Dad - thank you for posting a comment. The library expansion a few years ago did indeed create more space, not just for the library, but also for other departments. I guess you could say that, indirectly, the expansion has led to this current proposal for the senior center, by allowing this space to be available. But the main reason they are talking about it now is because of the federal funding that has become available for the project.
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