Nostalgia v. Reality

Why Are Vienna Power Lines Above Ground on Maple Avenue?

The #4 Vienna Money Magazine ranking applied to a population of 60,000. That means the ranking far exceeded the borders of Vienna Town limits. This feedback was recently posted on the site from a non-Vienna Town resident. We reproduce it here to give it more visibility:

"The Vienna area has been my home for over 40 years and my beloved late wife and I sang in the OLGC church choir for over 25 years. So, I am not a Johnny come lately. Anyone who spends any time in Vienna soon realizes the ennui, lethargy and stasis, which characterize this community. Maple Avenue is frankly dreary--and seems destined to become even drearier as the years roll by. While filling stations, fast foods and parking lots are necessary it is daunting to face the fact that these have become the high spots of "Downtown Vienna." The one "jewel" is the Vienna Inn and its nostalgic "chili dogs with everything" and the reminiscences of us old timers who found it a convenient meeting place when our time with the "Company" permitted. As I accumulate the years, thinking progressively and imaginatively about the future is a mounting challenge--especially if one is preoccupied with small town charms and the appeal of yesteryear, but they are not real anymore in a metropolitan community like Washington DC and its suburbs. It is NOT leadership to resist inevitable change and refuse to adapt to the realities of accelerating change. While Alvin Toffler wrote "Future Shock" over 25 years ago, its central thesis is even more immediate and commanding than it was in 1980. The recognition and acceptance of revolutionary change in our society can only be resisted, avoided or obstructed at great expense, growing annoyance, and an increasing detriment to the common good and the ultimate welfare of our communities and society. We can see the results of such resistance to change in those backward areas of the world where the frustrations and accumulating disappointments of the masses induces the promotion of terrorism... It is the actual reality that the increasing velocity of change must be accommodated and even embraced by those who lead or aspire to lead in our world today. The alternative to accommodating such change, and indeed planning for it and using it for the promotion of the common good is grotesqueries such as the dismal panorama of Maple Avenue-especially during rush hours. It is not leadership to obstruct and play small town "Let's Pretend" (a delightful radio serial of fairy-tales of my youth). Those who will not lead should get out of the way and if they cannot find it in their hearts to help those who are willing to accept the challenges of the real world, they should at least move on without obstruction."