A Letter From Linda

Linda Rachwitz has asked me to post the following letter. There are few more dedicated to a bright future for Harbor Springs than Linda. There are fewer still with the patience to and generosity to spend so much time trying to bridge our divisions. Her words should matter to all of us:

"𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱.

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲: 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘇𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻. 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲, 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 (𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦) 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦𝟰𝟯𝟵 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀: 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻?

𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦𝟰𝟯𝟵 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 $𝟮𝟳,𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗼, 𝗢𝗵𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗟𝗖 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻 $𝟭𝟲,𝟵𝟬𝟮.𝟬𝟳. 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟭 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿. 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲.

𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇