Friday, September 02, 2005

On "Unity." ; Or preparing for the Road Opening Party Saturday Oct 15th 4:30PM

Years ago I worked for Unity Hospital of Fridley, Mn. This was before Blaine and Fridley, Mn. were known for surrounding the new Viking stadium. So, I can speak freely of this since it was pre-Viking time.

Unity Hospital was a brand new hospital in a working class area of Mpls. One of my first questions of Mr. Haines, the head administrator was, " Why do you call it "Unity?"

"Well," He replied, "We fought about everything about this hospital for at least 5 years. When we finally agreed on the details, we made a vow never to be that far apart again. Many of the key folks from the early days are now on our board of directors."

As we open the Hwy 14, it is a good time to reflect that the final result of the construction at Union and Main, as well as the new lights, as well as the vision of the Smart Growth plan for that matter, were not the result of one person's dream, but fought over, in quite some detail. I have seen amazing strength come of amazing difference, and I hope that same strengh can arise from the experience of the recent construction. Now, it's time to party. See you on Saturday.