Puttin' on the Glitz
By Marvin Miller, AIB Past President
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence
in society.” – Mark Twain
For
those of you who occasionally get to don formal attire, you know how good it
makes you feel when everything fits right and you’re getting ready to walk out
the door. You look in the mirror, make a last-minute adjustment to the bow tie
or the necklace or the hair, then you go out “into the world” and smile. You
feel reassured when folks say how beautiful your gown is or how handsome you
look. You just glow! And possibly in the back of your mind, you wonder, don’t I
always look this good or is it really about the clothes?
No
doubt, clothes do help. Folks recognize the extra effort that was made in the
grooming, and they realize that they, too, went through some extra work to show
up ready for the red carpet, so to speak. But that self-confident glow comes
from within, and it can occur, with practice, even with less formal attire. We’ve
all seen the photos of the movie stars, dressed even in jeans and a t-shirt,
that just exude confidence and beauty.
For a
moment, think that if we could personify our cities, at how they must feel when
we groom them for the judges in the annual America in Bloom evaluations. They,
too, often look their best the day the judges come to town. And similar to the
last-minute adjustment of the bow tie, there is the scurrying by members of the
volunteer corps to pull the last weed, to water that planter that looks slightly
wilted, or to pick up that last bit of litter. The cities beam with their
smiles, and, perhaps, they, too, wonder why they don’t always look this good.
We all
know that this gleam occurs not because of the last-minute tidying, but thanks
to countless hours from many volunteers who worked to get the job done. Those
volunteers labored for weeks and months, if not years, often out of a sense of
pride for what was accomplished. They know this is the best the city has ever
looked! But they still hope for perfect weather so that the judges can view the
city at its best!
When I
first visited Canada more than 40 years ago, I immediately was impressed at how
clean the country looked. There just was no litter! There were no weeds coming
up where the asphalt met the concrete gutter or at the curb along a streetscape.
I remember asking a host about this sharp contrast to what I had known from the
States, and I was told that littering just wasn’t part of the Canadian culture
and that weeds just aren’t proper. I know I smiled, as I pondered whether
littering was really part of the American culture or whether our weeds could be
trained to act more responsibly. I decided Canadian cities (and their
residents, their businesses, and their municipal leaders) must just care a lot
more at how they are viewed by guests.
In the
end, I wonder what it would take to make our U.S. cities gleam all the time. We
do have many AIB cities that repeatedly participate in the Awards Program. And
we have some that have adopted the culture of America in Bloom and ingrained it
into their very being. These cities may recognize the economic benefits of
always looking fantastic for visitors. They may understand the environmental
benefits that trees, shrubs, flowers, turf, and other plants offer. And they
may recognize that citizens are in better moods when things look like people
care. Ultimately, we might argue, that as much as anything, these cities really
do glow! They gleam because of an inner force, a self-confidence, if you will,
and they’ve put on the glitz out of their citizens’ sense of pride!
We
certainly hope everyone has their reservations made for the America in Bloom Symposium andAwards Program to be held in Holland, Michigan, September 24–26. We’re
looking forward to celebrating those communities have really put on the glitz
this year.
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