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Chester County Press

The running story

05/14/2014 12:27PM ● By Acl

Since the time when humans first acquired the ability to communicate, we have loved being told stories. When we are small, few things in the world are more special than to be introduced to picture books, or sit at school desks or in library couches and be transformed to another place and another time. When we are older, we eliminate the outside world for stolen moments in order that we may be able to tuck inside the work of a favorite author. Whether through oration or reading, whether through narrator, parent or library marm, and whether through hardcover, soft cover or e-book, stories are the better back pages of history.

This coming Saturday, the streets of Kennett Square will be filled with thousands of stories, each of them outfitted in various forms of running shoes. Now in its 25th year, the Kennett Run is a colorful parade of both pageantry and persistence, of pride and pulled hamstrings, that snakes along the outer edges of the town's neighborhoods and finishes at the Anson B. Nixon Park. If you have never been there before, may we suggest you get to the starting line early, way before the start of the race, because that's where the best stories are heard. Listen to the runners explain why they are there, and you will hear stories of courage, of faith, of remembrance, of personal goals; that behind every runner or walker is a personal reason for being there. Attend the Joe Hector Memorial PowerRun lifting competition earlier in the day and you will hear more of the same.

For one day a year, the Kennett Run is a storybook told to our entire community. Open its pages and you will discover the stories of people just like you, who are living through illnesses; who have recently buried loved ones and run with names marked on their t-shirts; who have set personal goals in order to restore their health. Often, the best part of a book is when it nears its finish, when the narrative collides with conclusion, so when you attend the Kennett Run this Saturday, make sure you see the people you met at the start at the race finish their race at Anson B. Nixon Park, because only then can they turn the page and close the book of their personal journeys...and begin a new story.   

  

Make your vote count

Here's a safe prediction: Turnout will be low in the May 20 primary election.

Turnout is always low during primaries, especially so in off-year elections when the lure of an exciting presidential campaign is missing.

It's easy to think that your vote doesn't count, especially when so many races aren't races at all. When there's only as many candidates as there are open seats to be filled, voters don't really have much of a choice.

But it's important to vote anyway. It's important because voting is the best way that citizens have to make sure that their voices are heard. Elected officials at the local, county, state, and national level make many important decisions that effect all our lives every day. Voting is the only way to ensure that the government  is working for its people and not the other way around.

Voting is also a way to honor this country's history and to have a say in its future.

So make your vote count next Tuesday by taking a few minutes to perform an important civic duty. Don't worry, there won't be long lines.