The words of Theodore Roosevelt as quoted by John Hammond, president of the Friends of Sagamore Hill - about the critic not being important - but the man in the arena - were interesting to consider.

It is true that the man in the arena - the man who gets things done - is the one who deserves praise. He is also the one who gets the praise.

We often represent the opinions of the other person... the critic actually ... but we do so with confidence.

Over the years we have watched things happen locally. The best example is the Oyster Bay High School gymnasium. After the school board presented plan after plan only to have them critized and defeated by voters - one plan emerged.

Interestingly it located the gymnasium in a place originally said not to be suitable because of drainage problems. The board responsible for taking on the current gymnasium put into the contract that if there was any water damage to the gymnasium floor it was the responsibility of the contractor to fix it.

That is what happened and they fixed it.

Reporting on the gymnasium year after year and plan after plan was a tedious job as it worked its way through the democratic process. That tedium taught us a lesson: that in a Democracy the people have to have time to decide on what is best for a community. In the long run that is what we are based on - the people's good will. Things don't happen in the blink of someone's eye. People with good [- or bad ideas - look at the AvalonBay Communities episode] have to go through a process.

There are times it can be a really long process but that is what we have created in America, and in this newspaper, we have created a forum for the public to express their opinions.

They are only opinions, but if enough of them are expressed the right things happen - one way or another.

Forgive our hubris, we are talking about the words of the 26th President of the United States: a man we admire for being 'The Man in the Arena.' He made more wonderful things happen for this country than can be counted on the fingers and toes of one citizen. He truly shaped the direction of the United States of America. We are blessed to have his home and his statue in Oyster Bay.

Thank you to all the people that made that happen.

And thank you to Roger and Lori Bahnik for their love of life; and love of family and friends; and love of community.

- DFK