It's been a busy week. What we most appreciate is that the Oyster Bay-East Norwich School Board allowed everyone to speak who wanted to speak at their Tuesday, Jan. 8 work session.

It takes a great deal of commitment to sit and listen to criticism of your work in person, and to have your actions questioned, but the board did a great job of both listening and responding.

We appreciate two things: one that the people who volunteer to serve on the board need tough skins; and two that they are willing to take the time to give everyone a chance to speak.

We did not appreciate that at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Museum and Research Center meeting on Thursday, Jan. 10, when a few people were not given the time to speak. There were about four more people with comments to make. One of those who didn't get to speak was Dave Relyea of Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc. Mr. Relyea is a highly respected member of the community, and since his business is about oysters, an industry that gives Oyster Bay its special cachet, I think it would have better served the community to allow him [as well as the others] to talk.

Both meetings had people asking tough questions. In our view it is better to get them out in the open and answered.

We once attended a seminar that advised, "When you have to eat a frog, do it all at once."

Wise words. - DFK