To the Editor:

I had a dream. We the people would buy beautiful Fairfield Hills as an open space purchase large enough to enjoy the forest and vista and still provide usable land for town needs for years to come.

I had a dream. The maples, spruces, and hemlocks would stand like sentinels to guard the opens spaces of rolling lawns. Soccer fields would feel the footsteps of youths like the massage of loving hands. Softballs and baseballs would fly as individual visions of glory. Like pioneers of old, horses and people would explore the trails of an alluring forest.

I had a dream. A stately town hall would rise with dignity, a symbol of democracy. Somewhere in that dream a hazy vision of new buildings — maybe a recreation center, a swimming pool, a modern police station, a…oh, the vision is clearer now. I see a large open area. What are those people doing? “Relay For Life,” you say? Oh, yes, it’s clear now. Large grass-covered fields, a gathering place for our citizens, to help one another, to enjoy concerts, produce open air theater, and, and…dimly, a faint outline of a Senior Center appears. Over there, “Is that… is it.. a new school in the distant horizon?”

I had a dream. Could it ever be a reality? Or will my dream fade away and this magnificent open space be paved over with asphalt for crass commercialism?

Who is most likely to make my dream a reality? I see only the Independent Party of Newtown sharing most of my dream. If you cherish the beauty of Fairfield Hills and want to make sure that a revised Master Plan for Fairfield Hills is actually accomplished and guided by our shared dream, vote the Independent Party ticket on November 3.

I have a dream! Please join me and make our dreams come true.

Ruby Johnson, PhD

16 Chestnut Hill, Sandy Hook                                  October 27, 2009