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<P>Emily</P>
<P>I think the difference between your opinion and mine can be explained quite simply. When I was young I didn't play with dolls or doll houses. I want something functional and available to kids, adults, and dogs for their enjoyment. Not something you admire through a fence. It's not so much the place, rather what you do at that place.</P>
<P>You mention some memories of the things you did at the mansion when you were young. I feel that these types of memories give folks a reason to stay in this community as you have done. What memories would you have of the mansion if you were growing up now? </P>
<P>Bruce<BR><BR><BR></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">-----Original Message----- <BR>From: OurDollMom@aol.com <BR>Sent: Jul 1, 2008 1:28 PM <BR>To: bruce.wernek@mindspring.com, towntalk@riverdale-park.org <BR>Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Mansion Grounds <BR><BR><ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv="Content-Type"><ZZZMETA content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16674" name="GENERATOR"></ZZZHEAD><ZZZBODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" rightMargin="7" topMargin="7" leftMargin="7" bottomMargin="7"><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>Bruce</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I agree with you that walking your dog on mansion </DIV>
<DIV>grounds would deter vandalism. I agree with you the</DIV>
<DIV>public has a right.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But with "right" comes respect & responsibility. I sledded</DIV>
<DIV>at the mansion since I was a little girl. We built bon</DIV>
<DIV>fires in the big metal cans, cooked hot dogs, drank</DIV>
<DIV>hot chocolate, sat on logs, sang songs. It was a great</DIV>
<DIV>time - even my kids & I enjoyed it. Would I sled there</DIV>
<DIV>now or let my grandchildren sled there? NO. It is now</DIV>
<DIV>a beautiful historic spot & a museum - it is not a play</DIV>
<DIV>ground because I have a "right". And if any of the grass</DIV>
<DIV>etc got messed up from the sledding - I can just see</DIV>
<DIV>a parent coming forward to pay to resod etc or anybody</DIV>
<DIV>exercising their "right" stepping up to the plate to fix it.</DIV>
<DIV>Therefore, we should choose Not to sled at the mansion.</DIV>
<DIV>And teach our children that.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We may have a right to burn our country's flag when</DIV>
<DIV>we are angry - but is that respectful to our country? </DIV>
<DIV>With our "rights" come responsibility for the consequences</DIV>
<DIV>of our "rights" - there are other ways to choose to show </DIV>
<DIV>we are angry at our country. Choosing our "right" to burn</DIV>
<DIV>our flag - only shows what kind of a person we really are.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The mansion is a wonderful spot to run a dog as long as</DIV>
<DIV>it is only a few exercising their "right" - but if many other</DIV>
<DIV>residents wanted to run & play too - that would be </DIV>
<DIV>disrespectful as the mansion is not a dog park.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You would not see the residents at Mt Vernon running</DIV>
<DIV>their dogs thru Mt Vernon or Robert E Lee's house or</DIV>
<DIV>James Madison house etc - ---maybe early in the morning</DIV>
<DIV>or in the evening a few residents would walk historic home</DIV>
<DIV>grounds & as long as nothing major happens everyone </DIV>
<DIV>closes their eyes. And this is ok.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think what I was responding to is if one person thinks it</DIV>
<DIV>is their 'right' - then 100 other dog owners would think it is</DIV>
<DIV>their "right" - and it is their "right" - but it is not appropriate, </DIV>
<DIV>respectful etc etc.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Just because we have a "right" does not mean we have to</DIV>
<DIV>exercise that "right" - we can CHOOSE to be respectful,</DIV>
<DIV>CHOOSE to look at the consequences of exercising our</DIV>
<DIV> "rights" & use good judgment.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Emily</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR>
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