Thank You, Dan.

I met Dan Dial when I was campaigning for Commissioner.  I was going door-to-door, and Dan happened to be home.  In fact, he had just arrived home when I got there, and he was unloading groceries from his car.  Dan was receptive, and he even allowed me to put a campaign sign in his yard.  I had never met Dan, and he wanted to know the standard things about me and my campaign.

Dan also allowed me to take his e-mail address.  I can't remember if he and I discussed this blog when we met, but at some point, he permitted me to include him on the list of people to whom I send regular notices of new posts.

I have come not to expect responses from the vast majority of blog readers.  Occasionally, someone posts a comment, and sometimes, someone will reply in writing separately, just to my e-mail address.  But most people either read the posts with interest, or they don't, and I don't hear from them.

Dan has on occasion replied to me privately.  I find this curious, since he and I do not have any relationship other than our one face-to-face meeting.  But I'm pleased to have made the connection, and to get the feedback, and I have come to think of Dan as a nice guy and an interested neighbor.

It would be fair to say I was quite surprised to have heard from Dan on December 7.  On the 6th, I had published a post about how one of Cecilia Lueza's sculptures apparently captivated people, and I indicated that I would consider that sculpture to be the next acquisition target.  Dan wrote to me to ask "How do I contribute to the purchase of the sculpture?"

Wow.  Out of nowhere.  I don't think Dan and I had discussed public art at our one meeting.  If we did, it would certainly not have been the main topic of discussion.  Since I didn't know Dan before, he had not been approached and was not a contributor to the Walker we have or the Lorenson we're awaiting.  He had just read the post, seen the Lueza, presumably liked it (or just liked the idea of public sculpture in BP), read about how easy and inexpensive it can be for us to acquire public art if we all chip in, and offered to participate.  He didn't say how much he had in mind to contribute or ask how much was requested.  The marked generosity was in the unexpected offer, and the willingness to take this kind of role in the Village.

The numbers I used for illustrative purposes in the blog post were $6.75 and $27.  I don't know if one of those was Dan's intention, or if he would contribute $50, or $100.  I told him I wanted to try community-wide contributing before I resorted to hitting up individuals.

The Lueza will be presented to the Commission on January 7.  If the Commission agrees to accept this piece if it's offered to the Village, I will go about trying to raise the money.  I'll ask the Commission about the possibility of a Village-wide appeal.  But one way or another, I will let Dan know it's time.  It's clear he will make himself available to contribute, and I, as a Village resident, an art-lover, and a Commissioner, will be grateful to him.

And this is not to overlook the others of our neighbors who, like Dan, seem always to make themselves available to help out, or to "contribute."  There is a distinct and growing list of them.  In the name of all of them, thank you, Dan.