To: Editor, Abbotsford News
Re: Downtown Abbotsford Mural / Make Abbotsford Great Again
Bob and I were friends. Not the usual kind. Our worlds were worlds apart. Me, the lefty enviro activist, Bob… well, not so much. Still, working together, we found common ground and opportunities to argue the issues of the day. I would spend hours in his office ostensibly going over details on construction projects but inevitably straying into politics and possibly the one commonality we shared: dismay in Abbotsford’s lack of vision and commitment to become a great city. Yes we came at that from opposite ends of the spectrum, but it was enough.
RELATED: ‘Make Abbotsford great again’ – artist includes phrase on mural without approval
I remember when he was president of the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association, Bob helped me develop, pay for, and publicly present our wonderful Environment Bench honouring Abbotsford’s victory stopping the proposed Sumas Energy 2 power plant.
This Mural, recognizing Bob’s passion and contributions to Abbotsford is most fitting. However, my experiences and memory of Bob are of a man who, yes, loved hyperbole, but also respected fairness and truth. There was always a glint of the playful, in even his most argumentative rants.
May I humbly suggest that Bob would not have wanted a mural that polarized and undermined the work he did to help build our community? Abbotsford has been good, meh, and even bad, but never great. Greatness is aspirational. I know Bob worked to make Abbotsford great.
Say we just remove the word “again” and call it a day?
John Vissers