In 1956, a romantic love song was written, and a year later was first recorded in soft and smooth voice by Johnny Mathis, then released, that very same year. It was a great song to sing along to your sweetheart, though in 1957 I was only four years old, and didn’t really have a sweetheart yet. The voice of Johnny Mathis was a perfect choice to croon this song on vinyl and live, and it can still be found very easily on any of the streamed music networks on Satellite Radio, or with a search through YouTube videos, and can be that romantic Valentine’s Day, Wedding Anniversary, even First Husband/Wife Dance at a Nuptial Celebration. The title of that song is, “The Twelfth of Never.”

In a much different context, the title of this song could be the theme song of any procrastinator, be it an individual, organization, or even a municipality, who keeps putting things off that should be, and could be, done. It might be something needed to be done around the house, or finishing paperwork on the job, or students of all ages doing their homework, or completing an upcoming due project or essay, or term paper, or any other situation of unfinished business.

The late Michael Stanley, a Cleveland, OH area DJ, musician, and recording artist, wrote and performed a song called “My Town,” about Cleveland, which I was/am proud to sing along with when I’ve heard, or hear it, as during summers since I’ve retired, Cleveland has definitely been one of our towns. First and foremost, though, for many years, Jamestown was my town. I was happy growing up here, though I wasn’t always the best-behaved kid on the playgrounds, but thanks to Mr. Russ Diethrick, I wasn’t cast aside. I was proud to have been hired to teach for more than thirty years in Jamestown, and I’ve written many times in this periodical, praising what it was like living in Jamestown, including look backs at schools, churches, businesses, fun activities available to us, Minor League Baseball, my friends, the experiences I was given, and so much more. Unfortunately, though, some of the shine of growing up here has been a bit tarnished in recent years.

As I’ve driven around the city, especially in neighborhoods close to our home, I’ve seen city projects that have been started, and violations of city ordinances reported that have taken, what seems like forever to be addressed or completed, sometimes even started. Unfinished business?

One example of this is when brick streets are being repaired, and the bricks are pulled up, placed on the apron of the street, the opening is dug up, and the ever-popular giant candy corn cones are then placed around the hole until the job is completed. Many times, it seems like months that those decorative plastic barriers are adorning our streets. This is especially irritating when cars park directly opposite the coned hole on the road, or it happens during months where there’s alternate parking taking place. I’m grateful things are being repaired where needed, but maybe the scheduling can be reconsidered so the time in between the creation of the hole and the repair of it could be shortened. Sometimes, it seems like we’ll be waiting until the Twelfth of Never before it’s done.

Another happening on our street involves a pile of remains from a house that burned down over two years ago, which had been covered (the cover has almost completely disintegrated) and snow fenced off (the snow fence is more than half down), and it’s still there. It’s a disgusting pile of rotten wood breeding homes for bugs and whatever else is now growing among grass and weeds partially covering the mound of rubble where the house once stood. There are other places in the city where the same sore sight of a fire destroyed home lies as a pile of rubble.

I’ve contacted the city and council members, about other issues in our neighborhood, like properties resembling jungles, front yards of homes looking like used car lots or furniture stores, sidewalks not shoveled in the winter where school kids and adults end up walking in the streets for stretches of their journeys to schools, stores, or wherever, and more. It’s beginning to feel like the completion/resolution dates (if there is one), of these situations being righted might be the Twelfth of Never.

I don’t live in the ritziest neighborhood in the city, or even a close second one, and our house is not the Taj Majal. I’m not ashamed or embarrassed by that at all. This has been our family’s home for 40 plus years. It was our first house home, we built a life here, and we have a complete written, photographic, and mental album of memories made in our home, but sadly, we’ve seen the neighborhood deteriorate through owner or tenant neglect, by time and/or weather, and/or by the infiltration of many species of animals who are sharing our neighborhoods. Sometimes, I feel some areas in the city could be filmed as sequels to Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, and I’m Marlin Perkins.

In the case of tenant or owner neglect, or violations of city codes (property, discarded furniture near curbs, wrong-way parking, pet waste cleanup, etc.), there are ordinances that, if enforced, should be able to help in getting things done to houses and apartment buildings. That can only happen if the city will carry out continuous serving of citations, and enforcing and imposing consequences for violations.

In the case of the animals moving into our neighborhoods, perhaps something (action-wise), besides just talking about the problem might make people feel like the situation may be able to get better, and maybe they may not think that the answer to the question, “When will something be done?” feel like it will be the “Twelfth of Never.”

Some situations caused by time or weather, some road, sidewalk, curbing, construction, etc., which needs cleaning up or repairing might fall on residents, some on the city. When things need to be fixed or maybe cleaned up some, or major work is necessary, or the remains of house fires needing to be cleaned up, I hope the work won’t be started, then left alone, and the completion date established by whoever’s responsible for doing the fixing, cleaning up, or making those responsible accountable, won’t be the Twelfth of Never. I’d much rather hear the real version of that song in my head on special days celebrated for which the song was written. Maybe then, the city might be able to remove some of the tarnish I’ve seen these past years.